Sulayman Dib-Hajj, PhD

Professor in the Department of Neurology and the Center for Neuroscience and Regeneration Research, and the Center for Restoration of Nervous System Function, Veterans Administration Connecticut Healthcare System, West Haven, Connecticut.

After earning a B.S. (1977) and M.S. (1982) degrees from the American University of Beirut, Lebanon, I earned my doctorate degree in 1990 from the Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology (MCDB) program at the Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio.

My research focuses on the role of voltage-gated sodium channels in inherited and acquired pain disorders. I have been investigating the effect of mutations on biophysical properties and trafficking of sodium channels, leading to regulation of neuronal excitability. I have also investigated modulation of sodium channels by post-translational modifications (phosphorylation) and by interaction with cytosolic protein partners. A more recent focus is using live imaging to study channel trafficking in sensory axons.

I serve on the editorial boards of the journals Frontiers in Pharmacology of Ion Channels and Channelopathies and Molecular Pain. I served as an Associate editor for The Journal of Neurosciences (2010-2015). I have served as a permanent member of Merit review panel for Medical Research Service (NURB/NURP) for the Veterans Administration (2012-2022). I have also served as an ad hoc reviewer on VA and NIH study sections and for national and international funding agencies, and for several scientific publications.I serve on the Board of Directors of the National Disease Research Interchange, a non-profit organization that supports the use of human tissue for research.

I am a member of the Society for Neurosciences, the International Association for the Study of Pain, the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.