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BIDDEFORD, Maine

Geoffrey Ganter awarded grant to study pain treatment

Geoffrey Ganter, Ph.D., Professor of Biology in the College of Arts and Sciences, was recently awarded a $443,490 Academic Research Enhancement Award (R15) to study novel targets for treating pain using the fruit fly. The award for his project, “Characterization of the BMP signaling pathways that produce nociceptor sensitization in Drosophila,” comes from National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, a division of the National Institutes of Health.

Uncontrolled pain is a significant public health problem in the United States. The economic burden of pain-associated costs in the United States is estimated to be over $600 billion annually. Many therapies commonly used to treat pain are not always efficacious, or have negative side effects, especially in the long term. In an effort to identify new targets for pain-related therapies, Ganter is using genetic and molecular approaches in a fly model to study a pathway involved in chronic pain development. More than 75% of all human disease genes described have orthologs in the fly genome, making the fly a practical model in which to study disease.  Specifically, he plans to focus on the role Bone Morphogenetic Protein (BMP) ligands in nociceptive sensitization.  There is some evidence that BMP signaling components could play a role in human pain, thus making them optimal targets for therapeutic interventions.

Ganter is a member of The Center of Biomedical Research Excellence for the Study of Pain and Sensory Function and his research is financially supported by a COBRE NIGMS grant (P20GM103643).

About the University of New England

The University of New England is Maine’s largest independent university, with two beautiful coastal campuses in Maine, a one-of-a-kind study abroad campus in Tangier, Morocco, and an array of flexible, accredited online degrees. In an uncommonly welcoming and supportive community, we offer hands-on learning, empowering students to make a positive impact in a world full of challenges. The state’s top provider of health professionals, we are home to Maine’s only medical college, Maine’s only dental college, a variety of other interprofessionally aligned health care degree programs, as well as nationally recognized programs for marine science degrees, natural and social sciences degrees, arts and humanities degrees, and business degrees.