Bionics Institute PhD candidate Ethan Duff has been awarded a Cybec Foundation scholarship to progress his studies in the development of a device that could provide a new type of treatment for chronic pain.
“I am incredibly grateful to the Cybec Foundation for this generous scholarship,” Ethan said.
“This support will enable me to continue pursuing our promising investigations into pain signal transmission.”
Ethan is supervised by Professor Rachael Richardson, who leads the team in investigating the use of optogenetic techniques to selectively activate or suppress nerve activity.
Optogenetics is a technique that uses light to control the activity of nerve cells and can be combined with electricity to stimulate nerves in the development of new therapies for conditions such as hearing loss and chronic pain.
Ethan’s PhD studies involve using light-sensitive proteins to alter the transmission of pain signals before they reach the central nervous system, paving the way for a novel therapy for chronic pain that is more targeted than existing therapies.
“Chronic pain affects 1 in 4 people worldwide, and current medications are often inadequate,” he said.
“Developing a therapy that reduces the reliance on pain medications could have a huge impact on individuals living with chronic pain.”
To find out more about this research, go to: https://www.bionicsinstitute.org/our-research/autoimmune-and-chronic-disease/a-drug-free-approach-to-relieve-chronic-pain/
