Prof. Dr. Gisela Terwindt is a consultant neurologist and director of the Leiden Headache Center (LUMC) in the Netherlands. She is Chair of the Clinical Trial Guideline Committee and the Women Inclusion Diversity Equality (WIDE) Special Interest Group of the International Headache Society (IHS), and committee member of the International Classification of Headache Disorders (ICHD).
Her research focuses on the neurobiological and molecular mechanisms that trigger migraine attacks, aiming to identify targeted treatments for prevention and disease progression. A key emphasis of her work is the role of female-specific factors, particularly hormonal influences on migraine and the heightened cardiovascular risks that migraine presents for women. Despite growing evidence, many physicians remain unaware that migraine treatment in women should differ from that in men. Her group is actively working to bridge this gap by investigating the impact of hormonal fluctuations on migraine and the unique stroke risk associated with migraine in women.
Additionally, Prof. Terwindt’s research extends to monogenic disorders such as familial hemiplegic migraine and cerebral hereditary angiopathies, which serve as models for understanding migraine pathogenesis and broader neurovascular disorders, including stroke and dementia. She has published nearly 500 scientific papers and book chapters.
Prof. Terwindt earned her MSc in Biology and MD from the University of Leiden, Netherlands. Her PhD focused on the epidemiology and genetics of migraine, leading to the discovery of the first migraine-related gene.
