Ben Colagiuri is the recipient of the Patrick D. Wall Young Investigator Prize for Basic Science. This prize recognizes an individual who has achieved a high level of independence as an outstanding scholar in the field of pain in basic science. Dr Colagiuri’s current research is exploring how knowledge about placebo and nocebo effects could be used ethically to improve patient outcomes.
Ben Colagiuri is a Professor and Head of School in the School of Psychology at the University of Sydney, Australia. He received his PhD in Psychology in 2010 from the same school. His research explores how expectancies influence human behavior, with a specific interest in placebo and nocebo effects. To date, he has developed several novel experimental models to uncover the mechanisms of placebo and nocebo effects for pain, sleep, nausea, and related conditions. He has been awarded more than $4.8 million in competitive research funding, including multiple Australian Research Council Discovery Grants, published over 80 scientific papers, and received national and international recognition for his research, including the Australian Psychological Society Media Award for Public Engagement 2019 and the International Society for Behavioural Medicine Early Career Award 2016.