Members

Pain and Autonomic regulation. Basic neurobiology to experimental medicine and clinical trials.

Investigating functional neuroimaging in health and disease specifically role of pharmaco-imaging. Assessing non joint pain in people with rheumatoid arthritis and response to novel treatment with QST and neuroimaging.
Device development-PI for the Wellcome Trust, Translation of Concept Scheme-Institutional Translational Partnership Award (ITPA) developing a novel MR safe quantitative sensory testing device to assess peripheral and central sensitisation in musculoskeletal chronic pain.
Impact of immersive VR on pain processing and pain related patient outcomes.
Interested in understanding and developing Wearable Sensor based Technology and Brain stimulation for treating pain and related phenomenon

My research area of interest is in the field of neurorehabilitation technologies for supporting people with neurological conditions or injuries to learn, re-learn, and recover motor functions, with special focus on gait, postural control, and upper-limb function.

Focus areas: functional electrical stimulation systems and rehabilitation robots to support gait rehabilitation and grasping of tetraplegic and hemiparetic patients, assistive technologies, assessment technologies, gaming technologies, and their combinations. Also, mechanisms that result on sensory-motor impairments and recovery after injury, including central pattern generators and neural plasticity.

I have conducted research on pain and its management for over 30 years. Areas of interest include response to electrophysical agents, individuality and pain, perceptual embodiment, epidemiology, pain education, pain and art, community-support-programmes for pain, and painogencity (health promotion). Methodologies include evidence syntheses (e.g., Cochrane reviews, meta-ethnography), human response to stimuli (quantitative sensory testing) and clinical trials. I have a long-standing interest in transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) and deliver a distance learning MSc module on Foundation Neuromodulation (implantable devices).

My research focuses on understanding the brain mechanisms that underpin human sensorimotor function. My research utilises a range of approaches, including state-of-the-art MR imaging and spectroscopy, magnetoencephalography, and non-invasive brain stimulation to investigate the pathophysiology of common mental/brain health conditions. A key focus is developing the next generation of novel therapeutic approaches for mental/brain health conditions based on wearable technology and non-invasive brain stimulation. To this end I am a founding Non-Executive Director, and Chief Scientific Officer, of Neurotherapeutics Ltd.

My main interest is in understanding how our body representation changes in the brain (brain plasticity). Our primary model for brain plasticity is hand function and dysfunction, and how we could use technology to increase hand functionality in able and disabled individuals at all ages.