David Finn

David Finn is Established Professor and Head of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Principal Investigator and Founding Co-Director of the Centre for Pain Research at University of Galway (https://www.universityofgalway.ie/centre-for-pain-research/ ).

Professor Finn graduated with a BSc (Hons) in Biotechnology from University of Galway in 1997 and a PhD in Neuroscience from University of Bristol in 2001. From 2001 to 2004, he worked as a Post-doctoral Research Fellow at the Institute of Neuroscience, University of Nottingham. In 2004, he was appointed to a Lectureship (Below the Bar) in the Department of Physiology, University of Galway. In 2007, he was appointed to a Lectureship (Above the Bar) in Pharmacology and Therapeutics, a Personal Professorship in 2014, and Established Professorship in 2024. The overall aim of Professor Finn’s research is to increase our understanding of the neurobiology of pain and psychiatric disorders including anxiety and depression. His work focuses, in particular, on the affective and cognitive dimensions of pain, stress-pain interactions, and neuroinflammatory processes, with an emphasis on the endogenous cannabinoid, opioid and monoaminergic systems. An integrative, whole-systems neuroscience approach is employed, combining preclinical behavioural models with neurochemical and molecular analyses.

Professor Finn is Past President of the International Cannabinoid Research Society (ICRS; 2021-2022 and 2019-2020) and Past President of the Irish Pain Society (2015 – 2017). He sits on the Scientific Advisory Panel of the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ECNP) and has been a member of the Presidential Task Forces for Cannabis, Cannabinoids and Chronic Pain of both the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) and the European Pain Federation (EFIC). He is a member of the EFIC Working Groups for Translational Pain Research and Pain Research Strategy, a member of the Scientific Programme Commitees for the IASP 2026 and 2024 World Pain Congresses, EFIC 2022 and NeuPSIG 2025, and a member of EFIC Council. Professor Finn is a former recipient of the President of Ireland Young Researcher Award from Science Foundation Ireland, the Wyeth Award for outstanding research in Preclinical Psychopharmacology from the British Association for Psychopharmacology and the Pain Research Medal from the Irish Pain Society. He is a member of the Editorial Boards of multiple international scientific journals inlcuding Pain, Journal of Psychopharmacology, Frontiers in Pain Research, and the Scandinavian Journal of Pain. From 2012 – 2015 Professor Finn served as Director of the Galway Neuroscience Centre (https://www.universityofgalway.ie/neuroscience/).

He has published over 190 peer-reviewed journal papers and book chapters and frequently lectures at international conferences. In addition to directing his research programme, Professor Finn teaches a range of Pharmacology topics to undergraduate and postgraduate science and medical students.

Related Links

Medicine – University of Galway

https://www.universityofgalway.ie/centre-for-pain-research/

https://www.universityofgalway.ie/neuroscience/

Published papers on PubMed