Jamie is Clinical Fellow at Newcastle Dental School with a special interest in treating orofacial pain. Jamie graduated fin 2013 with an MRes in nanomedicine and a Bachelor’s degree in Dental Surgery.
Since then he has secured funding from the RCS Glasgow, the ISSF Wellcome Trust and Newcastle COHR to improve our understanding of the neuro-inflammatory processes taking place during toothache and phantom tooth pain.
Most recently he received a fellowship from the Newcastle BRC to develop an in vitro model of dental pulp tissue. This research will hopefully allow the development of new therapeutics for orofacial pain patients.
My research focuses on orofacial pain.
June 2018 – International Association of Dental Research Conference London: oral presentation on preliminary research investigating role of neuropeptides in pulpal inflammation.
March 2019 – International Association of Dental Research Conference Vancouver: poster presentation on the role of the kynurenine pathway in pulpal inflammation.
For me it is not just about living the extra years that medicine is giving us, but making sure these are quality years where we can still do all the things we enjoy.
Research in dentistry is not as common than for other healthcare professions. Whilst doing my undergraduate degree in dentistry I carried out; a summer internship in research, an elective which was research based, and a Masters in Research. After I became qualified, I took a year out and went into hospital and worked in head and neck surgery. I unfortunately saw a lot of patients in that service that were routinely returning with persistent conditions that there really Is not a cure for.
My research focuses on phantom tooth pain. This is when patients might have had a tooth removed, however the pain continues. It has a similar impact on quality of life as depression and osteoarthritis. Currently there is no treatment for this and it is often managed through interventions that are primarily used to target other things e.g. antidepressants and Cognitive Behaviour Therapy.
I think it is brilliant. It opens up lots of opportunities and supports personal and professional development. The BRC is essential as it helps get the early biomedical data to get the first translational gap crossed.
The Adapt and Grow programme. This is a programme offered by NIHR where you are assigned a one-to-one coach for 6 months. It is a great opportunity where you can speak about difficulties in your research and developing plans to overcome them. It was really useful to have a sounding board that is not linked to your research. It really helps build resilience in managing setbacks and build confidence.
I would encourage people to take opportunities like this. Although initially it seems like it is taking time out of your research, the benefits you get out of it outweigh. As it means the next time you have a challenging task or setback, you might be more prepared as a result of this.
I’m a big foodie; I love to eat food and sometimes I make it to.
I love ale which I have discovered in my time in the northeast. It is a great place to walk, where you can usually find a pub at the end.
