Dr. Margaret R. Byers

My overall interest is in the neurobiology of peripheral nerve fibers that cause pain, including their functions in normal tissues, their interactions with inflammation, their contributions to wound healing, and their reactions to anesthetics and other clinical treatments.We are using specific dental and periodontal injuries in rats and mice to investigate activity-dependent plasticity of sensory nerve fibers in relation to inflammation, acute and chronic pain, and wound healing. We have found pulpal neurogenic inflammation, pulpal production of nerve growth factor (NGF), peripheral sprouting of dental nerves, altered expression of receptors for nerve growth factor in trigeminal ganglion, and expression of the protooncogene c-fos in trigeminal pain pathways in the brain stem. Current studies use animals with genetic or immunologic alteration of NGF or its receptors to analyze the role of NGF in inflammation and healing, neuronal plasticity, and central pain pathway reactions.

Grant reviews for NIH since 1989;Panel on Long-range Planning for the Nineties, Nat. Inst. Dent. Res., NIH, 1989;Editorial Board, Anatomical Record since 1989;President, Pulp Biology Group, Int. Assoc. Dental Research, 1994-1995;Organizer, International Symposium on Dental Innervation, University of Washington, 1994;IADR Distinguished Scientist Award, 1995