Applications for this PhD project are now open. The deadline for applications is 6 April 2026.
Chronic musculoskeletal pain (CMSKP), including conditions such as chronic low back pain and fibromyalgia, is increasingly recognised as a heterogeneous condition that cannot be fully explained by ongoing tissue pathology alone. Contemporary pain science has therefore moved beyond unitary explanatory models, such as central sensitisation, toward broader nociplastic frameworks that emphasise altered pain processing, threat appraisal, affective modulation, and physiological regulation.
Within this framework, interoception—the sensing, interpretation, and regulation of internal physiological states—has emerged as a key mechanism through which pain-related threat and uncertainty may be constructed and maintained. Heightened attention to bodily sensations, biased interpretation of those sensations as threatening, and impaired autonomic regulation may contribute to pain persistence even in the absence of ongoing tissue damage. Despite strong theoretical support, empirical studies directly linking experimentally evoked pain responses with multidimensional interoceptive and autonomic processes remain limited.
This PhD project addresses these gaps by combining mechanistic classification with experimental intervention, aiming to clarify how physiological regulation and interoceptive precision contribute to pain persistence, and whether these processes are experimentally modifiable.
Email: solomon.segal@hsu.ac.uk
The overarching aim of this PhD is to investigate how interoceptive processing, physiological regulation, and mechanical pain sensitivity interact to explain individual differences in pain experience, persistence, and regulation.
Specifically, the project will:
The project is based in the Health Sciences University Centre for PAIn Research and is embedded within a growing research program spanning, theoretical, clinical and experimental research.
Supervision is provided by an experienced multidisciplinary team with international links. Applications are welcomed from UK and international candidates.
This project is suitable for candidates with a strong background in MSK disorders, including chiropractic, osteopathy, physical therapy, psychology, neuroscience, health sciences, or a related discipline, and an interest in experimental pain research, physiological measurement, and process-based models of health.
Funding status:
Available to both UK and International students.
Dr Solomon Segal
Professor David Newell
Dr Alister du Rose
Associate Professor Søren O’Neill, University of Southern Denmark (SDU)
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