Programme
This conference has received financial sponsorship from the following pharmaceutical companies: AbbVie Ltd., electroCore UK Ltd. Lundbeck Ltd., Organon, Pfizer, Teva Medical and Theranica. These companies have provided sponsorship towards the costs of the conference but have had no involvement in the development of the scientific programme, selection of speakers, choice of topics, or editorial content, except for any clearly identified sponsored sessions or activities.
Thursday 3 September 2026
Teaching courses
Teaching courses are a core part of the pre-conference programme, created to support frontline healthcare professionals who manage headache disorders in everyday practice. They are specifically aimed at primary care practitioners, allied health professionals, and other clinicians involved in patient care.
These focused educational sessions are delivered by experienced clinicians, general practitioners, and researchers who specialise in headache care, particularly migraine. Each course is designed to be practical, up to date, and directly relevant to real-world clinical settings.
The aim is to give attendees greater confidence to recognise and understand headache disorders, manage them effectively, and support patients in their day-to-day practice. By strengthening knowledge and decision-making at the first point of care, these courses contribute to better outcomes for patients and a more consistent standard of treatment across services.
14:00 – 17:40 Opening Session
14:00 - 15:30 MTIS 2026 Registration
15:30 - 15:40 Opening Session
Prof J Goadsby
Chair, MTIS International Scientific Advisory Committee
15:40 - 16:30 Plenary Session 1: MacDonald Critchley Lecture
15:40 - 15:50 Introduction:
Dr. Mark Weatherall, Clinical Lead for Neurology at the Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust
15:50 - 16:30 What does CGRP tell us about migraine?
Prof Andy Russo, Professor of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics and Neurology, University of Iowa, USA
16:40 - 17:40 Industry Symposium 1: Supported by AbbVie Ltd
Details to follow
Friday 4 September 2026
08:00 - 09:00 - Industry Symposium 2
Details TBC
09:00 - 10:30 Plenary Session 2: AI for Healthcare Professionals
09:00 - 09:10 Introduction
Speaker TBC
09:10 - 09:50 AI for Healthcare Professionals- What you need to know
Prof Jesper Tegner, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Saudi Arabia
09:50 - 10:05 Imaging Primary Headache Disorders
Dr. Roberta Messina, Researcher at Vita-Salute San Raffaele University
10:05 - 10:20 Speaker to be confirmed
10:20 - 10:30 Panel Discussion
10:30 - 11:00 Coffee Break
11:00 - 12:00 Oral Communications 1
Oral presentations from submitted abstracts (8 minutes + 2 minutes discussion)
Note: Presentation will be confirmed following review of abstract submissions
12:00 - 13:00 Industry Symposium 3: Supported by Lundbeck Ltd
Details TBC
13:00 – 14:30 Lunch
13:05 – 13:35 Industry Session: Supported by Teva UK Ltd
Details TBC
13:35 - 14:30 E-Poster Presentations Session 1
Poster presentations from submitted abstracts (2-minute presentation + 1-minute discussion.)
Note: Presentation will be confirmed following review of abstract submissions
14:30 - 15:30 Parallel Sessions
Parallel Session 1: Paediatrics / Adolescent Headache
Chairs: Dr Prab Prabakar and Dr Amy Gelfand
09:00 - 09:10 Introduction
Speaker TBC
14:30 - 14:45 Newer Treatment Use in Children and Young People
Dr Amy Gelfand, Pediatric neurologist in San Francisco, California
14:45 - 15:00 Vestibular Migraine in Children
Dr Nazia Karsan, King’s College, London
15:00 - 15:15 Functional Neurological Disorders and Migraine in Children
Dr Prabhakar, Great Ormond Street Hospital, London, UK
15:15 - 15:30 Moderated Discussion
Parallel Session 2: PACAP in Headache Disorders – From Human Models to Clinical Translation
Chair: Prof Messoud Ashina
14:30 - 14: 45 Human experimental models and the role of PACAP in headache disorders (migraine, cluster headache, and post-traumatic headache)
Prof Messoud Ashina, Danish Headache Center, Rigshospitalet Glostrup, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
14:45 - 15:00 Mode and site of action of PACAP: insights from preclinical research
Dr Simon Akerman, Associate Professor at University of Maryland, USA
15:00 - 15:15 Clinical development and emerging data on PACAP - targeted therapies
Prof Piero Barbanti
15:00 - 15:15 Clinical development and emerging data on PACAP - targeted therapies
Prof Piero Barbanti
15:15 - 15:30 Moderated Discussion
Parallel Session 3: Migraine in the Real World: Patient Experience, Inequality and Impact
Chairs: Rob Music: Chief Executive, The Migraine Trust and Dr Elena Ruiz de la Torre, European Migraine and Headache Alliance (EMHA), Spain
14:30 - 14: 45 What Patients Tell Us - Insights on Impact, Outcomes and Unmet Need
Rob Music
14:45 - 15:00 Surprising Findings From The Women And Migraine Survey
Dr Elena Ruiz de la Torre
15:00 - 15:15 TBC
TBC
15:15 - 15:30 Panel Discussion
15:30 - 16:00 Coffee Break
16:00 - 16:45 Plenary Session 3 : The Migraine Trust Lecture
16:00 - 16:45 Introduction
Dr. Shazia Afridi
16:00 - 16:45 Exploring biobehavioural techniques in clinical care
Dawn C. Buse, PhD, Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, USA
17:00 – 18:00 Industry Symposium 4
Details TBC
Saturday 5 September 2026
07:30 - 08:30 Industry Symposium 5
Details TBC
08:30 - 10:00 Plenary Session 4 - Migraine and the Influence of Ovarian Sex Hormones
Chair: Shazia Afridi and Gisela Terwindt
08:30 - 08:50 From Experimental Models to Patient Care: What Have We Learned?
