Rate My Professor Yuan Peng

Yuan Bo Peng, M.D., Ph.D., is Professor of Psychology at the University of Texas at Arlington. He obtained his Ph.D. under pain researcher William D. Willis, Jr., at the University of Texas Medical Branch. Peng completed postdoctoral training at Johns Hopkins Medical Institute with Professors James Campbell and Richard A. Meyer, and at the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research with Drs. Kenshalo, Gracely, and Ruda, where he trained as an electrophysiologist for single neuron and single teasing fiber recording. Promoted to Professor in 2014, he directs a lab studying neurophysiological mechanisms of nociception using electrophysiological techniques in peripheral and central nervous systems. Research areas include dorsal root reflexes in peripheral inflammation, cortical modulation of spinal dorsal horn neuronal activity, pain mechanisms in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis, detection of neuronal activities by optic spectroscopy, and development of telemetry systems for nervous system recording and stimulation. His interests encompass chronic pain, nociceptive neuronal circuits, pain processing in the anterior cingulate cortex, ultrasound energy-harvesting devices for deep brain stimulation and analgesia, and opioid systems in pain affect regulation.

Peng has co-authored influential publications such as 'The Biopsychosocial Approach to Chronic Pain: Scientific Advances and Future Directions' in Psychological Bulletin (2007), 'Altered Nociceptive Neuronal Circuits After Neonatal Peripheral Inflammation' in Science (2000), 'The Anterior Cingulate Cortex and Pain Processing' in Frontiers in Integrative Neuroscience (2014), and 'Piezoelectric Ultrasound Energy–Harvesting Device for Deep Brain Stimulation and Analgesia Applications' in Science Advances (2022). He holds U.S. Patent No. 9,031,658 for a wireless neural recording and stimulating system (2015). Peng serves as director of the UTA Fort Worth Regional Science and Engineering Fair, receiving an award for outstanding community service in 2024. His work advances non-pharmacological pain management strategies.