Overview
Background
Dr Jonathan Davies is a chronic pain researcher working to improve how pain is understood, assessed and treated. His research focuses on pain phenotyping, precision pain care, and the psychological, physiological and contextual factors that shape pain and treatment response.
At UQ’s Centre for Innovation in Pain and Health Research, he contributes to DISCERN, an NHMRC Synergy-funded multidisciplinary research program developing and validating new approaches to pain assessment. A major focus of his work is DECIPHER PAIN, a standardised, multimodal tool designed to characterise the relative contributions of nociceptive, neuropathic and nociplastic pain and support more personalised care.
His research integrates clinical assessment, quantitative sensory testing, experimental pain methods, psychophysiology, digital health and population data. He is particularly interested in how physiological signals, behaviour, language, psychosocial context and real-world health data can be combined to better understand individual differences in pain and treatment outcomes.
His broader expertise includes placebo and nocebo effects, mindfulness, mental health, quality of life, health outcome measurement and population health. His work aims to support more precise, scalable and patient-centred approaches to pain research and care.
Availability
- Dr Jonathan Davies is:
- Available for supervision
Fields of research
Qualifications
- Doctoral (Research) of Psychology, University of Sydney
Research interests
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Precision Pain Assessment and Phenotyping
I develop and validate tools to improve the assessment and classification of chronic pain. My research combines patient-reported outcomes, quantitative sensory testing, clinical assessment and digital technologies to identify pain phenotypes and support more personalised diagnosis and treatment.
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Population Health Research and Research Infrastructure
I develop population-scale research resources, including longitudinal cohorts, national surveys and digital research platforms, to improve understanding of chronic pain and accelerate precision pain research. My interests include real-world data, research infrastructure, participant engagement and data harmonisation across studies.
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Pain Mechanisms and Pain Psychology
My research investigates the biological, psychological and social processes that contribute to chronic pain. I have a particular interest in nociceptive, neuropathic and nociplastic pain, and how cognitive and contextual factors influence pain perception and clinical outcomes.
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Placebo, Nocebo and Contextual Effects
I study placebo and nocebo effects, treatment expectancy, therapeutic alliance and other contextual influences on health outcomes. My work aims to understand how these mechanisms can be ethically incorporated into clinical care and rigorously controlled in clinical trials.
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Digital Health and Clinical Decision Support
I develop digital health approaches that integrate multimodal clinical data to support precision pain care. My interests include digital phenotyping, clinical decision support, implementation science and the translation of research tools into routine healthcare.
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Psychophysiology and Experimental Pain
I use experimental pain models together with psychophysiological measures including electroencephalography (EEG), heart rate variability (HRV) and electrodermal activity to investigate mechanisms of pain perception, treatment response and symptom modulation.
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Mindfulness and Non-pharmacological Pain Management
My research examines mindfulness and related non-pharmacological approaches for pain management, with a particular focus on the mechanisms underlying mindfulness-based analgesia and the role of expectancy and contextual factors in treatment response.
Research impacts
Dr Jonathan Davies’ research aims to improve how pain, wellbeing and treatment experiences are understood, measured and translated into better care.
His population-health and outcomes research has generated nationally representative evidence on meditation, mindfulness, yoga, and related contemplative practices in Australia, New Zealand and the United States. He has also contributed to work with the EuroQol Group to refine the EQ-HWB measure using normative Australian population data, supporting more robust assessment of mental health and wellbeing related quality of life in research and health-economic evaluation.
His methodological work has contributed to the development and validation of tools that improve the quality and safety of contemplative and behavioural research. This includes the Inventory of Meditation Experiences (IME), which helps identify and characterise adverse effects associated with meditation, and the Standardised Open-source Mindfulness Architecture (SOMA), which provides a transparent and reproducible framework for designing and reporting mindfulness-based interventions.
His current work within DISCERN is focused on advancing DECIPHER PAIN, a standardised, multimodal approach to pain phenotyping. The team is seeking MRFF Critical Research Infrastructure funding to build and deploy the tool as sustainable national research infrastructure, with the aim of enabling more consistent pain characterisation across studies and creating a pathway toward future clinical assessment and personalised pain care.
In parallel, planned knowledge-exchange and translation work will engage clinicians, end-users, designers and regulatory stakeholders to co-design the digital platform and physical sensory-testing components for real-world use. This work is intended to improve clinical relevance, usability, adoption, commercial viability and readiness for future implementation.
Across these programs, he works with clinicians, consumers and multidisciplinary researchers to translate complex science into practical tools, stronger evidence and more patient-centred approaches to research and care.
