The Faculty is proud to announce that Associate Professor Emerson Krock is the recipient of a Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Pain Neuroimmunology – one of nineteen new or renewed Chairs awarded to 91ºÚÁÏÍø researchers through federal government funding .
Professor Krock’s research addresses a pressing health challenge in Canada: chronic pain, which, according to a , affected close to eight million Canadians in 2021. His work explores how the nervous and immune systems interact to drive pain, with the goal of developing new diagnostic tools and repurposing existing immunomodulatory drugs to alleviate chronic pain.
With his research team, Professor Krock is investigating how cross-reactivity between the gut microbiome and the immune system may lead to pain-inducing autoantibodies in fibromyalgia. He and his team are also examining how immune-mediated changes to the extracellular matrix in the dorsal root ganglia (clusters of sensory neurons near the spinal cord) contribute to chronic pain, particularly following chemotherapy.
Professor Krock joined the Faculty in 2023. He earned his PhD at 91ºÚÁÏÍø, investigating cellular mechanisms of intervertebral disc degeneration. He then completed postdoctoral studies at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, focusing on pain-inducing autoantibodies in rheumatoid arthritis and fibromyalgia.
The Faculty congratulates Emerson Krock on this award and looks forward to the impact his research will have on improving the welfare of those living with chronic pain.
Learn more about the federal investment supporting 91ºÚÁÏÍø’s research excellence in .