This is going to hurt!

Pain has a necessary protective function. If we touch something hot or sharp, we quickly withdraw, which protects our body. However, pain can become chronic, no longer serving a protective mechanism, and instead is highly debilitating. Some individuals are born without the ability to feel pain, and can even undergo major surgery without analgesia! This may sound great; however, these individuals develop severe injuries as they do not protect themselves from damaging stimuli. Come and find out how I investigate these painful/painless conditions in a dish!

Injuries are a part of life, and we have evolved complex ways to recover after we’ve been hurt. But how does the body know that it’s been injured? How does this kickstart the process of repair and recovery? And what happens when the recovery process goes wrong? Come and find out how research into these fundamental aspects of damage responses is shaping the way we treat critically injured patients.