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Stephen Thompson

 

Staff card photograph

Dr Stephen Thompson

  • Job title: Associate Professor (Senior Lecturer) in Biomedical Sciences, School of Biomedical and Biological Sciences (Faculty of Science and Technology)
  • Address: Room 403, Davy Building, Drake Circus,
    Plymouth, Devon, PL4 8AA
  • Email: stephen.thompson@plymouth.ac.uk


Qualifications & background

2003-2004 Lecturer. School of Biological Sciences. University of Plymouth.

1999-2003 Lecturer. Division of Physiology & Centre for Neuroscience Research, King’s College London.

1995-1999 MRC Career Development Award Research Fellow

Department of Physiology. St. Thomas’ Hospital Medical School (UMDS). London.

1992-1995 Research Fellow. Novartis Institute for Medical Research. London.

1985-1992 Postdoctoral Research Assistant. Department of Anatomy & Developmental Biology. University College London

1982-1985 University of Glasgow, Institute of Physiology, PhD. (Neuroscience)

1978-1982 University of Dundee, Institute of Biomedical Science. BSc. Physiology

 



Research interests

Research interests focus on the fundamental molecular, cellular and systems mechanisms that underlie dysfunction within the damaged vertebrate central and peripheral nervous systems, its repair mechanisms and regeneration responses. One theme of this work is to understand mechanisms which may contribute to chronic pain states. Another is to investigate mechanisms that underlie impaired regeneration within the injured or diseased central nervous system.

The goal of these studies is to promote the re-establishment of normal cell function under circumstances where the physical or metabolic environment may be non-permissive to repair.

 

UoP Research group membership

Centre for Research in Translational Biomedicine (CRTB) 
Trans-technology 

Grants & contracts

1999-2002

£104,354.00

Action Research ‘Sympathetico-sensory coupling as a therapeutic target in chronic neuropathic pain’

2000-2002

£ 95,000.00

Royal College of Anaesthetists. ‘Spinal Analgesic Actions of Cannabinoids’ (With A. Rice)

2001-2004

£226,000.00

Wellcome Trust. ‘The role of IL-6 in regeneration of adult mammalian sensory neurons’.

2002-2007

£5,456,837.00

Wellcome Trust. ‘Integrative Animal & Human Physiology Initiative in Pain’ (With A. Dickenson; M.Fitzgerald, S.Hunt,M.Koltzenburg; S.McMahon; C.Orengo; A.Rice & J.Wood)

 


Publications

Refereed Journal Articles, 1999-present


 

1. Thaker MA., Clark, AK., Bishop T., Grist J., Yip PK., Moon LDF., Thompson SWN., Marchand F. and McMahon SB. (2008). CCL2 is a key mediator of microglia activation in neuropathic pain states. Eur. J. Pain (2008), doi:10.1016/j.ejpain.2008.04.017

2. S.Averill, J.J.Inglis, V.R. King, S.W.N. Thompson., W.B.J. Cafferty, P.J. Shortland., S.P.Hunt, B.L.Kidd and J.V.Priestley. (2008). Reg-2 expression in dorsal root ganglion neurons after adjuvant-induced monoarthritis. Neuroscience (in Press).

3. Thompson S.W.N. (2006). Clinical Pain, Experimental Evidence: Molecular Mechanisms within the Spinal Cord. In ‘Topical Issues in Pain’ Vol 5. no.6. Pub. The Physiotherapy Pain Association. Edit. L.Gifford. CNS Press Ltd.

4. Abdou-Sherif S., Hall, S., Thompson S.W.N. & Hamann, W. (2006). Pulsed radiofrequency applied to dorsal root ganglia causes a selective increase in ATF3 in small neurons European Journal of Pain 10. 171-176.

5. Qiu, J. Cafferty, W.B.J., McMahon, S.B. and S.W.N. Thompson (2005) Conditioning-injury induced spinal cord regeneration requires STAT3 activation Journal of Neuroscience 25: 1645-1653.

6. Cafferty,W.B.J., Gardiner, N.J., Das, P., Qiu, J. McMahon,S.B. & Thompson,S.W.N. (2004) Conditioning-Injury induced spinal axon regeneration fails in IL-6 Knockout mice. Journal of Neuroscience 24 (18) 4432-4443

7. Slack,S. Pezet, S., McMahon,S.B. Thompson,S.W.N. & Malcagnio,M. (2004) Brain-derived Neurotrophic factor induces NMDA receptor subunit one phosphorylation via ERK and PKC in the spinal cord. Eur. J. Neurosci.. 20. 1769-1778.

