Virginia Commonwealth University
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  2. School of Medicine
  3. Neuroscience & Anatomy
  4. Crowther Lab

Crowther Lab

We investigate how nerve injuries trigger plasticity in spinal cord dorsal horn circuits — bridging molecular, circuit, and behavioral levels of analysis to develop targeted therapies for neuropathic pain.

Explore Our Research →
Spinal cord calcium imaging Lab photo 2

In progress · Crowther Lab

Research

Chronic pain affects millions of people and costs hundreds of billions of dollars each year in the United States. Our ability to treat neuropathic pain remains severely limited compared to the burden of this disease.

The Crowther Lab investigates how nerve injuries trigger plasticity changes in spinal cord dorsal horn circuits — the first area of the central nervous system to process somatosensory information. We use cutting-edge techniques including in vivo calcium imaging, viral circuit tracing, behavioral recording, and transgenic mouse models to understand how descending brainstem circuits that normally inhibit pain become dysfunctional after injury.

Our current research focuses on characterizing time-dependent changes in the locus coeruleus–spinal noradrenergic pathway, comparing oxaliplatin-induced peripheral neuropathy with traumatic nerve injury to identify rescuable intervention windows for endogenous analgesia systems.

01
Descending Pain Control Circuits
Defining when and how top-down regulation from the locus coeruleus–spinal noradrenergic pathway fails after injury, and whether mechanisms differ between chemotherapy-induced and traumatic nerve injury models.
02
In Vivo Spinal Cord Imaging
Using longitudinal in vivo calcium imaging of genetically identified dorsal horn projection neurons to track progressive changes in circuit function in anesthetized and awake behaving mice.
03
Oxaliplatin-Induced Neuropathy
Characterizing the trajectory of LC-spinal α2-adrenergic receptor pathway dysfunction in a chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy model producing bilateral, distal-predominant sensory deficits.
04
Therapeutic Intervention Windows
Identifying time points where endogenous analgesic systems remain rescuable and providing mechanistic insight into why chemotherapy-induced neuropathy may respond differently to noradrenergic therapeutics.

Selected Publications

  • 2025
    Keratinocyte-TRPV1 sensory neuron interactions in a controllable mouse model of neuropathic itch
    Crowther AJ*, Kashem S*, Jewell M, Chang H, Casillas MR, Midavaine É, Rodriguez S, Braz J, Kania A, Basbaum A.
    PNAS
    Article
  • 2024
    Long-term optical imaging of the spinal cord in awake, behaving mice
    Ahanonu B*, Crowther AJ*, Kania A, Casillas MR, Basbaum A.
    Nature Methods
    Article
  • 2024
    Neuroanatomy of the Nociceptive System: From Nociceptors to Brain Networks
    Motzkin J, Basbaum A, Crowther AJ.
    International Review of Neurobiology · Neuropathic Pain, Vol. 179
    Review

Team

Andrew Crowther, PhD
Andrew Crowther, PhD
Principal Investigator
Dr. Crowther completed his PhD at UNC Chapel Hill and postdoctoral training at UCSF, where he co-developed groundbreaking methods for long-term spinal cord optical imaging in awake, behaving mice. His lab investigates how descending brainstem circuits that normally inhibit pain become dysfunctional after nerve injury, using in vivo calcium imaging, viral circuit tracing, and transgenic mouse models.
VCU · Dept. of Neuroscience & Anatomy
Vicki Brings, PhD
Vicki Brings, PhD
Research Scientist
Dr. Brings brings deep expertise in pain neurobiology to the Crowther Lab. Her work focuses on neuro-immune mechanisms and translational models of neuropathic pain, contributing to the lab's behavioral pharmacology and oxaliplatin-induced neuropathy research programs.
Crowther Lab · VCU
Julian Vaughn
Julian Vaughn
Graduate Student
Julian is a first-year BDSP student performing his third rotation in the Crowther Lab.
Crowther Lab · VCU

News & Updates

Lab Update
September 2025
Crowther Lab opens at VCU
Dr. Crowther joins Virginia Commonwealth University as Assistant Professor in the Department of Neuroscience and Anatomy. The lab is recruiting graduate students passionate about pain neurobiology.
New Publication
June 2025
Paper published in PNAS
Crowther AJ et al. publish on keratinocyte-TRPV1 sensory neuron interactions in a controllable mouse model of neuropathic itch, in collaboration with the Basbaum lab at UCSF.
Talk
April 2025
Seminar at VCU Dept. of Neuroscience & Anatomy
Dr. Crowther presented at the Department of Neuroscience and Anatomy seminar series at Virginia Commonwealth University.
Talk
March 2025
Invited speaker at NC State College of Veterinary Medicine
Dr. Crowther presented at the Molecular and Biomedical Sciences seminar series at North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC.
New Publication
November 2024
Spinal cord imaging paper in Nature Methods
Ahanonu & Crowther et al. publish a landmark methods paper describing long-term optical imaging of the spinal cord in awake, behaving mice.

Contact

Prospective lab members: We welcome inquiries from graduate students, postdocs, and collaborators interested in pain neuroscience, spinal cord circuit imaging, or neuropathic pain.

If you are passionate about neuroscience and find the field of chronic pain research exciting, please reach out. Dr. Crowther is happy to discuss rotation and postdoctoral opportunities.

PIAndrew Crowther, PhD
Emailandrew.crowther@vcuhealth.org
InstitutionVirginia Commonwealth University
Richmond, Virginia
DepartmentNeuroscience & Anatomy
School of Medicine
Office9-005 Sanger Hall, MCV Campus