Associate Professor James McAuley
TEAM LEADER PROFILE
Senior Research Scientist and Group Leader, NeuRA
Associate Professor, Faculty of Medicine, UNSW
Honorary Research Fellow, The George Institute for Global Health
+612 9399 1266
Associate Professor James McAuley is a psychologist, A/Prof in the School of Medical Sciences & Senior Research Scientist at NeuRA.
James completed his PhD at Brunel University, London (2002) investigating psychological influences on chronic low back pain. After immigrating to Australia in 2004 he took up a post doc at the University of Sydney and then at the George Institute for Global Health. In 2010 he moved to NeuRA where he set up the Pain Research Education and Management (PREM) program. In 2017 James was appointed as A/Prof to the Exercise Physiology department at UNSW.
James has published 135 articles in general medical journals such as the Lancet, the BMJ, Annals of Internal Medicine and PLoS Medicine. He has an H-index of 43 and is the third most productive researcher in his field. He holds over $3.5M in research funding and has given invited presentations at 10 national conferences and 8 international scientific meetings in the last 5 years. James has supervised 18 PhD students and mentored 4 postdocs. In 2015 James founded the NSW network for pain PhD students/ECRs (SPRiNG). He is the current chair of the back pain group of STREAM Health and is a member of the Scientific Advisory Group (SAG) for the Australian and New Zealand Musculoskeletal Clinical Trials Network (ANZMUSC).
Projects Associate Professor James McAuley is currently involved with
CURRENT PROJECTS
Medicines for Back Pain
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Medicines for Back Pain
AGReMA Project
Developing a Guideline for Reporting Mediation Analyses (AGReMA) in randomized trials and observational studies.
Investigating causal mechanisms using mediation analysis is becoming increasingly common in psychology, public health, and social science. Despite increasing popularity, the accuracy and completeness when reporting mediation analyses are inconsistent. Inadequate and inaccurate reporting of research stifles replication, limits assessment of potential bias, complicates meta-analyses, and wastes resources. There is a pressing need to develop a reporting standard for mediation analyses. Up to now, there have been no registered initiatives on the “Enhancing the QUAlity and Transparency of health Research” (EQUATOR) network that guide the reporting of mediation analyses. Our proposed project aims to improve the reporting quality of future mediation analyses by developing a reporting guideline through a program of established methodologies (Systematic Review, Delphi Survey, Consensus Meetings, and Guideline Dissemination). The development and implementation of this guideline will improve the transparency of research findings on causal mechanisms across multiple disciplines.
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AGReMA Project
SLEEPAIN
For people with back pain who are having trouble with their sleep. We are testing whether a simple sleep tablet will help people reduce their pain and sleep better.READ MORE
SLEEPAIN
PREVENT
For people with a new low back pain episode. We are testing early intervention to reduce the risk of developing chronic low back pain.READ MORE
PREVENT
RESOLVE – RECRUITING NOW
For people with long term back pain that is not getting better. We are testing two pain treatment programs that target the brain, for people with chronic low back pain.READ MORE
RESOLVE – RECRUITING NOW
RESEARCH TEAM
THIAGO FOLLY Research Assistant
ANIKA HAIGH Research Assistant
PAULINE ZAHARA Research Assistant
IAN SKINNER
Postdoctoral Fellow
: 9399 1049
: i.skinner@neura.edu.au
ADRIAN TRAEGER PhD Candidate
HOPIN LEE PhD Candidate
DR MARKUS HUEBSCHER Postdoctoral Fellow
PUBLICATIONS
What does the grey matter decrease in the medial prefrontal cortex reflect in people with chronic pain?
Kang D, McAuley JH, Kassem MS, Gatt JM, Gustin SM
Alterations in the grey matter volume of several brain regions have been reported in people with chronic pain. The most consistent observation is a decrease in grey matter volume in the medial prefrontal cortex. These findings are important as the medial prefrontal cortex plays a critical role in emotional and cognitive processing in chronic pain. Although a logical cause of grey matter volume decrease may be neurodegeneration, this is not supported by the current evidence. Therefore, the purpose of this review was to evaluate the existing literature to unravel what the decrease in medial prefrontal cortex grey matter volume in people with chronic pain may represent on a biochemical and cellular level. Our model proposes new mechanisms in chronic pain pathophysiology responsible for mPFC grey matter loss as alternatives to neurodegeneration.
Reassurance for patients with non-specific conditions - a user's guide.
Traeger AC, O'Hagan ET, Cashin A, McAuley JH
Targeted reassurance, including enhanced, prognosis-specific education, could optimize reassurance and possibly prevent disabling symptoms.
Reassurance for patients with non-specific conditions - a user's guide.
Traeger AC, O'Hagan ET, Cashin A, McAuley JH
Targeted reassurance, including enhanced, prognosis-specific education, could optimize reassurance and possibly prevent disabling symptoms.