Works
Search Professor Jonathan Davies’s works on UQ eSpace
2026
Journal Article
Validation of the EQ-HWB-9 in a mental health sample and an investigation of modifications to items
Bailey, Cate, Trapani, Karen, Davies, Jonathan N., Van Dam, Nicholas T., Galante, Julieta and Peasgood, Tessa (2026). Validation of the EQ-HWB-9 in a mental health sample and an investigation of modifications to items. Health and Quality of Life Outcomes. doi: 10.1186/s12955-026-02579-9
2026
Journal Article
Real-world meditation app engagement: a longitudinal study of the Medito meditation app
Adams, Julia Alice, Davies, Jonathan, Wattanakulchat, Prai, Galante, Julieta, D'Alfonso, Simon and Van Dam, Nicholas T. (2026). Real-world meditation app engagement: a longitudinal study of the Medito meditation app. JMIR mHealth and uHealth, 14 e79366, 1-20. doi: 10.2196/79366
2026
Journal Article
Contemplative practices serve as complementary mental health strategies in nationally representative samples from Australia and New Zealand
Matko, Karin, Bailey, Cate, Galante, Julieta, Davies, Jonathan N. and Van Dam, Nicholas T. (2026). Contemplative practices serve as complementary mental health strategies in nationally representative samples from Australia and New Zealand. Scientific Reports, 16 (1) 22765, 1-15. doi: 10.1038/s41598-026-51375-4
2026
Journal Article
Quality of life, healthcare use and cost of practice from a nationally-representative Australian survey to inform future economic evaluations of contemplative practices
Bailey, Cate, Van Dam, Nicholas, Davies, Jonathan N, Schilling, Chris and Galante, Julieta (2026). Quality of life, healthcare use and cost of practice from a nationally-representative Australian survey to inform future economic evaluations of contemplative practices. Mindfulness, 17 (4), 1158-1169. doi: 10.1007/s12671-026-02788-9
2026
Journal Article
Too much or not enough of a good thing?: Reconciling differing perspectives on the optimal dose of mindfulness meditation and advancing a dose-response research agenda
Bowles, Nicholas I., Davies, Jonathan N., Strohmaier, Sarah, Galante, Julieta and Van Dam, Nicholas T. (2026). Too much or not enough of a good thing?: Reconciling differing perspectives on the optimal dose of mindfulness meditation and advancing a dose-response research agenda. Journal of Contemplative Studies, 1-37. doi: 10.57010/caxs3076
2026
Journal Article
Engagement with meditation apps: a cross-sectional survey of use and associations
Adams, Julia, Davies, Jonathan, Wattanatakulchat, Prai, Galante, Julieta, Miller, Felicity, Alfonso, Simon D and Van Dam, Nicholas T (2026). Engagement with meditation apps: a cross-sectional survey of use and associations. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 28 e71960, 1-23. doi: 10.2196/71960
2026
Journal Article
Prevalence and predictors of meditation use in Australia and New Zealand: results from a nationally representative survey
Davies, Jonathan N., Bailey, Cate, Galante, Julieta and Van Dam, Nicholas T. (2026). Prevalence and predictors of meditation use in Australia and New Zealand: results from a nationally representative survey. BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies, 26 (1) 11, 1-15. doi: 10.1186/s12906-025-05183-4
2025
Journal Article
The psychometric performance of the EQ-HWB-9 for measuring health and wellbeing in a general population sample from Australia and New Zealand
Bailey, Cate, Trapani, Karen, Davies, Jonathan N., Van Dam, Nicholas, Galante, Julieta and Peasgood, Tessa (2025). The psychometric performance of the EQ-HWB-9 for measuring health and wellbeing in a general population sample from Australia and New Zealand. Quality of Life Research, 34 (12), 3707-3719. doi: 10.1007/s11136-025-04061-3
2025
Journal Article
Examining dose-response effects of mindfulness meditation interventions on wellbeing: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial
Bowles, Nicholas, Burger, Alexander, Davies, Jonathan N., Simpson, Julie A., Galante, Julieta, Dennis, Simon J., Stone, Benjamin and Van Dam, Nicholas T. (2025). Examining dose-response effects of mindfulness meditation interventions on wellbeing: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial. JMIR Research Protocols, 14 e72786, 1-19. doi: 10.2196/72786
2025
Journal Article
Feasibility and acceptability of a smartphone-delivered mindfulness intervention for stress reduction in adult Singaporeans: a pilot randomized controlled trial
Sparacio, Alessandro, Davies, Jonathan Nicholas, Lee, Erin and Schmitt, Jeroen Antonius Johannes (2025). Feasibility and acceptability of a smartphone-delivered mindfulness intervention for stress reduction in adult Singaporeans: a pilot randomized controlled trial. JMIR Mental Health, 12 e77793, 1-16. doi: 10.2196/77793
2025
Journal Article
Incidence and predictors of meditation-related unusual experiences and adverse effects in a representative sample of meditators in the United States
