Stefan Strack received a pilot grant from the “Biological Sciences Funding Program” (BSFP) to study the role of mitochondria in sensory and pain perception. Entitled “Mitochondrial dynamics in pain”, the grant investigates how changes in mitochondrial shape influence energy production and axonal transport of mitochondria in peripheral sensory neurons. These questions will be addressed in wild-type mice, as well as in mice with a gene deletion that causes mitochondrial elongation in sensory neurons and heightened sensitivity to heat and touch. Findings may lead to better therapies for chronic pain and painful or insensate neuropathies.