Biography

I lead the Denk lab, which studies the peripheral nervous system and its involvement in chronic pain conditions. My group is particularly interested in why pain persists over long periods of time and is exploring the role of neuroimmune interactions and epigenetic mechanisms in this context. Our favourite tools include transgenic models and high-throughput molecular analyses on sorted cell populations (scRNAseq, ChIP-seq, CUT&Tag, ATAC-seq). We also work with induced pluripotent stem cell derived models of peripheral neurons.

I am Co-Director of a Wellcome Trust PhD Training Scheme in Neuroimmune Interactions and in general, my team is looking to promote interdisciplinary research in an open and positive environment. We enjoy sharing data, and engage with other researchers and the public on a regular basis. So please feel free to reach out to us with any questions.

I am an EDI Theme Representative at the NIHR Maudsley BRC.

Please see my Research Staff Profile for more detail

Find out more about my research:

• Franziska Denk
• RNA Sequence Browser

Key publications:

• Choi et al., 2023. Spontaneous activity in peripheral sensory nerves – a systematic review. bioRxiv.
• Jager et al., 2022. In vivo calcium imaging shows that satellite glial cells have increased activity in painful states. bioRxiv.
• Liang et al., 2020. A transcriptional toolbox for exploring peripheral neuroimmune interactions. Pain.
• Chakrabarti et al., 2020. Sensitization of Knee-Innervating Sensory Neurons by Tumor Necrosis Factor-α Activated Fibroblast-Like Synoviocytes: An in Vitro, Co-Culture Model of Inflammatory Pain. Pain.
• Jager et al., 2020. Changes in the transcriptional fingerprint of satellite glial cells following peripheral nerve injury. Glia. 

View all publications

Key collaborators:

• Prof Leonie Taams, King’s College London
• Prof David Bennett, Oxford University
• Prof Chris Buckley, Oxford University
• Prof Ewan St John Smith, Cambridge University