We are currently supporting two one year research fellowships:

Alejandro Labastida Ramirez at the Wolfson Centre for Age-Related Diseases Department at King’s College London

Study name: Estrogen-dependent sensitization of trigeminal neuropeptide signalling: interplay of migraine and temporomandibular joint disorder

Alejandro will be studying the interplay of migraine and temporomandibular joint disorder, in particular why women experience higher coexistence of this disorders. He will also explore the influence of sex hormones in craniofacial sensory processing, as women are three times more likely to get migraine than men. This research will aim to determine which molecular mechanisms underlie this complex association, focusing on the influence of estrogen and its interaction with key neuropeptides involved in migraine.

Explaining why he is undertaking the fellowship, Alejandro said:

“It is well-known that migraine is more prevalent and disabling in women, however, most of the preclinical research still focuses on males. This fellowship will allow me to research migraine female-specific mechanisms and will hopefully pave the way to new therapies. I am very grateful with The Migraine Trust for funding and recognizing the translational potential of this research.”

Eloisa Rubio at the Headache Group, Wolfson Centre for Age-Related Diseases, Kings College, London

Study name: Kisspeptin as a sexually dimorphic novel therapeutic target for migraine

Her research will explore the role of kisspeptin as a sexually dimorphic novel therapeutic target for migraine.

Explaining why she is undertaking the fellowship, Eloisa said:

“Migraine is a predominately female disorder, despite this, research does not often focus on this or take into consideration the female hormonal cycle, reducing its real-world validity. This fellowship will allow me to investigate the basis behind this gender-gap in migraine, which will lead to new knowledge of the underlying sex differences, the characterisation of novel analgesic pathways, and the optimization of current antimigraine therapies. I am extremely grateful with the Migraine Trust for this opportunity.”

We recently funded a PhD studentship for a project that is being led by Dr Jan Hoffmann and Dr Philip Holland at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London.

Neuroscientist Hannah Creeney was awarded a studentship to work on the project from 2019 ‘The neurophysiological role of amylin in migraine’.

Amylin is a neuropeptide that is known to have similar mechanisms to calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), a neuropeptide that is released during migraine attacks and can increase the activation of the nerves that relay headache and facial pain signals to the brain. Amylin and CGRP bind to each other’s receptor and this research was looking at whether amylin’s actions on these receptors are relevant for migraine. The research aimed to determine if an increased understanding of amylin could lead to a new treatment for migraine.