Editor’s note: This is the 13th in a series of weekly PRF seminars designed to help keep the pain research community connected during the COVID-19 pandemic and to provide all members of our community with virtual educational opportunities. The seminar series is supported by the Center for Advanced Pain Studies at the University of Texas at Dallas, US.
On August 3, 2020, the IASP Pain Research Forum hosted a seminar with Gregory Dussor, PhD, University of Texas at Dallas, US. A Q&A session moderated by Andrew Russo, PhD, University of Iowa, US, followed the presentation.
- Gregory Dussor, University of Texas at Dallas, US
- Andrew Russo, University of Iowa, US
A recording of this seminar will soon be freely available to IASP members at the IASP Pain Education Resource Center (PERC).
Here is an abstract from Dr. Dussor
Migraine is among the most common and most disabling disorders worldwide. Mechanisms contributing to the disorder remain poorly understood and many sufferers are inadequately treated, despite the recent approval of numerous therapeutics that target calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) signaling. Surprisingly, the location and mechanism of action of these CGRP therapeutics is unknown. Additionally, migraine is two to three times more prevalent in women; the reasons for the female-biased nature of the disorder are unclear. This seminar will cover several preclinical rodent models used in the investigation of migraine mechanisms and will discuss how these models continue to evolve. Data will be presented showing targets/mediators that in some cases play a role in both sexes, including interleukin-6 and stress, as well as those that are selective for females, such as CGRP and prolactin. Findings will also support the cranial meninges as a location of action for CGRP in migraine.
About the presenter
Gregory Dussor, PhD, is associate professor and Eugene McDermott Endowed Fellow in the Department of Neuroscience and Center for Advanced Pain Studies at the University of Texas at Dallas. He received his PhD in pharmacology at The University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio where he started his career in pain research. He then did postdoctoral training at the Vollum Institute, part of The Oregon Health & Science University. He started his own laboratory in the Department of Pharmacology at the University of Arizona in Tucson and remained there until moving to UT Dallas in 2014. The focus of his work is the understanding of the pathophysiology of chronic headache disorders such as migraine and his team uses a variety of preclinical models. Greg has published over 90 peer-reviewed research articles, he was a recipient of a Future Leaders in Pain Research Award from the American Pain Society and is a 2020 Mayday Fellow. He is on the editorial boards of PAIN, Pain Reports, Molecular Pain, Headache, the Journal of Headache and Pain, the Journal of Neuroscience, and he is a member of the advisory boards of the Migraine Research Foundation and the Association of Migraine Disorder’s new Migraine Science Collaborative.
About the moderator
Andrew Russo, PhD, is professor of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, and Neurology, at the University of Iowa. He received his PhD in biochemistry from the University of California, Berkeley, followed by postdoctoral training in molecular neurobiology at UCSD. His research is focused on how the neuropeptide CGRP contributes to the altered sensory perception and pain of migraine. His lab uses approaches ranging from epigenetics to mouse behavior. The overall goal of his studies is to develop effective diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for migraine and post-traumatic headache.
Join the conversation about the seminar on Twitter @PainResForum #PRFSeminar
We thank the Center for Advanced Pain Studies at the University of Texas at Dallas, US, for its support of the PRF seminar series.
