Joao P. De Aquino, MD, assistant professor of psychiatry, has been named the recipient of the 2025 Postdoctoral Mentoring Prize by Yale’s Office for Postdoctoral Affairs and the Yale Postdoc Association’s Mentorship Committee.
The award was presented during the Postdoc Symposium awards ceremony June 6 at O.C. Marsh Lecture Hall of the Yale Science Building.
Under De Aquino’s leadership in the Pain and Addiction Interaction Neuroscience (PAIN) Lab, postdoctoral associates have advanced research on non-opioid treatments for chronic pain and substance use disorders.
De Aquino’s mentorship emphasizes hands-on training in behavioral pharmacology, quantitative sensory testing, clinical trial design, scientific communication, navigating the funding landscape, the demands of a career as a clinician-scientist, and creative problem-solving.
De Aquino directs the PAIN Lab, where his trainees gain rigorous experience in translational research aimed at developing novel therapeutics. His work integrates laboratory models with clinical insights to bridge the gap between neurobiology and patient-centered clinical practice.