Neuroinflammation & Pain Management

Working to alleviate suffering from chronic pain

Pain is the number one reason patients seek medical assistance—and it’s a major cause of disability. Despite the fact that chronic pain affects a large number of children and adults, science hasn’t discovered a novel pain-killing drug in over a hundred years.

Research currently underway in the Department of Pharmacology is trying to understand the pathways involved in the development of chronic pain in order to design novel drugs to alleviate the suffering experienced by millions of Canadians.

Areas of interest include the role of proteases and the endocannabinoid system in managing arthritis pain, as well as an examination of the beneficial effects of caffeine on neuropathic pain.

Understanding the role of the nervous system in inflammatory reactions

In addition to sensing painful stimuli, the peripheral nervous system can also drive inflammatory diseases such as arthritis. Members of the Department of Pharmacology are interested in the role of the nervous system in generating and maintaining inflammatory reactions.

State-of-the-art technologies such as intravital microscopy and laser speckle imaging are used to understand the pathophysiology of neuroinflammatory diseases and to assess the efficacy of next generation anti-inflammatory drugs.

Our team

Jason McDougall
jason.mcdougall@dal.ca
902-494-4066

George Robertson
george.robertson@dal.ca
902-494-1528