Rate My Professor John Dawes

John Dawes is Associate Professor in the Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences at the University of Oxford, where he serves as Principal Investigator in the Neural Injury Group and Course Director for the MSc in Pain Neurosciences. Affiliated with Wadham College, his research centers on the contribution of the immune system to pathological pain states, with a particular emphasis on autoantibodies. It is now well established that the immune system contributes to pathological pain states and one relatively under-studied aspect of this is through the action of autoantibodies. Neuropathic pain is common in patients with autoantibodies directed against components of the voltage-gated potassium channel complex such as CASPR2 and LGI1. By using patient samples in combination with basic pain research, Dawes aims to better understand the mechanisms of autoantibody-mediated pain, uncover novel molecular pathways regulating pain sensitivity, and reveal clinically relevant targets for future therapies. He collaborates with experts including Professor David Bennett in Neurology and Neurobiology and Sarosh Irani in the Oxford Autoimmune Neurology Group.

Dawes is the holder of an MRC New Investigator Research Grant and previously served as Co-Investigator on an MRC Research Grant from 2015 to 2019. His influential publications include 'Autoantibodies as drivers of neuropathic pain' (Farah et al., 2026, Trends in Molecular Medicine), 'A role for leucine-rich, glioma inactivated 1 in regulating pain sensitivity' (Farah et al., 2025, Brain), 'A role for pathogenic autoantibodies in small fiber neuropathy?' (Daifallah et al., 2023, Frontiers in Molecular Neuroscience), 'Immune or Genetic-Mediated Disruption of CASPR2 Causes Pain Hypersensitivity Due to Enhanced Primary Afferent Excitability' (Dawes et al., 2018, Neuron), and 'Autoantibodies and neuropathic pain' (Dawes and Bennett, 2018). Through these contributions, Dawes advances knowledge of neuroimmune interactions underlying neuropathic pain and supports the development of targeted interventions.