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Dr Flavia Di Pietro

Associate Director and Senior Lecturer
(Internal Engagement)

Pain Research Lab

Dr Flavia Di Pietro was drawn to her field of research by a fascination with the mystery of persistent pain — why some people continue to experience pain even after their injuries appear to have healed. Her curiosity about the underlying mechanisms driving this phenomenon led her to pursue a PhD in persistent pain, and she has dedicated her research career to exploring this complex area ever since. Her work focuses on uncovering the role of the brain in ongoing painful conditions, aiming to better understand how neural processes contribute to chronic pain and how this knowledge can guide more effective treatments.  

About

Dr Flavia Di Pietro is an accomplished neuroscientist and pain researcher Her work has been recognised through numerous prestigious awards, including the Australian Pain Society Rising Star Award (2018), the NSW Fulbright Postdoctoral Scholarship (2017), and an NHMRC Early Career Biomedical Fellowship (2015–2019). Earlier in her career, she received the Philip A. Spiegel IASP Congress Trainee Scholarship (2014), multiple PainAdelaide Poster Awards, and the Tow Research Award (2013).

Dr Di Pietro currently serves as Program Lead for Neurodegeneration and Chronic Pain at the Curtin Medical Research Institute (Curtin MRI). She is also an Associate Editor for Frontiers in Non-Pharmacological Treatment of Pain and contributes to the broader research community as a member of the WA Fulbright Scholarship Selection Panel and Fulbright Alumni Advisor since 2019.

Her professional memberships include the Royal Society of New South Wales, Australasian Neuroscience Society, Australian Pain Society, Australian Physiotherapy Association, International Association for the Study of Pain, and the Organisation for Human Brain Mapping.

 
  • Associate Editor, Non-Pharmacological Treatment of Pain, Frontiers, since 2022.
  • Curtin Health Innovation Research Institute (CHIRI) Neurodegeneration and Chronic Pain Program Lead, since 2021.
  • Current member of the WA Fulbright Scholarship Selection Panel, since 2019.
  • Member of: Royal Society of New South Wales; Australasian Neuroscience Society; Australian Pain Society; Australian Physiotherapy Association; International Association for the Study of Pain; Organization for Human Brain Mapping.

Fulbright Alumni Advisor, since 2019.

  • Awarded the 2018 Rising Star Award by the Australian Pain Society.
  • Awarded the 2017 New South Wales Fulbright Postdoctoral Scholarship.
  • Awarded an NHMRC Early Career Biomedical Fellowship (2015 - 2019).
  • Awarded the 2014 Philip A. Spiegel IASP Congress Trainee Scholarship for the International Association for the Study of Pain: 15th World Congress on Pain. Buenos Aires, October 2014.
  • Awarded Best Poster PainAdelaide 2014.
  • Open Senior Division winner, 41st Annual Tow Research Awards 2013.
  • Awarded Best Student Poster PainAdelaide 2013.

EMAIL: Flavia.Dipietro@curtin.edu.au
TEL: +61 (08) 9266 7516
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9642-0805
Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com.au/citations?user=https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=sooYJLsAAAAJ=
Scopus: https://www.scopus.com/authid/detail.url?authorId=6603432291
Curtin Staff Profile

Research Focus

Dr Flavia Di Pietro investigates the role of the central nervous system in persistent and chronic pain, with a particular focus on how the brain and spinal cord contribute to the perception and maintenance of pain long after an injury has healed. Her research integrates quantitative and qualitative methods to uncover the fundamental neural mechanisms underlying pain, aiming to guide the development of more effective and long-lasting pain relief strategies.

With a background in physiotherapy and a PhD in neuroscience, Dr Di Pietro’s work bridges clinical and experimental research. Following an NHMRC Early Career Fellowship at the University of Sydney, where she used functional neuroimaging to study pain mechanisms, and a Fulbright Postdoctoral Scholarship at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital exploring sensory function in young people, she continues to advance understanding of pain through multidisciplinary approaches.

At Curtin University, Dr Di Pietro leads research within the Neurodegeneration and Chronic Pain Program at the Curtin Medical Research Institute (Curtin MRI). Her current projects explore how sensory processing, perception, and threat are encoded in the nervous system, with the ultimate goal of improving outcomes for people living with chronic pain.

 

Research Team

Morgan Titmus

Lecturer

Isabella Brown

Research Assistant

Judith Paredes

PhD Student

Publications

ABSTRACT:

Background
Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) is characterised by sensorimotor disturbances in the painful limb, coupled with neuroimaging evidence of functional changes in the primary somatosensory cortex (S1). However, the interaction between S1 in both hemispheres is unknown; altered interhemispheric interaction may contribute to this disorder.
Objective
We conducted the first study of sensory interhemispheric interaction in CRPS, specifically S1. This is also the first study to compare S1 interhemispheric inhibition in both directions in healthy controls.
Methods
Somatosensory evoked potentials were read with electroencephalography following paired median nerve stimulation at interstimulus intervals of 20, 25 and 30 ms.
Results
There was an inhibitory effect of the non-dominant on the dominant hemisphere in controls (ß = −0.308, SE 0.089, [CI −0.535, −0.081], t (914.9) = -3.49, p = 0.003), driven by changes in the N20/P25 SEP (i.e. S1). Importantly, this pattern of interhemispheric interaction was not seen in CRPS; in the CRPS group there was no evidence of interhemispheric inhibition – in either direction.
Conclusion
Given the difference in interhemispheric inhibition between CRPS and control groups, the role of S1 interhemispheric inhibition in CRPS needs further investigation. This may shed light on the sensorimotor disturbances characteristic of this disorder.

Berryman, C., G. L. Moseley, T. R. Stanton, B. Hordacre, and F. Di Pietro. 2025. Exploring interhemispheric interaction in complex regional pain syndrome.Neuroscience Letters 847
ABSTRACT:

Chronic low back pain (CLBP) is a highly prevalent health problem. Recent research has suggested that disruption of body perception might contribute to the problem and represent a target for treatment. Valid and reliable outcome measures are required to understand the relationship between disrupted body perception and clinical status. This systematic review aimed to identify patient reported outcome measures (PROMs) used to assess body perception disruption in people with CLBP and evaluate their psychometric properties. Five databases were searched for studies investigating the psychometric properties of PROMs designed to assess body perception in people with CLBP. The appraisal of the methodological quality and measurement properties adhered to the COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments (COSMIN) methodology. Sixteen studies were included, evaluating two PROMs: the Fremantle Back Awareness Questionnaire (FreBAQ) and the Body Awareness Rating Questionnaire (BARQ). The studies included data from 2545 participants, comprising 1694 individuals with CLBP. The following measurement properties were investigated: content validity; structural validity; internal consistency; cross-cultural validity; test-retest reliability; measurement error and construct validity. While there is evidence for test-retest reliability and construct validity, neither questionnaire demonstrated adequate content validity and there was a low level of evidence for sufficient internal consistency. Consequently, both the FreBAQ and BARQ were classified as 'B', indicating their potential for recommendation, contingent upon further research to evaluate their quality. Future research should address identified limitations of the questionnaires, particularly content validity. This will lead to the development of more useful tools to measure body perception in the CLBP population.

Paredes Sanchez, J., E. MacIntyre, A. E. Scully, B. I. de Oliveira, B. M. Wand, and F. Di Pietro. 2025. Body perception outcome measures in chronic non-specific low back pain: A systematic review of measurement properties using the COSMIN approach.Journal of Pain 31

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