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The New Yorker features our Head of Department Professor Irene Tracey, and her research into the neuroscience of pain.

© Rebecca Rumble

New Yorker journalist Nicola Twilley came over to Oxford in February to meet Irene Tracey and find out about her life's work on the neuroscience of pain. She was lucky enough to experience the MRI scanner in our Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, as well as spending some time in the clinical pain testing lab.

...this is everything I’ve been looking for. It’s got clinical application, interesting philosophy, and we know absolutely nothing...Right, that’s it, pain is going to be my thing.
- Professor Irene Tracey, Head of Department

The feature length article covers the genesis of Irene's interest in pain, and charts her experiments over the years that have earned her the nickname 'Queen of Pain' in the research community.

Twilley presents a fascinating insight into Irene's work, concluding that 'her findings have already changed our understanding of pain; now they promise to transform its diagnosis and treatment, a shift whose effects will be felt in hospitals, courtrooms, and society at large.'

Read the full article on the New Yorker website