Using Systems Engineering to Model Neuropathic Pain (PhD Scholarship)

You'll receive a stipend scholarship of $32,500 per annum for a maximum duration of 3.5 years while undertaking a QUT PhD. This is the full-time, tax-free rate.

If you're an international student, you will also receive a tuition fee sponsorship for your research degree.

As the scholarship recipient, you will have the opportunity to work with a team of leading academic and industry researchers, to undertake your own innovative research in and across the field.

• Apply for this scholarship at the same time you apply for admission to a QUT research degree / Doctor of Philosophy / professional doctorate .
• The first step is to email Dr Veronica Gray detailing your academic and research background, your motivation to research in this field and interest in this scholarship, and include your CV.
• If supported to apply, you will then submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) following the advice at How to apply for a research degree .
• In your EOI, list Dr Veronica Gray as your proposed principal supervisor, and copy the link to this scholarship wesbite into question 2 of the financial details section.

Neuropathic pain effects “1 in every 10 adults over the age of 30”. The treatments available for neuropathic pain can at best be described as having “moderate efficacy”. Due to the nature of neuropathic pain, the ability to scientifically study and understand its fundamental causes has been limited to animal models and trials. There are over 27 animal models for neuropathic pain where pain has been induced by macroscopic & microscopic nerve lesions, chemotherapy, viral infections and diabetes mellitus.

Looking at clinical studies, the current research process is to propose a model, conduct animal tests and then evaluate whether the original model is consistent with results. This is difficult as it requires humans to evaluate pain in animals which cannot be directly measured. This process is not systematic in the way it comes up with models and has thus resulted in many models of limited effectiveness.

This project proses to take a Systems Architecture and Systems Engineering approach to neuropathic pain. Systems Architecture and Engineering is used to manage large complex engineering problems with thousands of components, relationships, constraints and details. This project will use this systematic, searchable, analysable modelling technique to examine neuropathic pain.

The project will use Matlab Simulink and Systems Composer to map the following neuropathic pain models into one architecture.

Peripheral Nerve Injury Models:

• Axotomy model (complete sciatic nerve transection; neuroma model)
• Chronic constriction injury
• Partial sciatic nerve ligation (PSL/Seltzer model)
• Spinal nerve ligation
• Spared nerve ligation
• Tibial and sural nerve transection
• Sciatic cryoneurolysis
• Caudal trunk resection
• Sciatic inflammatory neuritis
• Cuffing or sciatic nerve-induced pain
• Photochemical induced sciatic nerve injury
• Laser-induced sciatic nerve injury
• Central Pain Models
• Weight drop or contusive SCI (Allen’s model)
• Excitotoxic spinal cord injury
• Photochemical SCI
• Spinal hemisection

The model will incorporate anatomy, electro-processes (nerve conduction), and chemical processes. Once the models are incorporated into a single System Architecture it will be analysed.

The analysis will look at:

• the limits of the models. This will help to identify what has been and has not been considered in the current models.
• whether there are common points in multiple models. This will identify potentially critical points for new models.
• identify upstream and downstream points not previously considered in pain models that could be targets for new therapies.
• use the model to develop more efficient pathways and new pathways to consider for neuropathic pain.