8. J. W. Brooks, S.W.N. Thompson, A.S.C. Rice, & M. Malcangio. (2004) (S)-AMPA inhibits electrically evoked calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) release from the rat dorsal horn: reversal by cannabinoid receptor antagonist SR141716A. Neurosci Lett. 372(1-2):85-88.

9. Pezet,S., Lever,I.J., Malcangio,M., Perkinton,M., Thompson,S.W.N., Williams,R.J., & McMahon,S.B. (2002). Noxious stimulation induces TrkB receptor and down-stream ERK phosphorylation in the spinal dorsal horn. Mol. & Cell Neuroscience. 21 (4) 684-695.

10. Slack,S. and Thompson,S.W.N. (2002) BDNF induces NMDA receptor 1 phosphorylation in rat spinal cord. Neuroreport 13. 1967-1970.

11. Gardiner,N.J, Cafferty, W.B.J., Slack, S.E. & Thompson,S.W.N. (2002) Expression of gp130 and leukemia inhibitory factor receptor subunits in adult sensory neurons: regulation by nerve injury. J. Neurochem. 83 (1) 100-109.

12. Thompson,S.W.N. (2001). Is the Sympathetic Nervous system a pain? Neurosci. News 4 (3) 35-41.

13. Kerr B.J., Thomspon,S.W.N., McMahon,S.B. & Wynick,D (2001). Endogenous Galanin is necessary for the full expression of central sensitisation following peripheral nerve injury. Neuroreport 12 (15) :3331-3334.

14. Cafferty,W.B.J., Gardiner,N.J. Gavazzi,I., Powell,J., McMahon,S.B., Heath,J.K., Munson,J., Cohen,J and Thompson, S.W.N. (2001). Leukemia Inhibitory Factor determines the growth status of injured adult sensory neurons. Journal of Neuroscience. 21 (18) 7161-7170.

15. Wynick,D, Thompson,S.W.N., & McMahon, (2001) The role of galanin as a multi-functional neuropeptide in the nervous system. Current Opinion in Pharmacology. 1. 73-77.

16. Kerr B.J., Gupta,Y., Pope,R., Thomspon,S.W.N., Wynick,D and McMahon,S.B. (2001) Endogenous galanin potentiates spinal nociceptive processing following inflammation. Pain 93. 267-277.

17. Bridges, D., Thompson, S.W.N., and Rice, A.S.C. (2001) Mechanisms of neuropathic pain. Br.J.Anaesth. 87(1) 12-26.

18. Kerr,B.,J., Wynick,D., Thompson,S.W.N, and McMahon,S.B. (2000). The biological role of galanin in normal and neuropathic states. Prog. Brain Res. 129. 219-230

19. Boucher,T.J., Kerr,B.J., Ramer,M.S., Thompson,S.W.N. McMahon S.B. (2000) Neurotrophic factor effects on pain-signalling systems. Proc.9th World Congress on Pain. Vienna. Progress in Pain Research & Management Vol.16, Edit. Devor,M., Rowbotham,M.C. and Wiesenfeld-Hallin,S.

20. Thompson, S.W.N. and Tonge.D., (2000) Bone Cancer: gain without the Pain. Nature Medicine 6 (5) 504-505

21. Kerr,B., Cafferty,W.B.J., Gupta,Y.K., Bacon,A., Wynick,D., McMahon,S.B., and Thompson,S.W.N., (2000) Galanin Knockout mice reveal nociceptive deficits following peripheral nerve injury (Eur.J Neuroscience)12, 793-802.

22. Ramer,M.S., Thompson,S.W.N., and McMahon,S.B., (1999) Causes and Consequences of sympathetico-sensory coupling in the dorsal root ganglion. Pain Suppl.6 S111-S120

23. Thompson, S.W.N. , Bennett, D.L.H. , Kerr, B.J., Bradbury, EJ. and McMahon,S.B. (1999) BDNF is an Endogenous Modulator of Nociceptive Responses in the Spinal Cord. Proceedings of the National Acadamy of Sciences. USA. 96. 7714-7718.

24. Kerr,B., Trivedi, P.M., Dassan, P., Bradbury,E., French,J., Shelton,D.B., Bennett, D.B.M, McMahon,S.B. and Thompson, S.W.N. (1999) Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor Modulates Nociceptive Sensory Inputs and NMDA-evoked Responses in the Rat Spinal Cord. Journal of Neuroscience 19(12) 5138-5148

25. Jones M G., Munson JB. and Thompson S W.N. (1999). The role of Nerve Growth Factor in Sympathetic Sprouting in rat Dorsal Root Ganglia. Pain. 79 21-29