Alessandro Mirra

Ph.D. (doctor), Regular member

Expertise
Anaesthesia

Principal Interest
Other

Secondary Interest
Quantitative sensory testing

Primary Affiliation

Université de Montréal

Secondary Affiliation
None

Biography

Dr. Alessandro Mirra graduated in Veterinary Medicine from the University of Naples (Italy) in 2013. After completing a rotating internship in 2014, he pursued a residency in Veterinary Anaesthesia and Analgesia (2015–2017) at the Vetsuisse Faculty of the University of Bern (Switzerland), becoming a Diplomate of the European College of Veterinary Anaesthesia and Analgesia (ECVAA) in 2018. He then completed a PhD (2019–2022) at the same institution, followed by a two-year postdoctoral fellowship. His interest has progressively expanded from conventional Western approaches to include Eastern therapeutic practices such as acupuncture, with the conviction that ancient strategies still hold untapped potential in improving animal welfare. Since January 2025, Dr. Mirra has been working as an Assistant Professor in the Anesthesiology Section at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Montreal.

Why did you choose to study pain management?

We deal with pain every day, and despite the incredible progress made over the years, there’s still so much we don’t fully understand. This is particularly true for animals, where the challenges are even greater, whether in clinical or experimental settings. The diversity of species, the individual variability in pain expression, and the impossibility of direct communication make the recognition and assessment of pain especially complex. My goal is to help bridge this gap. I wish to contribute to the development of more reliable, objective methods to recognise pain, and to explore integrative approaches that may enhance pain management.