Opportunities to be involved in research
The following studies are actively recruiting participants:
Current projects
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Seeking treatment for painful TMD
The experience of jaw pain that lasts for more than a few months can be an uncertain experience both for patients and professionals. Management may fall between the roles of dentist or GP and many people are unclear about who to consult. Self-management is recommended as first-line treatment, possibly alongside other conservative options. In practice…
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Investigating the role of the kynurenine pathway in irreversible pulpitis
The kynurenine pathway is responsible for the catabolism of the essential amino acid kynurenine. This pathway has been linked to acute and chronic pain in animal models of viral infections. Research by the team has shown upregulation of this pathway in pulpititis (toothache) and it appears to be pushing the pathway towards neuroinflammation and pain.…
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Molecular Interplay in Progression of Neuropathic pain and Parkinson’s Disease.
This study aims to identify the differential gene and protein expression associated with pain pathways in iPSCs-derived sensory neurons obtained from Parkinson’s patients or patients with TSC mutations vs iPSCs controls sensory neurons using genetic and proteins analyses. Then determining the functional abnormalities in patients’ iPSC-derived sensory in response to pain stimuli by using functional…
Our Research Themes
Mechanisms and pathways of pain
Our work aims to understand how and why acute and persistent pain is experienced in painful conditions such as toothache, persistent facial pain, and neuropathic pain.
Pain therapeutics and clinical trials
In this research theme, our work explores new targets to treat painful conditions and assesses the efficacy, safety, and cost-effectiveness of clinical treatments.
Pain diagnostics
This work aims to improve on the current methods that clinicians have to diagnose pain conditions, and to measure and assess people’s experience of pain.
Applied pain research
Our research uses innovative clinical research, integrating multidisciplinary perspectives, to explore how best to help people who suffer from painful conditions.
Our Collaborators
Academic collaborators
- Osaka University, Japan
- University of Minnesota, MN, USA
- Aarhus University, Denmark
- University of Liverpool, UK
- University of Sheffield, UK
- University of Leeds, UK
- University of Manchester, UK
- Durham University, UK
Industrial collaborators
We work with several companies in the pharmaceutical and medical device sectors.