What are the challenges in migraine research? An interview with Parisa Gazerani

Parisa Gazerani, PharmD, PhD, is an associate professor in the Faculty of Medicine, Aalborg University, Denmark. She completed postdoctoral training at the Faculty of Pharmaceuticals Sciences, The University of British Columbia, Canada with support from the International Brain Research Organization, International Association for the Study of Pain and the SparNord Foundation. Her passion and enthusiasm for understanding the pathogenesis of migraine and the potential role of non-neuronal components was subsequently supported by a prestigious Sapere Aude Young Elite Researcher Award from the Danish Ministry of Science in 2010. Her research interests include neuroscience, pain with a focus in migraine, biomarkers of neuroinflammation and development of novel treatments. Her research has resulted in more than 200 publications and several awards. Besides research, she teaches from undergraduate to PhD level, and has been awarded the title of ‘teacher of the year’. She is a sought after reviewer for scientific journals, grant committees and PhD thesis evaluation. She is a member of several professional and scientific organizations. She is co-founder and head of research of a spin-off company, EMPros Bio, which is developing novel tools for the diagnosis and control of migraine. She also consults for several pharmaceutical and medicinal device companies.