Dr Pao-Sheng (Paul) Chang has been awarded a Postdoctoral Non-Clinical Early Career Fellowship by The Guarantors of Brain, a charity that aims to promote teaching, education and research into the science of neurology and related clinical-academic disciplines. The three-year fellowship will support his ongoing postdoctoral research into neuro-immune interactions in the context of human neuropathic (nerve-related) pain.
Neuropathic pain is a devastating condition that affects 6 million people in the UK, commonly caused by diabetic neuropathy, or entrapment neuropathies including sciatica, carpal tunnel syndrome and Morton’s neuroma. The currently available pharmacological treatments, such as opioids and gabapentin, provide only limited benefits and come with addictive side effects.
Dr Chang’s research aims to further investigate the specific role of glucocorticoid-induced macrophage (MGC): an anti-inflammatory and pro-fibrotic macrophage subpopulation, which has been well-studied in a cancer microenvironment, but not in human neuropathic pain. The scientific outputs during and beyond his fellowship will unveil the underlying macrophage-‘sensory neuron’ interactions in the disease progression of human neuropathic pain, potentially paving the way for the development of macrophage-specific interventions to manage neuropathic pain within the next decade.
Dr Chang has been affiliated to the Neuromusculoskeletal Health and Science Lab (NMHS) and Neural Injury Group in the Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences (NDCN). The research he is conducting during his fellowship will build beyond his co-first authored paper, published in PAIN in November 2024.
Dr Chang said:
“This research is important because the currently available pain treatments offer limited benefits and carry a risk of addiction. My research aims to advance our understanding of a specific ‘pain-associated’ macrophage subpopulation. This knowledge is crucial for developing macrophage-specific immunotherapies for patients suffering from a spectrum of neuropathic pain conditions.”
“I am delighted to accept this fellowship, which will enable me to deepen the investigation of neuro-immune interactions in relation to human neuropathic pain. It aligns perfectly with my long-term vocation of becoming a translational neuroimmunologist involved in the pharmaceutical developments to better manage a variety of devastating neurological disorders.”