معرفی
Bradley J Kerr serves as an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine at the University of Alberta, conducting research on chronic pain mechanisms following CNS injury and in autoimmune diseases like multiple sclerosis. His work integrates behavioral, molecular, and systems-level approaches to investigate neuropathic pain pathways.
His educational credentials include:
- BPhD in Neuroscience from University of London-King's College (2001)
- BSc in Psychology from McGill University (1996)
Dr. Kerr's research centers on cellular and molecular mechanisms of chronic pain in spinal cord injury and MS, utilizing spinal contusion and EAE mouse models. Key investigations include sex differences in pain responses, neuroinflammation dynamics, endoplasmic reticulum stress in sensory neurons, and microglial regulation. His laboratory employs behavioral assays for pain and cognitive assessment alongside molecular and electrophysiological techniques to dissect pain pathogenesis.
Analysis of his recent publications reveals dominant themes in neuroimmune interactions in pain, with strong emphasis on sex-specific mechanisms, ion channel dysregulation, and molecular signatures in autoimmune pain models. His work consistently bridges basic neuroscience with clinical pain manifestations in MS and trauma.
His research is supported by:
- CIHR Project Grant
- MS Canada Discovery Grant
Dr. Kerr mentors five graduate students (Timothy Friedman, Aislinn Maguire, Olivia LaCaprara, Madelene Ho, Dania Andrade) and six undergraduate honors students (Jayadeep Rao, Lauren Hirak, Elise Gosse, Andrea Kucek, Elyse Willis, Tanja Penina) across Neuroscience, Pharmacology, and Physiology programs, alongside research technician Gustavo Tenorio. His teaching includes PMCOL 412 and PMCOL 343 courses.
The Kerr laboratory operates at the intersection of neuroimmunology and pain research, maintaining active projects on sex differences in pain processing, neuronal hyperexcitability in autoimmune conditions, and molecular targets for neuropathic pain intervention using transdisciplinary methodologies.