The UT Health San Antonio School of Dentistry appointed Kenneth Hargreaves, DDS, PhD, as inaugural director of the center for pain therapeutics and addiction research at the school.
The center aims to take a multidisciplinary approach to decrease pain and addiction, according to an Aug. 27 news release from the university.
Dr. Hargreaves' studies have advocated for using omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids and related metabolites to treat chronic pain as an alternative to opioids for pain management.
The Department of Defense's Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs recently approved $1.3 million in funding for Dr. Hargreaves' recent research proposal, “Development of non-opioid analgesics to treat chronic pain."
Dr. Hargreaves has chaired the school's department of endodontics for 26 years, has been principal or co-principal investigator on numerous projects and has authored more than 200 peer-reviewed publications, the release said.