Chronic pain affects millions of people worldwide, yet current treatments often only ease symptoms rather than addressing the underlying causes. Now, Karolinska Institutet researcher Saida Hadjab has received a second prestigious grant from the Novo Nordisk Foundation to develop a new type of therapy that could help reverse the biological processes that drive persistent pain.
Saida Hadjab, principal researcher at Karolinska Institutet, has been awarded her second Novo Nordisk Foundation Pioneer Innovator Grant. The prestigious grant, worth approximately SEK 1.7 million, will support a one-year project entitled Molecular Switches for Reversing Chronic Pain.
The Pioneer Innovator Grant Sustainability & Health programme supports research discoveries with commercial potential and helps researchers translate promising scientific findings into innovations that may benefit society and healthcare.
For Hadjab and her team, the funding will enable the development and testing of novel compounds that could form the basis of future treatments for chronic pain.
"We are honoured to receive this grant from the Novo Nordisk Foundation and to have our work selected for support. Our aim is to contribute to the development of new treatments that could ultimately improve the lives of millions of people affected by chronic pain," says Saida Hadjab , research group leader and principal researcher at the Department of Neuroscience , KI.
Targeting the causes of chronic pain
The project builds on discoveries from Hadjab's research programme, which has identified previously unknown molecular mechanisms that help maintain the cellular state associated with chronic pain.
While many existing pain medicines focus on reducing symptoms, they do not address the biological processes that allow pain to persist over time. That is what the researchers are aiming to achieve through their work.
"We have identified new mechanisms that sustain the cellular state underlying chronic pain, and our work now focuses on developing disease-modifying molecules that can target these mechanisms," says pioneer innovator Saida Hadjab.
The new grant will support efforts to evaluate whether these compounds can alter the biological processes that drive chronic pain, bringing the research closer to proof-of-concept and future therapeutic development.
An important step towards future treatments
Chronic pain is a major global health challenge that affects millions of people and can have a profound impact on quality of life. Despite its prevalence, there remains a significant need for more effective treatments.
Through the Pioneer Innovator Grant, Hadjab's team will advance promising laboratory discoveries towards potential clinical applications. By developing and testing novel compounds, the researchers hope to lay the groundwork for innovative therapies that could one day provide better treatment options for people living with chronic pain.
The project represents an important step in translating fundamental scientific discoveries into solutions with the potential to improve health and wellbeing on a larger scale.
