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Blair H. Smith

Head of Population Health Sciences Division, Professor of Population Science, University of Dundee

Blair is an academic general practitioner, currently also practising clinically as a Consultant in Pain Medicine, Ninewells Hospital. Graduating at the Universities of Glasgow (MBChB, 1987) and Aberdeen (MEd Distinction 1998; MD 2000), he held an NHS Primary Care Career Scientist Award (2000 to 2005) and was Professor Primary Care Medicine at the University of Aberdeen until 2011.

His research on chronic pain and neuropathic pain has been published widely, specifically studying the epidemiology, primary care management and self-management. He is a Chief Investigator on Generation Scotland, a major programme for studying genetics and health, with over 30,000 volunteer participants. He is now actively exploring the opportunities that this and other collaborations bring to researching the biological mechanisms of chronic pain, from the laboratory to the community. He has established the Chronic Pain Research Group at the University of Dundee, based in the Division of Population Health Sciences.

He is Vice Chair of the International Association for the Study of Pain Neuropathic Pain Special Interest Group (NeuPSIG). He was formerly Treasurer of the Society for Academic Primary Care, and sat on the Editorial Board of the British Journal of General Practice, both from 1997 to 2007. He chaired the NHS Scotland / SGHD Chronic Pain Steering Group until June 2011, and still chairs its Research Subgroup and the Scottish Pain Research Community (SPaRC). He was appointed to his current post in August 2011.

Blair was appointed on 1 May 2014 to the post of Lead Clinician for Chronic Pain working with the Scottish Government. He was also appointed in 2014 to the board of the Faculty of Pain Medicine of the Royal College of Anaesthetists.

Opioid epidemic – the global spread explained

Aug 21, 2018 17:04 pm UTC| Insights & Views Health

The US has been in the grips of an opioid epidemic since the 1990s, with massive rises in the use and misuse of opioids such as morphine and codeine. There has also been a parallel rise in the number of opioid-related...

How genetics can uncover links in chronic pain and other conditions

Mar 02, 2017 02:34 am UTC| Health Science

In the recent Global Burden of Disease study, four of the top ten causes of disability worldwide were chronic pain conditions. Chronic pain is defined as pain that lasts beyond normal healing time usually three months ...

Economy

Trump Pushes China Market Access During High-Stakes Xi Summit

U.S. President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that his top priority during his state visit to China will be urging President Xi Jinping to open the Chinese market further to Western companies. Speaking aboard Air Force...

Asian Currencies Hold Steady as Strong U.S. Inflation Data Boosts Dollar

Asian currencies traded mostly flat on Wednesday after posting strong gains in the previous session, as higher-than-expected U.S. inflation data strengthened the U.S. dollar and pushed Treasury yields higher. Investors...

Asian Stocks Steady as Iran War Concerns Persist Ahead of Trump-Xi Summit

Asian stock markets traded in a narrow range on Wednesday as investors remained cautious over the ongoing Iran conflict and its potential impact on global inflation. Market sentiment also stayed focused on the upcoming...

Australia Housing Tax Reform Sparks Debate Over Property Investor Tax Breaks

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has triggered a major political and economic debate after announcing plans to scale back tax breaks for property investors, a move welcomed by many aspiring homebuyers but...

New Zealand Budget 2026 Focuses on Fiscal Discipline and Infrastructure Investment

New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced that the government will maintain strict control over day-to-day spending in Budget 2026 while significantly increasing capital investment to strengthen the countrys...

Politics

Trump Administration Appoints David Venturella as Acting ICE Director Amid Immigration Crackdown

The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump announced that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) official David Venturella will become the agencys new acting director following the departure of Todd Lyons at the...

Bahamas Election 2026: Prime Minister Philip Davis Secures Historic Second Term

Bahamian Prime Minister Philip Davis and the ruling Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) secured a decisive victory in the 2026 Bahamas general election, marking the first time in nearly three decades that a Bahamian leader has...

Tennessee Republicans Remove Democrats From Committees After Redistricting Protest

Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton removed Democratic lawmakers from all committee and subcommittee assignments following protests over the states controversial congressional redistricting plan. The disciplinary action...

Russia Resumes Heavy Drone Attacks on Ukraine After Ceasefire Ends

Russian forces launched a new wave of attacks across Ukraines Dnipropetrovsk region on Tuesday, killing at least six people and injuring several others shortly after a temporary U.S.-mediated ceasefire expired. Ukrainian...

US-China Trade Talks Begin in South Korea Ahead of Trump-Xi Beijing Summit

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent arrived in South Korea on Wednesday for high-level trade discussions with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng ahead of the much-anticipated summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and...

Science

Trump Administration Releases New UFO Files and Apollo Mission Records

The U.S. Defense Department has released dozens of previously classified UFO-related files following an order from President Donald Trump, sparking renewed debate over unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) and government...

China vs. NASA: The New Moon Race and What's at Stake by 2030

The space race is back and this time, its a direct competition between the United States and China for dominance on the lunar surface. NASAs Artemis II mission recently made history when four astronauts flew farther into...

NASA Artemis II: First Crewed Moon Mission Since Apollo Takes Four Astronauts on 10-Day Lunar Journey

NASAs Artemis II mission launched Wednesday, marking humanitys return to crewed lunar exploration for the first time since the Apollo era. Carrying four astronauts aboard the Orion spacecraft, this historic 10-day mission...

NASA's Artemis II Mission: First Crewed Lunar Journey Since Apollo

NASA's Artemis II Crew Arrives in Florida for Historic Moon Mission

The four astronauts chosen for NASAs Artemis II mission have touched down at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, marking the beginning of final launch preparations for the first crewed lunar journey in over 50 years. NASA...

Technology

Japan’s Top Banks to Gain Access to Anthropic’s Claude Mythos AI Model

Japans three largest banking institutions are expected to receive access to Claude Mythos, the advanced artificial intelligence model created by U.S.-based AI startup Anthropic, according to a report published by Nikkei on...

Samsung Shares Slide as Wage Talks Collapse, Raising Strike Fears

Samsung Electronics shares fell sharply on Wednesday after negotiations between the company and its largest labour union failed to produce a wage agreement, increasing concerns over a possible large-scale strike that could...

Arteris Stock Surges After Strong Q1 Earnings Beat and Higher 2026 Outlook

Arteris Inc. (NASDAQ: AIP) shares surged in after-hours trading on Tuesday after the semiconductor software company reported stronger-than-expected first-quarter 2026 earnings and raised its full-year revenue forecast. The...

Anthropic Eyes $300M Stainless Acquisition Amid Enterprise AI Expansion

Anthropic is reportedly in advanced discussions to acquire developer tools startup Stainless in a deal valued at more than $300 million, according to a report from The Information. The potential acquisition highlights the...

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang to Join Trump’s China Visit Amid AI Chip Tensions

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang is expected to join a group of top American business leaders accompanying U.S. President Donald Trump during his upcoming visit to China, according to two Reuters sources familiar with the matter....