The application process has been completed

The school is organized by European Pain Federation, the Polish Association for the Study of Pain and the Maj Institute of Pharmacology, Polish Academy of Sciences in  Krakow, held every two years and the first three took place in 2015, 2017 and 2019. This year, after a break caused by the pandemic, we are organizing the 4 th EFFIC Pain School in  Krakow, which will take place on June 26-30.

Translational Pain School is a course aimed at early-career European medical doctors and allied health professionals who are interested in further developing their knowledge and expertise in the field of pain management. The course runs for 4-5 days and include basic research on the mechanisms of pain processes and the assessment, diagnosis, and comprehensive treatment of patients with pain.

Speakers: scientists active in the basic and clinical pain research (see: lecturers)

Maximal number of participants: 30 (Limited number of participants)

Grant applications (by April 2): Please note, that the European Pain Federation EFIC offers 15 grants for participants. The selection and evaluation of those will be made by the Educational Committee and approval by the Executive Board of EFIC. Grant applications are possible for all members of the national chapters of EFIC. People can apply via website link: EFIC Pain School on Translational Pain Research – European Pain Federation.

Participation in the school is also possible after applying to the organizers, justifying the choice of this school – the registration fee is 900 Euro. This fee includes hotel accommodation, meals, and participation in activities included in the school’s program.

Exclusively and only for people living in Krakow registration is possible without accommodation costs. Those interested are asked to contact the organizers.

If you have any questions on Krakow Pain School just email Katarzyna Starowicz-Bubak starow@if-pan.krakow.pl or Barbara Przewlocka barbara.przewlocka@gmail.com from organizing committee.

4th European Pain Federation Krakow Pain School on Translational Pain Research: From Lab to Clinic

Wednesday 26 June: Students’ arrivals day

17:30- 20:00 Student Presentations – getting to know each other. Moderators: Luis Villanueva, Luis Garcia-Larrea

Thursday 27 June: Lecturers’ arrival day

Workshop Day for Students
8:45 For students: Bus transfer from the hotel to Maj Institute of Pharmacology Polish Academy of Sciences (IF PAS)

9:15-9:30 Welcome, Małgorzata Filip, director – Research topics at IF PAS
9:30-9:45 Grzegorz Kreiner – Presentation on the new Center for Development of New Pharmacotherapies of Central Nervous System Disorders (CEPHARES)
9:45-10:15 Ilona Obara – Revisiting histamine system for neuropathic pain relief: Targeting H3R.
10:15-10:30 Coffee break

10:30-11:00 Luis Villanueva – translational studies showing how dysfunctional mechanisms of central origins play a crucial role in different types of sustained or chronic pain states

11.00-13.30 – Workshop, Pain testing in preclinical studies

11:00-11:30 – Katarzyna Starowicz-Bubak, Joanna Mika – Introduction to Methods Used in Pain Testing,
11:30-13:30 Workshop (Animal house): Measuring pain in animals – 3-4 groups
11:30-12:10 K. Pawlik, W. Makuch, J. Mika – Measuring nerve injury-related pain behavior in rats (Group 1)
12:10-12:50 K. Ciapała, A. Ciechanowska, A. Bober – Measuring oxaliplatin- and streptozotocin-induced pain behavior in mice (Group 2)
12:50-13:30 K. Popiołek-Barczyk, M. Białoń, K. Starowicz-Bubak – Measuring osteoartritis-related pain behavior in rats (Group 3)
Group 1 – 3 will rotate between demonstration labs
13:30 – 14:15 Lunch

14:30 Bus transfer from IF PAN to Institute of Psychology, Jagiellonian University (IP UJ)

15:00 – 15:10 Przemysław Bąbel – Welcome

15:10-17:40 – Workshop, Human pain models and pain assessment

15:10 – 15:40 H. Bieniek, J. Brączyk, A. Budzisz – Introductory lecture: Introduction to human experimental pain models and pain assessment
15:40-16:25 H. Bieniek, J. Brączyk, I. Łaska – Exploring human pain models in the lab (Group 1) / J. Kłosowska, E Bajcar, D. Rubantes -Applications of pain-related psychological scales and questionnaires (Group 2)

16:25-16:55 Coffee break

16:55-17:40 J. Kłosowska, E Bajcar, D. Rubantes Applications of pain-related psychological scales and questionnaires (Group 1) / H. Bieniek, J. Brączyk, I. Łaska Demonstration workshop (in the lab): Exploring human pain models in the lab (Group 2)

17:45 Bus transfer to the hotel

19:15-19:30 Official opening of the school
19:30- 20:00 Opening lecture, Luis Garcia-Larrea – Human-to-human translation: from disease-related to normal pain processing… and back
20:00-22:00 Get together

Friday 28 June: Lecture Day

9:00-9:45 Nadine Attal – The concept of nociplastic pain
9:45-10:30 Kirsty Bannister – Central modulation of pain mechanisms in animals and humans
10:30-11:15 Francesca Guida – The role of gut microbiota in pain regulation

11:15-11:45 coffee break

11:45-12:30 Cyril Rivat – The role of receptor tyrosine kinase FLT3 in peripheral neuropathic pain: towards the development of a drug candidate
12:30-13:15 Daniel Segelcke – Advances in pain-related behavioral assessment in rodents
13:15-13.45 Animalab – Federico Montechiaro – TBA
13:45-14:45 lunch

14:45-15:30 Przemysław Bąbel – (Un)learning Pain: From Basic Experimental Studies to Clinical Applications
15:30-16:15 Luana Colloca – Pain Modulation: Determinants and predictors of placebo effects
16:15:17:00 Morten Hoegh – A critical view on the mechanism-based approach for chronic primary musculoskeletal pain
17:00-17:30 Andreas Kopf – opioid stewardship

19:30 Gala dinner in the restaurant

Saturday 29 June: Lecture Day

9:30-10:15 Eija Kalso – Sleep and pain
10:15-11:00 Niels Eijkelkamp – The immune system in control of pain. From mice to human
11:00-11:45 Ipek Yalcin – The comorbidity between chronic pain and mood disorders.

11:45-12:15 coffee break

12:15-13:00 Per Hansson – Lost in translation. The neuropathic pain perspective
13:00-13:45 Didier Bouhassira – Neuromodulation based analgesia: a true success story for translational pain research
13:45-14:30 Ilona Obara – Exploring Pain Management: Insights from Pre-Clinical Studies on Spinal Cord Stimulation

14:30-15:30 lunch

City Tour

Sunday 30 June: Conclusions and discussion

9:30-10:15 Short presentations (5 min.). Translational aspects of pain
Nadine Attal
Kirsty Bannister
Didier Bouhassira
Ipek Yalcin
Luis Villanueva
Eija Kalso
Luis Garcia-Larrea
Per Hanson

10.15-10.45 Coffee break

10:45-12:45 Panel discussion: Pain therapy and new perspectives emerging from basic research – “hope in translation”
Moderators: Eija Kalso / Luis Garcia-Larrea / Nadine Attal

12:45 – official end of the school