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Michael Meier, PhD
PD Dr.

Michael Meier, PhD

Research Group Leader
Languages
German, English

Honors and awards

2021 Invitation from Chiropractic Science, Miami University Podcasts
2021 1st Best Published Paper Award, CARLoquium virtual conference
2020 Best Poster, Swiss Headache Society and Swiss Pain Society Joint Annual Meeting, Bern, Switzerland
2018 SPC top-rated abstract and session chair "Pain-related Fear - A Basic and Clinical Update". International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP), Boston, USA
2015 Poster award “Best European Poster“. World Federation of Chiropractic and ECU Convention, Athen, Greece
2014 Prize Poster award, basic science, Swiss Association for the Study of Pain, Interlaken, Switzerland
2013 EAC Jean Robert Research Award, Prize for Best New Researcher, European Chiropractic Union, Sitges, Spain
  • NCMIC Louis Sportelli Original Research Award 3rd prize for the best research paper, World Federation of Chiropractic, Durban, South Africa
  • Neuroscience Young Investigator Award, International Association of Dental Research, Seattle, USA

Grants

2023–2027 CHF 82 000. Resolve Swiss. Swiss National Science Foundation (SNF), Bern, Switzerland. Project partner.
2023–2027 Exploring Multidimensional Temporal Trajectories of Low Back Pain Progression and Remission. Swiss National Science Foundation (SNF), Bern, Switzerland. Project partner.
2022–2024 EUR 141 480. Does spinal manipulation therapy impact lumbar proprioception? A double-blind randomized controlled trial using a novel outcome. European Centre for Chiropractic Research Excellence (ECCRE). Principal Investigator.
2022–2024 CHF 48 300. Unravelling cortical sensorimotor representations of the human back and their role in chronic low back pain. EMDO Foundation. Principal Investigator.
2022–2024 CHF 151 400. Does spinal manipulation therapy impact lumbar proprioception? A double-blind randomized controlled trial using a novel outcome. Balgrist Foundation. Principal Investigator.
2019–2023 CHF 588 000 SNF. Low back pain: Unveiling the contribution of motor control adaption using biomechanical modeling and neuroimaging. Principal Investigator
2013–2016 CHF 448 620 GlaxoSmithKline. Investigating dental hypersensitivity by neuroimaging. Co-Investigator
2012–2013 CHF 12 000 Swiss Society for Endodontology, Berne, Switzerland (SSE). Zerebrale Aktivierungsmuster im Verlaufe des Wirkungseintritts eines zahnärztlichen Lokalanästhetikums bei experimentell induziertem Zahnschmerz. Untersucht mittels funktioneller Magnetresonanztomographie (fMRT). Co-Investigator
2012–2013 CHF 50 000 Swiss Dental Association, Berne, Switzerland (SSO). Zerebrale Aktivierungsmuster im Verlaufe des Wirkungseintritts eines zahnärztlichen Lokalanästhetikums bei experimentell induziertem Zahnschmerz. Untersucht mittels funktioneller Magnetresonanztomographie (fMRT). Co-Investigator
2010–2011 CHF 265 500 GlaxoSmithKline. Investigating dental hypersensitivity using fMRI. Co-Investigator

Scientific projects

  • Graded sensorimotor retraining (RESOLVE) Swiss
  • Exploring Multidimensional Temporal Trajectories of Low Back Pain Progression and Remission
  • Low back pain: Unveiling the contribution of motor control adaption using biomechanical modelling and neuroimaging (project).
  • Does spinal manipulation therapy impact lumbar proprioception? A double-blind randomized controlled trial using a novel outcome.
  • Cortical mapping of the human back using ultra-high field functional imaging (7T).

Other activities

Talks

2024

  • Proprioceptive weighting: A novel mechanism of spinal manipulation? General Assembly Pro Chiropraktik, April, Basel, Switzerland
  • Cortical reorganization in chronic low back pain: Clinically relevant or just an epiphenomenon? Swiss Pain Society, Scientific Brunch, March, Zurich, Switzerland
  • Flexed or not flexed? Current research on the posture of the back when lifting loads. Annual Congress of the Swiss Society for Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and Physioswiss, April, Bern, Switzerland

2023

  • Sensory Cortex Reorganization in Chronic Low Back Pain: Solving The Riddle. 11th Interdisciplinary World Congress on Low Back & Pelvic Girdle Pain, Melbourne, Australia
  • Exploring the Mind's Map of the Back and its Restructuring in Chronic Low Back Pain: latest results. 3rd special interest group meeting, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience of Pain CANoP, Fribourg, Switzerland
  • Motor control and low back pain – Advanced education for Korean physiotherapists, UP Education, online (ZOOM)

2022

  • The psycho-biomechanics of the back. Novel explanatory models for the development of chronic back pain. Hirslanden Academy, Zurich, Switzerland
  • Revealing cortical-topographic maps of thoracolumbar proprioceptive input and their potential role in chronic low back pain. Conference on Mechanotransduction, Muscle Spindles and Proprioception, Munich, Germany

2021

  • The role of cortical changes and movement adaptions in persistent low back pain. ZNZ annual symposium, September 2021, Zurich, Switzerland.
  • Adaptive and maladaptive movement strategies. Joint Annual Meeting SPS & ChiroSuisse 2021, September 2021, Lausanne, Switzerland.
  • Pain-related fear, motor control and low back pain – A cross-discplinary approach bridging neurosciences with biomechanics. 2nd conference on Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience of Pain (CANoP), June 2021, (ZOOM)
  • Bewegungsbezogene Ängste und Rückenschmerzen. Ein «whole-body approach». March 2021, Fortbildung Psychosomatische und Psychosoziale Medizin (SAPPM).

