| Client Spotlight: 5 minutes with Joan Yates |
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5 minutes with Joan Yates Kristen Graham spoke with Joan Yates, long time Addwealth client and Committee member at the Centre of Excellence for Pain Research, Murdoch University. Client Spotlight: 5 minutes with Joan Yates Kristen Graham spoke with Joan Yates, long time Addwealth client and Committee member at the Centre of Excellence for Pain Research, Murdoch University.
About three years ago I suffered from shingles which is a skin rash caused by the same virus that causes chickenpox. Shingles causes pain along a nerve pathway. Usually this pain subsides when the rash goes away, but I was unlucky enough to suffer nerve damage and ended up with postherpetic neuralgia (PHN), or after-shingles pain. After developing PHN, a condition that is extremely difficult to treat, I was referred to pain specialist Dr Philip Finch for treatment. We talked at length about pain and he enlightened me on his research work at Murdoch. He subsequently asked me to join the committee to help fundraise. I was a strong believer in their work so I agreed to join the fund raising committee.
Murdoch University Adjunct Professor Dr Phil Finch and psychology lecturer Professor Peter Drummond are responsible for establishing the Centre of Excellence for Pain Research. Chronic pain is a huge problem in Australia affecting one in every five adults. The Centre of Excellence for Pain Research was developed to gain new insights into the mechanisms that underlie pain and other chronic inflammatory conditions to establish foundation for new approaches to treatment.
My husband Peter and I lived in Hong Kong for 25 years. I was the Executive Officer for the Australian Association which was an extremely active organisation with about 1100 members. I looked after membership, fund raising, social and sporting interests of expatriates in Hong Kong. I was involved in fundraising with local philanthropists for many years. I knew the Australian expat community well and experienced much success.
The Centre, like all research bodies requires funding, and grants are often difficult to attain. Despite the annual cost to the Australian economy being $34 billion for all types of pain, the perception of pain in the community is deeply under-rated. Therefore it is vital for the Centre to continue to develop effective interventions and reduce the burden of this problem on the community. Succession planning is also an issue. The Centre has two PhD students working with them and they hope that they will continue this important pain research into the future after the founders retire.
The goal is to undertake further fundamental pain research that will promote the discovery of new treatments for pain, and the Centre have already made significant progress in identifying mechanisms that may lie at the heart of neuropathic (nerve injury) pain. The clinical expertise of the Centre will help to translate findings from the laboratory to the clinic and the wider public domain.
I have family commitments locally and now also in Bali - this involves travel to visit our son and family. Peter and I continue to visit overseas destinations and friends - we still have Hong Kong and Canadian connections. When time permits I like to pursue my hobbies of sewing, reading and expanding my knowledge of computers and cameras. I am also involved in voluntary work for a couple of charities here in Perth. For further information or to discuss how else you might like to support the Centre of Excellence for Pain Research please contact 08 9360 7281 or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites           |
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