Catharina (Karin) G. Faber, MD
Catharina Faber (F) MD, PhD, is a full Professor in Neuromuscular Disorders as well as medical director of the Maastricht University Medical Centre. She has extensive experience in the neuromuscular field, especially in muscle neurodegenerative disorders, and painful/small fibre neuropathies, is head of the skin-biopsy lab in Maastricht who published the largest normative values worldwide, and co-responsible for painful/small fibre neuropathy on-going randomized trials and all research activities in the neuromuscular field in Maastricht. She authored and co-authored over 160 peer-reviewed papers including reviews and book chapters. Research in the past five years focused on genetic causes of small fibre neuropathy, more specifically on sodium channelopathies. The research extended to the role of sodium channels in small fiber neuropathy (collaboration with prof. Waxman, publications in Annals of Neurology, Neurology, Brain. Nature Reviews Neurology and PNAS). A collaborative project, ‘Probing the role of sodium channels in painful neuropathies (PROPANE Study)’, was granted by the EU (Health.2013.2.2.1-5; Understanding and controlling pain. FP7-Health-2013-Innovation-1), and focuses on the genetic mechanisms underlying neuropathic pain, identifying molecular targets which may reveal new druggable sites, creating the possibility for personalized pain medicine.