AHS & AHA Co-Fund Innovative Project Award to Advance Cerebrovascular Health Research
For the first time, the American Headache Society and the American Heart Association (AHA) have co-funded an Innovative Project Award related to the effects of migraine or other headache disorders on cardiovascular and cerebrovascular health. AHA is also funding three additional Innovative Project Awards for 2026.
The Innovative Project Award
The Innovative Project Award, which provides $200,000 for a two-year project, prioritizes innovative approaches and high-risk/high-reward research, Eligible projects spanned various disciplines, including basic science studies, clinical research, and population health initiatives. Projects were welcome to address any age, covering the lifespan from children and adolescents to middle age and late life.
2026 Innovative Project Award Recipients
This year’s co-funded award goes to Juliana Navia Pelaez, PhD, of St. Louis University for the submission “Neurogenic Priming of Perivascular Macrophages by Migraine-Associated Peptides Increases Stroke Risk.”
Some individuals who experience migraine have a higher risk of stroke. While clinicians do not fully understand why, there has been a focus on blood vessels in the brain. During a migraine headache, these vessels may tighten, swell, or change how blood moves through them. Scientists now suspect another part of the brain could also be involved: its own immune cells. These immune cells guard blood vessels and help protect the brain.
Dr. Pelaez’s project asks: do frequent migraine attacks make these brain “guards” too active? “If migraine attacks happen over and over, these immune cells might stay “on” for too long. When this happens, they might accidentally make the blood vessels weaker," writes Dr. Pelaez. “If the vessels get weaker, the brain might have a harder time protecting itself from a stroke.
The project will look at which signals during a migraine attack activate these brain immune cells. The project plans to use animals with migraine-like conditions or constantly active immune cells to see if their blood vessels get damaged or if they recover worse after a stroke, and compare them to animals without migraine to see what changes. “If our idea is right,” adds Dr. Pelaez, “This could help scientists find new ways to prevent strokes in people with chronic migraine, maybe by calming these overactive brain cells or blocking the signals that bother them.”
In addition, AHA has generously funded three other high-impact research projects to advance discoveries at the intersection of headache disorders and cerebrovascular health.
The Impact Of Cortical Spreading Depolarizations On Endothelial Phenotype, Neovascularization, and Collateral Remodeling
Principal Investigator: Dr. Andrea Harriott, Massachusetts General Hospital
There is a link between migraine with aura, stroke, and heart attack. Before, it was thought that migraine with aura may lead to stroke and heart attack because it increases the risk for other factors that cause these conditions. This project will investigate whether long-term exposure to mechanisms of migraine with aura causes long-term negative effects on blood vessels in the brain. Protein changes in blood vessel cells, new blood vessel formation, and function will be examined.
Defining The Glymphatic-Hemodynamic Axis In IIH A Novel Multi-Scale Quantitative MRI Framework
Principal Investigator: Dr. Matthew Bender, University of Rochester
Idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH) is a headache disorder that mostly affects overweight women of childbearing age. Doctors believe IIH happens because of high pressure in the brain from too much cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Recent research suggests IIH may also be connected to issues with the brain’s waste removal system. This project will develop a new MRI method to view the brain’s waste removal system and blood vessels without using contrast dye or invasive procedures. IIH patient brains will be scanned before and after vein stenting to see how opening the veins affects waste removal and blood flow.
Illuminating Nociceptive And Analgesic Mechanisms Of Choroid Plexus In Migraine And Obesity Models
Principal Investigator: Dr. Neil Dani, Vanderbilt University
There is a rising prevalence of obesity-related migraine. Scientists think a small part of the brain, the choroid plexus, may be causing the problem. The choroid plexus produces CSF and acts like a door for signals between the body and brain. Because obesity and migraine share inflammatory pathways, scientists think that signals that cause swelling in the body may travel to the brain through CSF, causing more migraines. This project will induce migraine in obese mice to characterize inflammation patterns, identify cellular rewiring and immune signaling changes, and test whether clinically approved drugs (e.g., acetazolamide) can reduce swelling and pain signaling.
Together, these efforts demonstrate the shared commitment of the American Headache Society and the American Heart Association to advancing brain health research. We are proud to support this research and look forward to these project outcomes.