Improving Nerve Repair and Pain: A Podcast With Fiona Boissonade

Editor’s note: Fiona Boissonade, PhD, is Professor of Neuroscience and Director of Impact and External Engagement at the University of Sheffield School of Clinical Dentistry, UK. She is also an executive member of the University of Sheffield Neuroscience Institute and leads the Institute’s “Technology: Devices and autonomous systems” cross-cutting theme.

Dr. Boissonade has a major research interest in the mechanisms of altered neuronal excitability that contribute to the development of chronic pain. Much of this research has been done at the academic-industrial interface. Collaborations with GSK, Pfizer, Daiichi Sankyo and Eli Lilly have funded a wide range of translational studies, using preclinical (in vitro and in vivo) models and human tissues to identify and validate a range of regulators of neuronal excitability as potential targets for the development of novel analgesics and anti-inflammatory therapeutics. Dr. Boissonade also has significant expertise in nerve regeneration. This work investigates methods of improving nerve repair through the use of a range of therapeutic agents, bioengineered conduits and cell therapies. Other projects include investigation of neuronal-stromal interactions in tumor progression and wound healing.

In this podcast, Dr. Boissonade speaks with PRF Correspondent Frederick Jones, CASE PhD student, University of Leeds, UK, and Eli Lilly & Co, US, to discuss her work in the area of nerve repair and pain, the importance of bridging the translational divide in research, and more.