The central NPZ is designed with three interconnected objectives: 1. It supervises the training scheme for Clinician, Advanced Clinician and Medical Scientists. 2. It further develops three methodical platforms that are central to this consortium: a) advanced structural and functional MRI of the human dorsal root ganglia (DRG) and peripheral nerves, b) skin biopsy analyses, and c) blood biomarkers. 3. It sets up longitudinal clinical observational studies on a) CRPS, b) chronic postsurgical pain in patients after abdominal hernia repair, and c) inflammatory bowel disease. Three studies will provide other projects with patient samples. This approach allows prospective, longitudinal data collection and provides biomaterials for basic science projects to evaluate their findings in a translational approach. The educational goal of the NPZ is to prepare the next generation of (Advanced) Clinician and Medical Scientists. The MRI platform extends human high‐resolution DRG imaging by including functional MRI of the DRG, a technique uniquely developed at our site. The skin and blood platforms will serve clinical studies by using newly established methods from the last funding period and by developing new ‐omics‐based technologies. Data within different domains (molecular‐cellular, imaging, clinical, and long‐term pain outcomes) will be integrated and analysed through bioinformatics modelling to gain insight into the acrossdisease injury patterns and mechanisms of pain resolution.
DFG Programme
Clinical Research Units
Major Instrumentation
Spektral FACS
Instrumentation Group
3500 Zellzähl- und Klassiergeräte (außer Blutanalyse), Koloniezähler
