Lousie Nicol
Supervisors:
Dr Marzia Malcangio & Professor S McMahon
Funding:
BBSRC Case/GSK
Start Date:
1st October 2009
Project
Chronic pain mechanisms and spinal microglia cells
Neuropathic pain affects millions of people worldwide and can severely impact on the lives of patients; occurring subsequently to peripheral nerve injury or as part of diseases that disrupt peripheral nerve functions.
Increasing preclinical evidence points towards the crucial role of spinal microglia cells in the modulation of neuropathic pain mechanisms. Following peripheral nerve injury several transmitters and modulators are released in the spinal cord which induce a microglial shift to the ‘pain-related enhanced response state’. My PhD is focused on investigating the expression, functions and mechanisms of a newly discovered GPCR thought to be expressed exclusively on microglia cells within the CNS and its possible role in modulating microglia activity in the context of chronic pain.