Future Leaders in Pain Research

2008 Grant Recipient: Edgar Alfonso Romero-Sandoval, MD PhD

Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center
Lebanon, NH
Cannabinoids and glial interactions in acute and chronic pain

Please state which institution you are currently conducting research.

Dartmouth Medical School

How did receiving the Future Leaders in Pain Research Grant impact your career in pain research?

I have published one book chapter and one original research article with this grant. Two more papers have recently been submitted to international pain journals and are currently under consideration for publication. Additionally, this grant was pivotal to obtain the APS/Rita Allen Foundation award in 2011. Together with the Rita Allen Foundation award the APS Future Leaders in Pain Research grant are helping me to produce data for an R01 application.

What is your current research focus? Briefly describe the importance of this work and how it advances the APS goals, mission, and your own personal development.

My current research is focused on the mechanisms that allow the resolution of acute pain as the basis of potential mechanisms underlying the transition from acute to chronic pain. More specifically I am interested in the functions of MAP kinases phosphatases (MKPs) and the endocannabinoid system in rodent models of pain. I believe that by confirming the participation of MKPs or the endocannabinoid system in the mechanisms that allow a normal resolution of pain following peripheral insults (such as surgeries or nerve injury) will pave the road to novel strategies to prevent the development of chronic pain. My studies may contribute to develop novel pharmacological approaches or to identify biomarkers that can predict the risk of developing chronic pain following surgery. My studies contribute to better understand the complex mechanisms underlying the transition from acute to chronic pain, and therefore contributes to achieve the goals and mission of the APS. Likewise, these contributions to the pain research field enrich my personal and professional development.

Are you still an APS member? If yes, do you feel that it has been of value to your professional development?

Yes, I am still a member of the APS. Without the confidence of the APS, which have funded my ideas, I would not have definitively been able to stay in the research arena. Therefore, being part of the APS has been instrumental in my professional career.