Professor David Bennett

Professor David Bennett is a Senior Research Fellow of Green Templeton College. He is Professor of Neurology and Neurobiology at Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, Senior Wellcome Clinical Scientist, and Honorary Consultant Neurologist.

My research aim is to gain a better understanding of the response of the nervous system to injury in order to develop strategies to promote peripheral nerve repair and to prevent the development of neuropathic pain. This is complementary to my clinical interest in peripheral neuropathy and as such links with my specialist neuropathy clinical service at the Oxford University Hospitals. I employ a variety of techniques including cell culture, preclinical transgenic models and transcriptional profiling as well as biomarker, psychophysical and genetic studies in neuropathy patients. This research programme is leading to a better understanding of the signaling events required for effective nerve repair and improved means of patient stratification. I have been involved in understanding the genetic basis of inherited painful channelopathies (for instance familial episodic pain syndrome due to TRPA1 mutations) and in the description and validation of novel pain mediators such as NGF and CXCL5. In the case of NGF a monoclonal antibody aimed at this factor has shown efficacy in phase 3 clinical trials. I am a member of the London Pain Consortium, a PI on the Innovative Medicines Initiatives ‘Stembancc’ and I am vice director of the ‘Europain’ IMI project.

Contact: david.bennett@ndcn.ox.ac.uk
PA: pa@ndcn.ox.ac.uk