ANAESTHESIA AND THE CENTRE FOR PAIN RESEARCH

Overview

The Department of Anaesthesia plays a key role in the Centre for Pain Research (CPR).  The CPR is the first centre of its kind in an Irish University, and provides a centre of excellence for interdisciplinary research across the National University of Ireland (NUI), Galway and the Health Service Executive (HSE) and related health service agencies, with the aim of advancing the scientific understanding of pain from the basic sciences to the population level. 
The CPR incorporates researchers from a range of disciplines, involving personnel from the Faculties of Arts, Science, Medicine & Health Science. Specifically, there is representation from Departments of Psychology, Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Occupational Therapy, Anaesthesia and others. From HSE, clinicians from Pain Medicine, Public Health, Nursing, Occupational Health, Occupational Therapy and Physiotherapy are members of the CPR.

http://www.nuigalway.ie/centre_pain_research/

 Aims and Objectives of the CPR

1. To foster excellence in, and promote dissemination of, original research into pain.

2. To provide an “umbrella” for the many researchers across the University campus and health service agencies that have an interest in pain research.

3. To focus on translating and integrating developments at a pre-clinical or laboratory level with the development of therapeutics and the practice of pain management.

4. To help ensure that the topic of pain has a national profile and to contributes to health-related research and policy developments in Ireland.

5. To increase awareness and knowledge of pain through educational activities.

6. To promote an interest in pain-related research among students.  
 

Organisation of the CPR

The CPR directors are: 
Dr. Brian McGuire (Dept. of Psychology; brian.mcguire nuigalway.ie) 
Dr. David Finn (Dept. of Pharmacology and Therapeutics; david.finn nuigalway.ie).

The Centre’s research activity is organised into the following five clusters:

Pre-Clinical Research

Cluster Leader: Dr David Finn (david.finn nuigalway.ie) 
This research cluster is focused on increasing our basic scientific understanding of nociception, the mechanism of action of analgesics and identification of novel analgesic targets. An integrative, whole-systems approach is employed, combining animal models with in vivo and ex vivo measurement of neurochemical release, receptor expression and signal transduction.

Psychological and Neuropsychological Aspects of Pain

Cluster Leader: Dr. Brian McGuire (brian.mcguire nuigalway.ie) 
This research cluster is focused on increasing our understanding of the psychological variables that influence pain perception, pain onset, pain maintenance and the ability to cope with pain. The cluster will particularly focus on the development and evaluation of psychological approaches to pain management.

Pain Treatment and Pain Management

Cluster Leader: Dr. David O'Gorman (painmedicine eircom.net) 
This research cluster is focused on the development and evaluation of a range of approaches to pain management and pain treatment, including the range of physical, psychological, pharmacological and medical interventions.

Population and Policy Aspects of Pain

Cluster Leaders: Dr. Declan McKeown (declan.mckeown hse.ie) 
This research cluster is focused on the legal, organizational, sociocultural and economic aspects of pain. It also focuses on epidemiology and population level risks for chronic pain and the role of social policy in the management of pain.

Integration of Pre-Clinical Pain Research and Clinical Practice

Cluster Leader: Prof. John Laffey ( john.laffey nuigalway.ie) 
This research cluster is focused on bringing together basic pain scientists and pain clinicians with the aim of promoting collaborative work which facilitates the translation of relevant pre-clinical research to the clinical setting. In addition, the cluster provides a forum where pain clinicians can communicate current problems and research needs to basic/pre-clinical scientists.