Amynah Pradhan, PhD, director of the Center for Clinical Pharmacology (CCP), has been selected as a Member-at-Large on the American Headache Society (AHS) Board of Directors for the 2024-2026 term.
AHS is dedicated to improving the lives of individuals affected by migraine and other headache disorders, and collaborates with healthcare professionals, physicians, and advocates to advance research and patient care in the field.
“I am so honored to have been elected to the AHS board of directors,” said Pradhan. “As a preclinical scientist, my goal is to advocate for and support initiatives that advance basic and translational headache research, while fostering enhanced communication and collaboration between clinicians and scientists. The AHS has an unwavering commitment to the development of its members, and I hope to contribute positively to this mandate.”
Pradhan’s journey in neuroscience began at McGill University in Montreal, Canada, where she pursued her undergraduate and graduate studies. Her extensive academic background includes a PhD from the Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, and subsequent postdoctoral fellowships at AstraZeneca Montreal and the Institut de Génétique et de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire (IGBMC) in Strasbourg, France.
Before joining the CCP, Pradhan conducted pivotal research at the University of California, Los Angeles, delving into the ligand-specific recruitment of arrestins to the delta opioid receptor. Her work identified this receptor as a novel therapeutic target for migraine and contributed to the development of a preclinical model for chronic migraine, now widely used in academic and industry laboratories. In 2013, she joined the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), where she was an associate professor with tenure and the director of the graduate program in neuroscience.
Currently, Pradhan’s research at the CCP focuses on the regulation of headache-related symptoms by opioid receptors and the identification of neuroplastic changes that maintain chronic pain states. Her lab continues to develop innovative animal models for various headache disorders, including post-traumatic and medication overuse headaches. Additionally, Pradhan explores the role of pro-migraine neuropeptides in increased susceptibility to these conditions and investigates common mechanisms that bridge opioid overuse with pain chronification.
“We are fortunate to have a scientist of Dr. Pradhan’s caliber in our department. Dr. Pradhan has made major contributions to our understanding of migraine and other headache disorders. Her international leadership furthers her contributions and is a credit to our department and WashU Medicine.”
Michael S. Avidan, MBBCh, FCA SA, Head of the Department of Anesthesiology
“We are fortunate to have a scientist of Dr. Pradhan’s caliber in our department,” said the Head of the Department of Anesthesiology, Michael S. Avidan, MBBCh, FCA SA. “Dr. Pradhan has made major contributions to our understanding of migraine and other headache disorders. Her international leadership furthers her contributions and is a credit to our department and WashU Medicine.”
Pradhan’s election to the AHS Board of Directors further solidifies her commitment to advancing headache research and promoting collaboration within the scientific and medical community. We are confident she will make a significant impact on the lives of those affected by severe headaches.