MRF announces winners of six 2009 research grants

The Migraine Research Foundation (MRF), the only nonprofit organization devoted solely to funding migraine research, today announced the winners of the 2009 research grants. This year's grantees will explore such important areas as pediatric migraine, the genetic association between migraine and cardiovascular events, and why opioids enhance migraine pain.

The six grants, totaling $300,000, were selected by MRF and its distinguished medical advisory board from an unprecedented 34 proposals from 5 countries. "We were delighted with the depth and breadth of the work represented by these proposals. This is a testament to the enthusiasm and intellect of our researchers today," said Cathy Glaser, co-founder and President of MRF. "To date, we've given $700,000 to some of the most promising investigators to move the science of migraine forward - and we know they're going to make a difference."

Migraine affects more than 30 million Americans - nearly 1 in 4 households - and ranks in the top 20 of the world's most disabling medical illnesses. Yet despite the widespread prevalence and the serious effects on individuals, family and society, research into its causes and treatments is sorely lacking. MRF provides annual research grants to scientists to explore new avenues in migraine and to encourage new researchers to enter the field.

The six MRF grant recipients and their research are:

• Yu-Qing Cao, Ph.D, Washington University Pain Center, St. Louis, MO The Effects of Calcium Channel Mutations on Trigeminal Ganglion Neurons Innervating the Dura

• Teresa Esposito, Ph.D, Institute of Genetics and Biophysics, Naples, Italy The Role of Ionotropic Glutamate Receptor Genes in Migraine

• Golda Ginsburg, Ph.D, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD A Pilot Study of Family-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Treating Chronic Pediatric Headache/Migraine and Comorbid Anxiety
• Richard Kraig, MD, Ph.D, University of Chicago Medical Center, Chicago, IL Microglia and Cytokines Modulate Chronic Migraine

• Markus Sch-rks, MD, MSc & Tobias Kurth, MD, ScD, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA Identification of Genetic Determinants of the Association Between Migraine and Cardiovascular Events: A Genome-Wide Association Study

• Julie Wieseler, Ph.D & Linda Watkins, Ph.D, University of Colorado at Boulder, Boulder, CO Why Opioids Enhance Migraine Pain: The Puzzle Points to Glia

"This year's recipients continue to demonstrate the highly innovative thinking which MRF has encouraged since its founding. The medical community is grateful to the foundation and the investigators it supports," said Dr. Joel Saper, founder of the Michigan Head Pain & Neurological Institute, Ann Arbor, MI, and Chair of MRF's medical advisory board.

The MRF medical advisory board of distinguished scientists, chaired by Dr. Saper, also includes Dr. Rami Burstein (Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA), Dr. F. Michael Cutrer (Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN), Dr. David W. Dodick (Mayo Clinic, Phoenix, AZ and President-Elect of the American Headache Society), Dr. Peter J. Goadsby (University of California at San Francisco, CA), Dr. Richard Lipton (Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY), Dr. Fred Sheftell (New England Center for Headache, Stamford, CT and President of the American Headache Society), and Dr. Stephen D. Silberstein (Jefferson University Hospital, Philadelphia, PA).