Dr Fiona Holmes

Dr Fiona Holmes
BSc, PhD (Kent)

Research Fellow
Research Fellow

Area of research

Mechanisms of neuropathic pain

Office C25/C26
Dept of Pharmacology,
C25/26, School of Medical Sciences BS8 1TD
(See a map)

Alt. +44 (0) 117 331 1425
Alt. +44 (0) 117 331 1424
Tel. +44 (0) 117 331 1420
f.e.holmes@bristol.ac.uk

Research summary

My main area of interest is to further understand the pathophysiology of neuropathic pain by studying the roles of factors that are differentially regulated in the dorsal root ganglion (DRG) following peripheral nerve damage. After injury to peripheral nerves there are changes in the expression of many factors - both in sensory neurons and non-neuronal cells (e.g. satellite glia and macrophages), that may contribute to the adaptive or maladaptive responses of the peripheral nervous sytem to injury, by modulating neuronal survival, regeneration and pain. I am particularly interested in the roles of chemokines, specifically CX3CL1, and the neuropeptide galanin. Much ...

Selected publications

Hobson, S, Bacon, A, Elliott-Hunt, C, Holmes, F, Kerr, N, Pope, R, Vanderplank, P & Wynick, D 2008, ‘Galanin acts as a trophic factor to the central and peripheral nervous systems’. Cell Mol Life Sci, vol 65., pp. 1806 - 1812
Kerr, N, Holmes, F & Wynick, D 2008, ‘Novel mRNA isoforms of the sodium channels Na(v)1.2, Na(v)1.3 and Na(v)1.7 encode predicted two-domain, truncated proteins’. Neuroscience, vol 155., pp. 797 - 808

Recent publications

Elliott-Hunt, CR, Holmes, F, Hartley, DM, Perez, S, Mufson, EJ & Wynick, D 2011, ‘Endogenous Galanin Protects Mouse Hippocampal Neurons Against Amyloid Toxicity in vitro via Activation of Galanin Receptor-2’. J Alzheimers Dis, vol 25(3)., pp. 455 - 462
Holmes, F, Armenaki, A, Lismaa, T, Einstein, E, Shine, J, Picciotto, M, Wynick, D & Zachariou, V 2011, ‘Galanin negatively modulates opiate withdrawal via galanin receptor 1’. Psychopharmacology (Berl).