Opportunities to be involved in research
The following studies are actively recruiting participants:
Current projects
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EXTIRPATE study: Irreversible Pulpitis
Dental pain mechanisms remain poorly understood. Outcomes from current approaches to managing acute dental pain are suboptimal. EXTIRPATE focusses on developing a biological model to better understand peripheral and central pain mechanisms, explore the effect of current approaches on these mechanisms and investigate new treatment approaches.
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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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ELUCIDATE: Exploring pain & autonomic dysfunction in ME/CFS & TMD
We are currently looking for people in the northeast of England with ME/CFS, Temporomandibular Disorders (TMD), or neither of these conditions to take part in this study. If you are interested in taking part, please email james.allison@newcastle.ac.uk for more information. Summary of the study Widespread pain affecting the muscles and joints is a significant problem…
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.