Luana Colloca, M.D., Ph.D.
National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM)
Building 35, Room 1C10102
Bethesda, MD 20892
Dr. Luana Colloca is a joint-appointee at NCCAM and the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). Dr. Colloca leads a research team investigating the neurobiological mechanisms of placebo analgesia and stress. She has conducted research on the placebo effect from both an experimental and clinical perspective, with the goal of providing insights into its mechanisms and its clinical meanings. Dr. Colloca has authored more than 35 papers and has edited two books on the placebo effect.
Dr. Colloca obtained her M.D. from the Medical School of the University of Catanzaro in Italy and a Ph.D. in neuroscience from the University of Turin Medical School, Italy. After a postdoctoral fellowship in neuroscience at the Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden, she joined NCCAM while also completing a senior research fellowship in the Department of Bioethics at the NIH.