Brian E. Cairns BSc, BSc(Pharm), ACPR, PhD, DrMed

Professor

Profile Type
Faculty
Accepting Graduate Students
No
About

Dr. Brian Cairns completed a Bachelor of Science degree in biochemistry and chemistry, followed by a Bachelor of Pharmacy degree at the University of British Columbia. Subsequently, he completed an accredited hospital pharmacy residency and practiced as a clinical pharmacist at various Vancouver area hospitals until he completed his Doctor of Philosophy degree at the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences in 1996. He then undertook postdoctoral training at the Faculty of Dentistry, the University of Toronto before accepting a faculty position in anesthesiology at Harvard Medical School in Boston. He began a faculty position and Canada Research Chair (in Neuropharmacology) at the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences in 2003. From 2015 to 2019, he was seconded to Aalborg University in Denmark, as a professor in the Faculty of Medicine. In 2016, he completed a Doctoral Degree in Medical Science at Aalborg University.

Dr. Cairns’ research involves the development of preclinical models of certain chronic craniofacial pain conditions, such as migraine headaches, burning mouth syndrome and temporomandibular disorders, and the use of these models to identify novel receptor targets for locally acting analgesics. He is particularly interested in the development of effective peripherally restricted analgesics, which could have fewer centrally mediated side effects such as drowsiness and sedation compared with many currently employed pain-relieving drugs. He also investigates whether biological factors, for example, sex-related differences in the sensitivity of nerve fibers, contribute to the increased prevalence of certain craniofacial pain conditions in women.

Publications

Cairns BE, Mehta SAJ. Pharmacotherapeutics of musculoskeletal orofacial pain. J Cal Dent Assoc, 2025;53:1, 2447093.

Cairns BE, He N. β2-adrenergic receptor activation decreases the mechanical sensitivity of rat masticatory muscle afferent fibers. J Oral Rehabil. 2024 doi: 10.1111/joor.13787.

Mousavizadeh R, Waugh CM, Hughes M, Robert G. RG, Cairns BE, Scott A. MRGPRX2-mediated mast cell activation in response to substance P released from overloaded human tendon cells: Implications for inflammatory and degenerative responses. Scientific Reports 2024 14(1):13540.

Vo AK, Cardenas J, Lorree J, Cairns BE, Chondoma L, Conklin A, Cragg JJ, Kramer JLK. Race-based reporting and participation of black individuals in registered pain clinical trials, United States, 2000 to 2019: current status and future directions. Pain 2023 Sep 1;164(9):19761984.

Cairns BE. The contribution of autonomic mechanisms to pain in temporomandibular disorders: A narrative review. J Oral Rehabil. 2022: 49(11):11151126

Benbow T, Teja F, Sheikhi A, Exposto F, Svensson P, Cairns BE. Peripheral N-Methyl-D-Aspartate receptor activation contributes to monosodium glutamate-Induced headache but not nausea behaviours in rats. Scientific Reports 2022; 12: 13894

Benbow T, Ranjbar Ekbatan M, Wang GHY, Teja F, Exposto FG, Svensson P, Cairns BE. Systemic administration of monosodium glutamate induces sexually dimorphic headache- and nausea-like behaviours in rats. Pain 2022; 163: 18381853.

Linde LD, Ogryzlo CM, Choles CM, Cairns BE, Kramer JKL. The efficacy of topical cannabinoids in the management of pain: A systematic review and metanalysis of animal studies. Regional Anesthesia & Pain Medicine 2022;47(3):183191.

Alhilou AM, Shimada A, Svensson CI, Svensson P, Ernberg M, Cairns BE, Christidis N. Nerve growth factor and glutamate increase the density and expression of substance P-containing nerve fibers in healthy human masseter muscles. Scientific Reports 2021;11(1):15673

Ranjbar Ekbatan M, Cairns BE. Attenuation of sensory transmission through the rat trigeminal tanglion by GABA receptor activation. Neuroscience 2021; 471:8092.

Benbow T, Cairns BE. [review] Dysregulation of the peripheral glutamatergic system: A key player in migraine pathogenesis? Cephalalgia 2021; 41(1112):12491261.

Alhilou A, Shimada A, Svensson C, Svensson P, Ernberg M, Cairns BE, Christidis N. Sex-related differences in response to masseteric injections of glutamate and nerve growth factor in healthy human participants. Scientific Reports 2021;11(1):13873. 

Bussin E, Cairns BE, Gerschman T, Fredericson M, Bovard J, Scott A. Topical diclofenac vs placebo for the treatment of chronic Achilles tendinopathy: A randomized controlled clinical trial. PLoS ONE 2021:16(3): e0247663.

Gazerani P, Cairns BE. Medical hypothesis: Deep brain stimulation for intractable migraine. OBM Neurobiology 2021; 5(1): 82.

Alhilou A, Shimada A, Svensson C, Ernberg M, Cairns BE, Christidis N. Density of nerve fibers and expression of substance P, NR2B-receptors, and nerve growth factor in healthy human masseter muscle: An immunohistochemical study. J Oral Rehabil. 2021;48:35–44.  

Benbow T, Ranjbar Ekbatan M, Cairns BE. α1 adrenergic receptor activation has a dynamic effect on masticatory muscle afferent fibers. Neuropharmacology 2020;175:108197.

Gazerani, P.  Cairns BE. [review] Sex-specific pharmacotherapy for migraine: A narrative review. Front Neurosci 2020;14:222.

Awards

Pfizer Pain Research Award, Pfizer Canada, 2013

Pfizer Neuropathic Pain Research Award, Pfizer Canada, 2010

Master Teacher Award, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, 2010

Killam Teaching Prize, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, 2004

GlaxoSmithKline Early Career Award, Canadian Society of Pharmaceutical Sciences, 2004

2004 Research Award, Canadian Pain Society/ Astra-Zeneca, 2004

Presentations

“Sympathetic nervous system modulation of masticatory nociceptors” Cairns, BE. Consortium for Orthodontic Advances in Science and Technology, UCLA Lake Arrowhead Lodge, California (virtual), November 2024.

“β-Adrenergic Receptor Activation Decreases the Mechanical Sensitivity of Masticatory Muscle Nociceptors in Male but not Female Rats” Cairns, BE. Society for Oral Physiology (Store Kro Club), Naples, Italy (virtual), May 2024.

“Craniofacial Pain: A Case-Based Approach to Navigating Common Pitfalls.” Mehta, S, Cairns BE. CareQuest Institute for Oral Health (virtual), January 2024

Media Coverage

Cephalalgia Podcast 13: Dysregulation of the peripheral glutamatergic system: A key player in migraine pathogenesis? Dr Kuan-Po Peng interviews Dr Brian Cairns about his recent article in Cephalalgia. January, 2023.

Leads on a cure for chronic pain. BCMJ, vol. 56, No. 4, May 2014, Page 178 News.


Contact Details

604-822-7715

brian.cairns@ubc.ca

Office 6625, Pharmaceutical Sciences Building


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