Support for Aches and Pains

Pain – everybody needs it, but no one likes it. “Without pain we might not appreciate the extent to which we have been injured in an accident, for instance,” says Dr. Michael Salter, director of U of T’s Centre for the Study of Pain. The centre, a partnership of the faculties of dentistry, medicine, nursing and pharmacy, examines the causes of pain and looks for treatments. Salter says the investigation will lead to a mapping of pain centres and a better understanding of pain thresholds.

In support of the centre, pharmaceutical manufacturer Purdue Frederick (Canada) has donated $50,000, which will be matched by the university under the Ontario Graduate Scholarship in Science and Technology program, to create a $100,000 endowment. The province will top up the annual income of the endowment to generate an annual scholarship of $15,000.