2020

  • Fear avoidance beliefs in pain-free adults are associated with restricted lumbar spine motion during object lifting. A protective mechanism? European Chiropractors Union Convention, Utrecht, Netherlands. May 2020, Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic
  • Revealing cortical-topographic maps of thoracolumbar proprioceptive input and their potential role in chronic low back pain. Conference on Mechanotransduction, Muscle Spindles and Proprioception, Munich, Germany. Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic

2019

  • Lifting with a round-back is dangerous! How beliefs might affect lumbar spine motion during object lifting in pain-free individuals. 11th congress of the european pain federation EFIC, Valencia, Spain
  • Deconstructing pain-related fear in chronic low back pain. Expert meeting on avoidance behavior pain and fear, Leuven, Belgium
  • Neuroimaging of psychological contributors to (spine) motor adaption and their potential role in chronic pain. 9th NEUROspine meeting, Swiss Society for Neurosurgery, Bern, Switzerland
  • Pain-related fear – One or many? Special Interest Group meeting “Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience of Pain (CANoP), Swiss Society for the Study of Pain, Fribourg, Switzerland

2018

  • Exploring the validity of pain-related fear questionnaires – an fMRI machine learning approach. Canadian Pain Society - 39th Annual Scientific Meeting
  • Fear of movement, fear of pain and neural predictors. Why are these important to you and your patients? Invasive Procedures in Motion 2018 & 20th Anniversary Center for Pain Medicine Nottwil, Switzerland

2017

  • From mechanical spine stimulation, to spinal movement, to brain activation. Pacific Spine Research & Education Foundation (PSREF), Burnaby, Canada
  • fMRI – Brain Mapping. What do we know about chronic back pain patients? Implications for practice, possible solutions. Pacific Spine Research & Education Foundation (PSREF), Burnaby, Canada
  • Fear of movement, fear of pain. Why are these important to you and your patients? Solutions for clinicians. Pacific Spine Research & Education Foundation (PSREF), Burnaby, Canada
  • Multivariate decoding of sensorimotor brain activity during lumbar pressure stimulation accurately identifies chronic low back pain patients. European Chiropractic Union Convention, Cyprus

2016

  • Maladaptive Veränderungen im Gehirn beim chronischen Schmerz. further education, Schmerzklinik Basel, Switzerland
  • Fear Avoidance Beliefs underlie differential brain processing in chronic low back pain compared to pain-free subjects. 9th Interdisciplinary World Congress on Low Back and Pelvic Pain, Singapore
  • The impact of fear of movement on descending pain modulation systems in chronic low back pain patients. European Chiropractic Union Convention, Oslo, Norway
  • Fear avoidance behaviour and its underlying brain mechanism in chronic low back pain. Pain conference Swiss Paraplegic Centre, Nottwil, Switzerland
  • Functional neuroimaging for chiropractic research questions. Vereinigung Pro Chiropraktik Region Basel, Switzerland

2015

  • In the search of nociceptive brain regions & mechanisms. Gesellschaft der Ärztinnen und Ärzte des Kantons Solothurn, Switzerland
  • Basic introduction to fMRI analysis. Workshop. International Association for Dental Research, Boston, USA
  • Brain activation patterns of posterior-anterior lumbar mobilisation. European Chiropractic Union, Sitges, Spain
  • Fear Avoidance Beliefs in healthy subjects. European Chiropractic Union, Sitges, Spain
  • Psychophysical characterization of a dental anaesthetic. Advanced education, Center of Dental Medicine, University of Zurich, Switzerland
  • Brain activation induced by spinal movement – a novel and promising method to investigate neuroplastic changes in chronic low back pain. World Federation of Chiropractic, Durban, South Africa

2012

  • Evidence for differential fear responses dependent on the stimulation site. Schmerzagora, Zurich, Switzerland
  • Resting state functional connectivity – Watching brain activity at rest. Technical Unit Pain, Zurich, Switzerland

Media

2016

Peer reviewing und memberships

Journal article reviewing

European Journal of Pain, Cerebral Cortex, Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics, Journal of Neurophysiology, Neuroscience Letters, Neuroimage Clinical, PlosONE, PAIN, European Journal of Physiotherapy, Scientific Reports

Grant reviewing

Quebec Pain Research Network (QPRN), German Research Foundation (DFG), Dutch Research Council (NWO)

Memberships

International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP), Society for Neuroscience (SfN), Swiss Pain Society (SPS), Neuroscience Center Zurich (ZNZ)

Teaching

Pain - mechanisms and clinical presentations (Neuroscience Center Zurich, BME 355, Course Director: PD Dr. Petra Schweinhardt)

Research colloquium, Department of Chiropratic Medicine, University of Zurich
Current topics in chiropractic, Neurophysiology and motor control, University Hospital Balgrist

Contact

Chiropractic Medicine
Interdisciplinary Spinal Research (ISR)

Balgrist Campus
Lengghalde 5
CH-8008 Zürich
+41 44 386 57 11
Email

Outpatient chiropractic clinic
+41 44 386 57 06
Email

We look forward to hearing from you.