About the Project
Migraine is a highly prevalent and disabling neurological disorder affecting more than one billion people worldwide. It is characterised by recurrent attacks of headache, sensory hypersensitivity, and a range of non-pain symptoms that significantly impact quality of life. Increasing evidence demonstrates that migraine is fundamentally a disorder of brain function, involving dysregulation of sensory processing networks that give rise to pain as well as hypersensitivity to light, sound and smells.…
Brain regions involved in sensory integration, salience detection, homeostatic regulation, and pain modulation, including the thalamus, hypothalamus, cortex, and brainstem, are thought to exert dynamic control over trigeminovascular processing, and influence how sensory information is processed during different phases of the migraine cycle. While considerable progress has been made in understanding trigeminovascular mechanisms, the processes that drive attack initiation, facilitate central sensitisation, and sustain abnormal sensory processing remain incompletely understood.
Therapeutic advances targeting the peripheral nervous system, such as calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) therapies, or botox, have transformed migraine treatment and provided compelling evidence that neuropeptide signalling plays a central role in migraine pathophysiology. Importantly, our work and that of others has demonstrated that these therapies can reduce sensory hypersensitivity in people with migraine. However, despite the success of these therapies, many patients remain refractory to treatment, suggesting that additional neurobiological mechanisms and signalling pathways contribute to migraine susceptibility and attack generation.
Emerging evidence indicates that interactions between the nervous and inflammatory pathways may represent a critical link between environmental or physiological triggers and activation of migraine pathways. Inflammatory mediators, immune signalling molecules, and neuropeptides such as CGRP and pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide (PACAP) can influence neuronal excitability throughout the trigeminovascular system. Despite increasing evidence implicating them in migraine, these mechanisms are often studied in isolation. How inflammatory signals alter neuropeptide activity and influence central sensory networks remains largely unknown. In this project, we will investigate how inflammatory pathways and brain network activity interact to modulate migraine-relevant pathways. Determining how inflammatory processes shape neuropeptide signalling and brain network activity may reveal novel mechanisms underlying migraine initiation, attack progression, and the development of chronic symptoms.
The student will be embedded within a multidisciplinary research environment spanning headache medicine, neuroscience and neuroimmunology, with opportunities to engage in collaborative translational studies and contribute to high-impact publications. Using state-of-the-art experimental approaches and a combination of in vivo and in vitro models, we will examine how inflammatory mediators influence neuropeptide signalling within trigeminovascular circuits, identify how neuroinflammatory processes affect central brain networks involved in sensory processing and pain modulation, and determine how these systems interact to promote or suppress migraine-related hypersensitivity. Particular emphasis will be placed on translationally relevant sites across the peripheral and central nervous systems, including the trigeminal system, thalamus and hypothalamus, to uncover novel mechanisms that may represent future therapeutic targets. We will also investigate how novel molecules and therapeutic targets may influence activation of the neural systems involved in migraine.
The successful student will gain interdisciplinary training across migraine biology, neuroimmunology and systems neuroscience. They will develop expertise in state-of-the-art in vivo behavioural, molecular and neurophysiological techniques, including electrophysiology, micro-iontophoresis, neural circuit interrogation and advanced approaches for studying neuropeptide signalling and sensory processing. These techniques represent highly valued and internationally recognised skill sets identified by UKRI as strategically important. In addition, the student will receive training in patient and public involvement in basic science, science communication, research impact, policy and knowledge exchange, enhancing the relevance, acceptability and impact of the research. The student will be offered multiple training opportunities, including attendance to national and international congresses. Together, this programme will provide a unique combination of technical, translational and professional development opportunities, equipping the successful applicant with the skills necessary to become an independent researcher capable of addressing major challenges in neurological disease and pain neuroscience.
How to apply
Applicants must complete and submit an online admissions application, via the admissions portal by midnight July 31st (23:59 GMT)
On the ‘Choosing a programme’ page, please select Wolfson Sensory, Pain and Regeneration Centre PhD Full-time.
More information on the department and the programme is available at the departmental prospectus page here: https://www.kcl.ac.uk/neuroscience/about/departments/wolfson
In your application, you will be asked to include:
- Academic Transcripts - where applicable, academic transcripts must be submitted with the online admissions application
- Details of your qualifications - you will need to attach copies
- Details of previous employment - please include your CV
- A personal statement describing your interests and why you wish to apply for this project. Please include this as an attachment rather than using the text box.
- Academic References – all admissions applications require one supporting reference. If the applicant is relying on their referees to submit a reference directly to the College after they have submitted their admissions application, then the applicant must ensure that (1) their chosen referee is made aware of the funding deadline (i.e. 7 days from application deadline) and (2) that the reference needs to be sent from an institutional email address.
In the Funding section, please tick box 5 and include the following reference: AA-SPARC-IOPPN-26
Please note there is no need to complete the Research Proposal section in your application as the project has already been set. References must be received by the deadline for the applicant to be eligible. Only shortlisted applicants will be contacted.
Enquiries
You are welcome to email Dr Anna Andreou (anna.andreou@kcl.ac.uk) for more information regarding the project and studentship.
If you have any queries regarding the application process, please contact the Education support team at ioppn.pgr@kcl.ac.uk.
Application deadline
- Closing date - 31 July 2026 (23:59 GMT)
- Interviews – 13th August 2026
Funding Notes
Students will be fully funded for three years full time, to include home tuition fees an annual stipend (starting at £23,805 in the first year) and research expenses and some travel costs. To be treated as a Home student, candidates must meet one of the following criteria:
- A UK national (meeting residency requirements)
- Settled status
- Pre-settled status (meeting residency requirements)
- Indefinite leave to remain or enter
This is a Preview Listing…
You must sign in to see the full job description, and to apply.
Manage / Upgrade this job to a Full Job Listing.
Find Your Best Opportunity
Tell them AcademicJobs.com sent you!