Focus: Translational insights from experimental work that directly inform clinical understanding and treatment development in hormonally influenced migraine.
Dr. Else Tolner, Leiden University Medical Centre, Netherlands
08:50 - 09:10 Menstrual Migraine: Current and Emerging Therapeutic Strategies
Focus: Practical management of menstrual migraine, acute and preventive approaches, hormonal strategies, and managing special cases.
Prof. Dr. Gisela Terwindt, Leiden University Medical Centre, Netherlands
09:10 - 09:30 Migraine in Pregnancy and Lactation: Practical Clinical Management
Focus: How pregnancy affects migraine, evidence-based management during pregnancy, postpartum safety considerations and unmet needs.
Dr. Shazla Afridi, Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
09:30 - 09:50 Migraine in perimenopausal transition: What is useful to do?
Focus: Women with migraine often have more perimenopausal complaints and increased frequency of migraine, how should this be managed?
Prof. Dr. Rossella E. Nappi, Gynecologist, Endocrinologist and Sexologist, IRCCS San Matteo Foundation, University of Pavia (Italy)
09:50 - 10:00 Q&A
10:00 - 10:30 Coffee Break
10:30 - 11:30 Parallel Sessions
Parallel Sessions 5: Targeting CGRP in Migraine
Chairs: Professor Lars Edvinsson and Dr Todd Schwedt
10:30 - 10:50 Where do the gepants and CGRP monoclonal antibodies act to modulate trigeminal signaling?
Professor Lars Edvinsson
10:50 - 11:05 Personalizing CGRP - Targeted Migraine Treatment: Can We Predict Response?
Dr Todd Schwedt
11:05 - 11:20 Real-World Insights into CGRP-Targeted Migraine Therapy
Speaker and Title TBC
11:20 - 11:30 Moderated Discussion
Parallel Session 6: Title: CSD and migraine aura: what’s new?
Chairs: Andrew Charles and Anders Hougaard
10:30 - 10:50 Advances in the understanding of cortical spreading depolarization in animal models and humans
Andrew Charles, UCLA School of Medicine in Los Angeles
10:50 - 11:05 Definitions of migraine aura and its place in the clinical phenomenology of migraine.
Anders Hougaard, Copenhagen University Hospital, Denmark
11:05 - 11:20 Characteristics of the migraine visual aura: what do they tell us about migraine pathophysiology and how to treat migraine?
Michele Viana, National Neurological Institute “Mondino” in Pavia, Italy.
11:20 - 11:30 Panel Discussion
11:30 - 12:30 Industry Symposium 6: Supported by Pfizer
Details TBC
12:30 - 13:30 Lunch
13:00 - 13:30 30 minute Industry Session
Details TBC
13:30 - 14:30 E-Poster Presentations Session 2:
Presentation from poster abstract submissions (2-minute presentation + 1-minute discussion).
Note: Presentation will be confirmed following review of abstract submissions
14:30 – 15:30 Oral Communications 2:
Presentation from poster abstract submissions (2-minute presentation + 1-minute discussion).
Note: Presentation will be confirmed following review of abstract submissions
15:30 - 16:00 Coffee Break
16:00 - 16:30 Plenary Session 5: Cluster Headache Award Lecture
Speaker and Title to be confirmed
16:30-17:00 Closing Remarks
Prof P J Goadsby
Migraine Trust International Symposium
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