Van Dam, Nicholas T., Targett, Jessica, Davies, Jonathan N., Burger, Alex and Galante, Julieta (2025). Incidence and predictors of meditation-related unusual experiences and adverse effects in a representative sample of meditators in the United States. Clinical Psychological Science, 13 (3), 632-648. doi: 10.1177/21677026241298269
2024
Journal Article
Author spotlight: Melissa Day, PhD, Jonathan Davies, PhD, Claire Walker, BSc (Hons), Jeffrey Kim, PhD
Day, Melissa A., Davies, Jonathan N., Walker, Claire, Kim, Jeffrey and Meyer-Junco, Laura (2024). Author spotlight: Melissa Day, PhD, Jonathan Davies, PhD, Claire Walker, BSc (Hons), Jeffrey Kim, PhD. Journal of Pain and Palliative Care Pharmacotherapy, 38 (3), 195-198. doi: 10.1080/15360288.2024.2412495
2024
Journal Article
Prevalence and 20-year trends in meditation, yoga, guided imagery and progressive relaxation use among US adults from 2002 to 2022
Davies, Jonathan N., Faschinger, Anna, Galante, Julieta and Van Dam, Nicholas T. (2024). Prevalence and 20-year trends in meditation, yoga, guided imagery and progressive relaxation use among US adults from 2002 to 2022. Scientific Reports, 14 (1) 14987, 14987. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-64562-y
2024
Journal Article
Development and validation of the Inventory of Meditation Experiences (IME)
Van Dam, Nicholas T., Targett, Jessica, Burger, Alex, Davies, Jonathan N. and Galante, Julieta (2024). Development and validation of the Inventory of Meditation Experiences (IME). Mindfulness, 15 (6), 1429-1442. doi: 10.1007/s12671-024-02384-9
2023
Journal Article
Placebo effects contribute to brief online mindfulness interventions for chronic pain: results from an online randomized sham-controlled trial
Davies, Jonathan N., Colagiuri, Ben, Sharpe, Louise and Day, Melissa A. (2023). Placebo effects contribute to brief online mindfulness interventions for chronic pain: results from an online randomized sham-controlled trial. Pain, 164 (10), 2273-2284. doi: 10.1097/j.pain.0000000000002928
2023
Journal Article
Correction to: Dose–response Relationship of Reported Lifetime Meditation Practice with Mental Health and Wellbeing: a Cross-sectional Study
Bowles, Nicholas I., Davies, Jonathan N. and Dam, Nicholas T. Van (2023). Correction to: Dose–response Relationship of Reported Lifetime Meditation Practice with Mental Health and Wellbeing: a Cross-sectional Study. Mindfulness, 14 (9), 2287-2289. doi: 10.1007/s12671-023-02200-w
2023
Journal Article
Outcome expectancies, effects, and mechanisms of brief training in mindfulness meditation vs. loving-kindness meditation vs a control condition for pain management: a randomized pilot study
Day, Melissa A., Matthews, Natasha, Davies, Jonathan N., Walker, Claire, Bray, Nicola, Kim, Jeffrey and Jensen, Mark P. (2023). Outcome expectancies, effects, and mechanisms of brief training in mindfulness meditation vs. loving-kindness meditation vs a control condition for pain management: a randomized pilot study. Journal of Pain and Palliative Care Pharmacotherapy, 38 (3), 1-11. doi: 10.1080/15360288.2022.2141944
2022
Journal Article
How do placebo effects contribute to mindfulness-based analgesia? Probing acute pain effects and interactions using a randomized balanced placebo design
Davies, Jonathan N., Sharpe, Louise, Day, Melissa A. and Colagiuri, Ben (2022). How do placebo effects contribute to mindfulness-based analgesia? Probing acute pain effects and interactions using a randomized balanced placebo design. Pain, 163 (10), 1967-1977. doi: 10.1097/j.pain.0000000000002593
2022
Journal Article
Dose–response relationship of reported lifetime meditation practice with mental health and wellbeing: a cross-sectional study
Bowles, Nicholas I., Davies, Jonathan N. and Van Dam, Nicholas T. (2022). Dose–response relationship of reported lifetime meditation practice with mental health and wellbeing: a cross-sectional study. Mindfulness, 13 (10), 2529-2546. doi: 10.1007/s12671-022-01977-6
2021
Journal Article
Mindfulness-based analgesia or placebo effect? The development and evaluation of a sham mindfulness intervention for acute experimental pain
Davies, Jonathan N., Sharpe, Louise, Day, Melissa A. and Colagiuri, Ben (2021). Mindfulness-based analgesia or placebo effect? The development and evaluation of a sham mindfulness intervention for acute experimental pain. Psychosomatic Medicine, 83 (6), 557-565. doi: 10.1097/PSY.0000000000000886
Funding
Current funding
Supervision
Availability
- Dr Jonathan Davies is:
- Available for supervision
Looking for a supervisor? Read our advice on how to choose a supervisor.
Supervision history
Current supervision
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Doctor Philosophy
Lived Experience and Empathy in Chronic Pain Care: Exploring Provider-Level Influences on Patient Outcomes
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Melissa Day
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Doctor Philosophy
Mindfulness-Based Interventions for Chronic Pain:Integrating Lived Experience, Patient-Centred Outcomes & Neurobiological Correlates
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Melissa Day
Media
Enquiries
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