Taichi Goto
Assistant Professor
The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
Cizik School of Nursing
Department of Research
My research focuses on understanding and alleviating pain and other psychoneurological symptoms associated with chronic illness and tissue injury. Using integrative biobehavioral and molecular approaches, our lab investigates how biological, neural, and inflammatory pathways contribute to symptom heterogeneity across conditions such as dementia, cancer, and wound healing.
One major effort, the Sustained Healing and Infection Elimination via Local Delivery (SHIELD) project, develops a dissolvable microneedle patch for ultrasound-responsive, localized drug delivery to infected burn wounds. This platform aims to improve wound healing, control fungal infection, and reduce pain through targeted, sustained therapy. The SHIELD system combines biomaterials engineering, pain neuroscience, and symptom science, representing a translational model for precision symptom management.
In parallel, our lab examines psychoneurological symptoms in cancer, including fatigue, cognitive impairment, and pain, to uncover shared biological signatures that link inflammation, neural sensitization, and patient-reported experiences.
Students completing a tutorial in my lab will gain experience in biobehavioral study design, multi-omics analysis, molecular biomarker assays, behavioral testing, and translational device development. Trainees will learn how to integrate data from preclinical and clinical models to explore mechanisms underlying symptom variability and to develop targeted, patient-centered interventions.
Keywords: pain, wound healing, dementia, cancer, psychoneurological symptoms, biomarkers, neuroimmune mechanisms, biobehavioral science, microneedle drug delivery, translational neuroscience
Education & Training
PhD, University of Tokyo, 2018