MA/MSc, PhD Internship for EUGLOH program

Keywords: Pain experiences, cohort studies, general pediatric population

Internship Duration: 30/11/-1 - 30/11/-1

Chronic pain conditions are globally the leading cause of disability. Individual pain experiences depend on biological, physical, and psychosocial contexts. There is convincing evidence of the importance of background susceptibility to maladaptive pain as a major determinant of lifelong pain phenotypes. Reshaping pain trajectories requires the early identification of individuals with higher propensity to develop chronic pain. Quantitative sensory testing provides measurements of responses to standardized stimuli in controlled environments, helping to contrast pain experiences within and between individuals and estimate the effects of different influences on different pain dimensions, namely sensory thresholds and pro- and anti-nociception. Little is known on the life course development of sensory responses to mechanical stimuli in terms of: 1) long-term changes, 2) intrafamilial aggregation, and 3) effect of chronic inflammatory joint disease. The intern will be involved in collecting and analysing data from cohorts of adolescents to address these topics. It is expected that the intership results in a scientific paper to be published in an international journal.

Our group studies the design of musculoskeletal health and disease at the population level. We focus on conditions that cause a heavy population burden, particularly chronic musculoskeletal pain and bone fragility. We aim to understand the interactions between material and spatial dimensions of skeletal health and musculoskeletal pain during growth. From an etiological perspective, we explore key individual and contextual influences that shape the development of musculoskeletal conditions - with a focus on non-specific pain syndromes - from clinical history to family context.

1. Lucas R, Talih M, Monjardino T, Guimarães S, Barros H. Mother-reported pain experience between ages 7 and 10: A prospective study in a population-based birth cohort. Paediatr Perinat Epidemiol. 2020 Nov 23. doi: 10.1111/ppe.12730.
2. Lourenço S, Costa L, Rodrigues A, Carnide F, Lucas R. Gender and psychosocial context as determinants of fibromyalgia symptoms (Fibromyalgia Research Criteria) in young adults from the general population. Rheumatol (Oxf) 2015 May 14. pii: kev110.
3. Monjardino T, Henriques A, Moreira C, Rodrigues T, Adubeiro N, Nogueira L, Cooper C, Santos AC, Lucas R. Gestational Weight Gain and Offspring Bone Mass: Different Associations in Healthy Weight Versus Overweight

• Medicine and health sciences, Veterinary science
• Pharmacy, Biology, Physics and Chemistry