Ram Kandasamy, PhD Faculty Profile

Photo of Ram Kandasamy

Ram  Kandasamy, PhD

Associate Professor

Department of Psychology

Dr. Kandasamy joined the Department of Psychology at AV狼, East Bay in August 2019. Prior to joining AV狼, he earned his undergraduate degree in neuroscience and psychology from Washington State University in Pullman, WA where he investigated sex differences in cannabinoid analgesia with Dr. Rebecca Craft. He earned his PhD from Washington State University in Vancouver, WA where he pioneered a new behavioral measure of pain and analgesia with Dr. Michael Morgan and taught courses on the biological basis of behavior. Dr. Kandasamy was a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Pharmacology at the University of Michigan Medical School where he studied the analgesic and abuse-related effects of opioid drugs with Dr. John Traynor. He has previously served on the Executive Committee for the Neuropharmacology division of the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics (ASPET) and the North American Pain School. Dr. Kandasamy is currently the Faculty Fellow for the Center for Student Research and is the Principal Investigator of AV狼's Beckman Scholars Program.

Dr. Kandasamy teaches Research in Physiological Psychology (PSYC 491B), Physiological Psychology (PSYC 320), and Experimental Psychology (PSYC 300) and serves as a psychology major advisor. He also works with undergraduate students at AV狼 to identify effective treatments for chronic pain by using a variety of techniques involving neuroscience, pharmacology, and animal behavior. Interested students should e-mail Dr. Kandasamy to inquire about research opportunities.

Dr. Kandasamy and his students use animal models to investigate the functional consequences of pain and identify the behavioral effects of novel and existing analgesic drugs.

  • BS (2012), Neuroscience, Psychology; Washington State University (Pullman, WA); Mentor: R. Craft
  • PhD (2017), Neuroscience; Washington State University (Vancouver, WA); Mentor: M. Morgan
  • Postdoc (2019), Pharmacology; University of Michigan Medical School (Ann Arbor, MI); Mentor: J. Traynor

Not teaching this semester.


  1. Angelia J., Weng X., Solomatov A., Chin C.UG (Psychology '22), Fernandez A.PB (PHAP '22), Hudson P.K., Morisseau C., Hammock B.D., Kandasamy R.C, Pecic SC. (2023). Structure-activity relationship studies of benzothiazole-phenyl analogs as multi-target ligands to alleviate pain without affecting normal behavior. Prostaglandins and Other Lipid Mediators, in press. PMID: 36529320
  2. Wilt S., Kodani S., Valencia L., Hudson P.K., Sanchez S.UG (Biological Sciences '23), Quintana T.UG (Psychology, Biological Sciences '22), Morisseau C., Hammock B.D., Kandasamy R.C, Pecic SC. (2021). Further exploration of the structure-activity relationship of dual soluble epoxide hydrolase/fatty acid amide hydrolase inhibitors. Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry, 51, 116507. PMID: 34794001
  3. Rodriguez C.E.B.F,UG (Psychology '20), Ouyang L.F,UG (Biological Sciences '23), Kandasamy R.C (2021). Antinociceptive effects of minor cannabinoids, terpenes, and flavonoids in Cannabis. Behavioural Pharmacology, in press. PMID: 33709984
  4. Kandasamy R.F, Hillhouse T.M.F, Livingston K.E., Kochan K.E., Meurice C., Eans. S.O., Li M., White A.D., Roques B.P., McLaughlin J.P., Ingram S.L., Burford N.T., Alt A., Traynor J.R. (2021). Positive allosteric modulation of the mu-opioid receptor produces analgesia with reduced side-effects. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 118(16), e2000017118. PMID: 33846420
  5. Kandasamy R.C and Morgan M.M. (2021). “Reinventing the wheel” to advance the development of pain therapeutics. Behavioural Pharmacology, 32(2&3), 142-152. PMID: 33079736
  6. Senese N.B., Kandasamy R., Kochan K.E., Traynor J.R. (2020). Regulator of G-Protein Signaling (RGS) Protein Modulation of Opioid Receptor Signaling as a Potential Target for Pain Management. Frontiers in Molecular Neuroscience, 13:5. PMID: 32028168
  7. Stanczyk M.A. and Kandasamy R. (2018). Biased agonism: The quest for the analgesic holy grail. PAIN Reports, 3(3), e650. PMID: 29922742
  8. Kandasamy R., Dawson C.T.UG, Hilgendorf T.N.UG, Morgan M.M. (2018). Medication overuse headache following repeated morphine, but not ∆9-tetrahydrocannabinol administration in the female rat. Behavioural Pharmacology, 29(5), 469-472. PMID: 29462111
  9. Kandasamy R., Dawson C.T.UG, Craft, R.M., Morgan M.M. (2018). Anti-migraine effect of ∆9-tetrahydrocannabinol in the female rat. European Journal of Pharmacology, 818, 271-277. PMID: 29111112
  10. Kandasamy R., Lee A.T.UG, Morgan M.M. (2017). Depression of home cage wheel running is an objective measure of spontaneous morphine withdrawal in rats with and without persistent pain. Pharmacology, Biochemistry and Behavior, 156, 10-15. PMID: 28366799
  11. Kandasamy R., Lee A.T.UG, Morgan M.M. (2017). Depression of home cage wheel running: a reliable and clinically relevant method to assess migraine pain in rats. The Journal of Headache and Pain, 18(1):5, 1-8. PMID: 28091820
  12. Kandasamy R., Calsbeek J.J.UG, Morgan M.M. (2017). Analysis of inflammation-induced depression of home cage wheel running in rats reveals the difference between opioid antinociception and restoration of function. Behavioural Brain Research, 317, 502-507. PMID: 27746208
  13. Kandasamy R., Calsbeek J.J.UG, Morgan M.M. (2016). Home cage wheel running is an objective and clinically relevant method to assess inflammatory pain in male and female rats. Journal of Neuroscience Methods, 263, 115-122.PMID: 26891874
  14. Kandasamy R. and Price T.J. (2015). The pharmacology of nociceptor priming. In Pain Control (Handbook of Experimental Pharmacology) 15-37. Ed. H-G Schaible, Springer Berlin Heidelberg. PMID: 25846612
  15. Craft R.M., Kandasamy R., Davis S.M. (2013). Sex differences in anti-allodynic, anti-hyperalgesic and anti-edema effects of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol in the rat. PAIN, 154(9), 1709-1717. PMID: 23707295

UG = undergraduate co-author

PB = postbaccalaureate co-author

F = co-first author

C = corresponding author