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Insight in Nature Neuroscience: studying sex and gender as variables in pain research

Submitted on Friday, 09/01/2026

Although known to be important variables in research, sex and gender are explored in inconsistent and incomplete ways in many studies. An international group of pain
researchers led by Professor Michelle Roche of University College Galway with Professors Siobhan O’Mahony and Insight’s George Shorten of UCC as co-authors has produced 13 recommendations for studying sex and gender in basic, pre-clinical and clinical/translational research. The work was recently published in Nature Neuroscience

Recommendations for the inclusion and study of sex and gender in research | Nature Neuroscience