About Us
Scientific Director, Michael G. DeGroote Institute for Pain Research and Care
Message from the scientific director
Welcome to the Michael G. DeGroote Institute for Pain Research and Care. The institute seeks to fund research and initiatives that will ultimately improve the quality of life for those living with chronic pain. Through investigation, education and implementation, we work collaboratively with different stakeholder groups from across the country to create opportunities to network, grow and learn.
About Us
Pain is central to many medical conditions and ailments and has tremendous impact on quality of life, health care costs and economic productivity. However, the cause of pain is often uncertain, many existing treatments are only modestly effective and new and more effective therapies are urgently needed.
One area of concern is the development of persistent pain after surgery, which is particularly common after cardiac, breast cancer and orthopedic surgery. The Michael G. DeGroote Institute for Pain Research and Care is a world-class institute with a focus on exploring causes of chronic post-surgical pain, developing new strategies for its prevention and innovative care for patients. The Institute was made possible as a result of the DeGroote family gift.
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Mission
The mission of the Michael G. DeGroote Institute for Pain Research and Care is to become a cutting-edge institute in the field of chronic pain and to establish a network of researchers and trainees in the field.
Vision
To further the understanding of the origins and management of chronic pain by bringing together behavioural, clinical and basic scientists to explore underlying mechanisms and therapeutic paradigms.
A Unique Approach
Once chronic pain has developed, it is extremely difficult to establish the causes. The model of chronic post-surgical pain overcomes this challenge, in that we can conduct comprehensive assessments of patients scheduled to undergo surgery and before they have developed chronic pain. Surgery is a controlled injury that occurs on a scheduled date and is therefore an invaluable model to establish causal factors for the development of chronic pain and explore promising strategies to prevent its’ development.
To ensure that research is accountable to the needs of patients and clinicians, it is the Institute’s policy to recruit experts in clinical care. This brings to the Institute’s cadre a number of the country’s leading clinicians in the area of arthritis, cardiology, gastroenterology, internal medicine, neurology, population health, surgery and others.