Pain Research
A large number of different stimuli such as heat, cold, and pressure trigger the perception of pain. In addition, also inflammatory mediators, growth factors, hormones, protons and various chemicals activate pain-initiating nociceptors. How do nociceptors detect these stimuli? How do nociceptors convert and compute these very different stimuli into activity of intracellular signaling cascades? How can this signal processing be modulated to be used therapeutically?
The Translational Pain Research unit uses innovative microscopy-based methods such as automated high High Content Screening (HCS) Microscopy, to investigate signaling events in hundreds of thousands of neurons. In international collaborations, we combine these approaches with transcriptome analyses, optogenetic activation, viral expression of reporters, conditional knockout mouse models, computer-based modelling and electrophysiological analyses to learn how nociceptive neurons compute pain-initiating impulses. In interaction not least with the pain center of the university hospital of Cologne, we are thus trying to identify new pain mechanisms and stimulate new therapeutic approaches.
Publications
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Instruments of Translational Pain Research
Funding & Cooperations
Therapy-oriented visualisation of pain using PET tracers (PAIN-Vis)
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