Biography
Philippe Séguéla is Full Professor in the department of Neurology & Neurosurgery of McGill University. Trained in neuroscience in France, Canada and the US, his world-renowned research is funded by CIHR, NSERC and private foundations and has been primarily focused on ion channels contributing to neuronal hyperexcitability in pain circuits. His lab at the Montreal Neurological Institute uses a state-of-the-art multidisciplinary approach including molecular pharmacology, transgenic mouse models, optogenetics, chemogenetics, calcium imaging, electrophysiology and quantitative behavioral sensory assays to investigate key pathophysiological mechanisms in peripheral and central pain pathways. The goal of Philippe Séguéla's team and his collaborators is to understand the molecular and cellular basis for the somatosensory deficits observed in persistent pain and persistent itch patients, as a way to provide a solid rationale for the development of much-needed effective analgesic therapies.