Visiting Professor 2025 a resounding success: Assoc Prof Peter Grace returns to Adelaide

Professor Andrew Zannettino Executive Dean of the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, University of Adelaide, Professor Greg Crawford AM, Board Member NCHRF, Associate Professor Peter Grace, Professor Mark Hutchinson, Director of the Institute for Phototonics and Advanced Sensing, School of Biomedicine, University of Adelaide.

Stronger connections for research in neuroimmunology and pain are among the outstanding outcomes for NCHRF 2025 Visiting Professor Program.

Associate Professor Peter Grace recently returned to Adelaide as the Northern Community Health & Research Foundation (NCHRF) 2025 Visiting Professor. Associate Professor Grace participated in a full program of presentations and meetings through which he introduced his laboratory’s cutting edge research to the South Australian biomedical community and fostered professional development and research networks for local researchers at all career stages.

The 2025 program has been hailed as exceeding all expectations by participants and colleagues. Assoc Prof Grace and his team at the Department of Symptom Research at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Centre are globally recognised leaders in the fields of neuroimmunology and pain research. Participation and engagement in the events held during Assoc Prof Grace’s visit were exceptional in the history of the Visiting Professor program, which has been sponsored annually by NCHRF since 2007.

An alumnus of the University of Adelaide, Associate Professor Grace is also Chair ad interim of his department. His research is focused on intricate neuroinflammatory and neuroimmune mechanisms underpinning chronic pain and has direct benefits for the South Australian-based research focus on fundamental pain and clinical oncology within the Adelaide BioMed City precinct, which includes the Royal Adelaide Hospital, the University of Adelaide Faculty of Health & Medical Sciences and the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI).

Associate Professor Grace gave two public lectures on ‘Pain’s Hidden Players: Immune Cells and the Future of Pain Relief’ and a series of seminars for specialised academic audiences during his visit, and also presented at the Central Adelaide Local Health Network (CAHLN) Royal Adelaide Hospital Grand Rounds, at which he spoke about translating the science of neuro-immunology into a vision addressing real world patient management.

The busy program also included critical meetings and networking aimed at strengthening collaborative relationships which will develop to support the essential research partnerships required to progress research and practice in pain management. This element of Assoc Professor Grace’s visit included the NCHRF Dinner, at which he presented a summary of his research and discussed collaborative research opportunities. Junior researchers in Adelaide were also involved in the program, with opportunities to learn from Assoc Professor Grace’s own experience and practical tips on networking for early career researchers and PhD students.

Not only did this program and Assoc Professor Grace thoroughly embrace and deliver on the objectives of the NCHRF Visiting Professor program, it has also seeded multiple potential collaborations of benefit to Adelaide’s research strengths in medicine, chemistry and clinical research. NCRHF is grateful to Assoc Professor Grace for his generosity and commitment to delivering an outstanding program.

Image 1: Associate Professor Grace shared insights into developing professional networks and seeking research funding with junior researchers.

Images 2-5: Associate Professor Grace gave a number of presentations on on his team's leading research into neuroimmunology.

Image 6: (Left to right): Back row: Professor Andrew Zannettino, Executive Dean of the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, University of Adelaide, Associate Professor Peter Grace, NCHRF Board members David Meyer, Emma Lawrence-Parkinson and Ben Goldsmith, with Professor Mark Hutchinson, Director of the Institute for Phototonics and Advanced Sensing, School of Biomedicine, University of Adelaide.

Middle row: NCHRF Board members Dr Suren Krishnan OAM, Adelaide Boylan, Geoff Bell and Minute Secretary Cathy Baker.

Front row: NCHRF Board members Maria De Conno, Kathryn Eaton, Nino Di Sisto (Chair) and Professor Greg Crawford AM.