Alfredo Ribeiro Da Silva

Dr. Ribeiro-da-Silva received his MD and PhD in Porto, Potugal. His main research interest is the unravelling of the mechanisms underlying chronic pain, both in the central and peripheral nervous systems. He is particularly interested in animal models of arthritis pain and of neuropathic pain. Methods used in his lab include: immunocytochemistry at the light and electron microscopic levels, animal behaviour testing, and neurochemistry. He uses advanced tools such as replication deficient viral vectors to study synaptic circuits in the spinal cord and their changes in pain states. He is also the investigating the effects of modulating the endogenous levels of neurotrophic factors as a potential therapeutic approach for arthritis and neuropathic pain. He is a core member of the Alan Edwards Centre for Research on Pain and an investigator of the Quebec Pain Research Network (QPRN).