Geoff Ganter, Ph.D., professor in the Department of Biology, College of Arts and Sciences, recently received a grant of $437,164.00 from the National Institute of Health (NIH), National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS). NINDS funds research on brain and nervous system disorders with the mission “to reduce the burden of neurological disease—a burden borne by every age group, every segment of society, and people all over the world”. Dr. Ganter’s project is titled, Characterization of the signaling pathways that produce nociceptor sensitization in Drosophila, and will provide funding for three years.
The Ganter Lab uses a model in Drosophila melanogaster (fruit flies), called injury-induced nociceptive sensitization. Because of the strong conservation between fruit flies and mammals at the genetic level, fruit flies provide an optimal model to investigate possible genes that are involved in chronic pain pathways. Like humans, fruit flies have nociceptors, sensory neurons that perceive painful stimuli, that become sensitized after UV injury to the epidermis. Pain alerts us to an injury, and when we are injured, our sensitivity to certain stimuli increases. This is called pain sensitization, and is normally beneficial, protecting us from further tissue damage. When this process is dysregulated, sensitization is thought to perpetuate chronic pain, which is a significant problem for millions of people. Treatment options for chronic pain are not always effective and can have debilitating side effects. Thus, finding specific genes involved in chronic pain development may lead to the discovery of more effective treatments of chronic pain.
To date The Ganter Lab has discovered more than a dozen gene targets in fruit flies involved in pain signaling, which are potential areas for further investigation in mammals. Dr. Ganter’s current award will do just this and determine if these genes are also involved in pain signaling in a rodent model.
Data generated for this grant application was generated with the support of pilot project received by Dr. Ganter from UNE’s Center of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) for the Study of Pain and Sensory Function, an existing NIH funded program at UNE (NIGMS grant number P20GM103643).