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ABOUT THE MIGRAINE RESEARCH FOUNDATION

The Migraine Research Foundation (MRF) was founded in 2006 as the only nonprofit whose mission is to fund research into migraine’s causes and improved treatments because no other entity, including the federal government, is filling this need. Migraine is a neurological disease affecting 1 in 4 American families. It is not just a bad headache. It is an extremely incapacitating collection of neurological symptoms which can vary widely. Everyone is different, and symptoms vary not only by person but by attack. Astonishingly, we still don’t know what causes migraine. Consequently, diagnosis and proper treatment are often very difficult to ascertain.

 

MRF serves 36 million Americans who are afflicted with the debilitating effects of this often undiagnosed disease. The World Health Organization includes migraine as one of the world’s most disabling diseases. Migraine disrupts the lives of 1 in 10 Americans, their friends, and co-workers. About 60 million Americans will experience a migraine attack this year. We field innumerable heartwrenching inquiries from sufferers who have nowhere to turn in their desperate search for help and support.  

  

  • Migraine is a children’s health issue: Half of all migraine sufferers have their first attack by the age of 12. Ten per cent of all school-age children suffer, and kids with migraine are a tragically under-served population, with few specialists to care for them and even fewer approved medications to treat them.

 

  • Migraine is a women’s health issue: Three times as many women suffer as men.

 

  • Migraine is a public health issue: Every 10 seconds, someone goes to the emergency room with a headache or migraine. Around 14 million people suffer from chronic daily headache, when attacks come nearly daily and treatment is extremely difficult and costly. Chronic migraine sufferers are part of the legions of Americans with chronic pain who consume an enormous amount of healthcare services, with an estimated annual price tag of close to $50 billion. U.S. employers lose more than $13 billion a year from lost work days due to migraine.  

 

Despite its prevalence and major impact on society, business, and families, migraine is still largely undiagnosed, widely misunderstood, and research is still severely underfunded. 

 

MRF raises money to fund migraine research. Our grants are typically $50,000 and last about one year. They provide seed funding to researchers through a competitive process, enabling projects that can demonstrate success to seek larger-scale support. In addition, by offering these grants, MRF attracts more researchers to the challenge of advancing the science of migraine medicine and encourages new lines of inquiry leading to prevention and a cure. 

 

MRF solicits research proposals that will ultimately lead to better treatment and quality of life for sufferers through an annual Request for Proposals (RFP). Our world-renowned Medical Advisory Board is comprised of the nation’s pre-eminent migraine doctors and researchers. They review and discuss grant proposals, considering their innovation, importance, achievability, and relevance to advancing migraine science, and they advise MRF’s Board of Directors. Our Board of Directors makes the final decision on how many and which proposals to fund based on the recommendations of the Medical Advisory Board, policy considerations, and the amount of money donated. 

 

MRF has funded 41 projects in 7 years. Twenty-six have been completed, and several more are in their final stages. Many have been published in leading scientific journals and presented at research symposia. Each year, the response to our RFP has grown as word of our presence in the research community has spread. To view a description of our grants and a final report for each of our completed grants, please see MRF’s website at: migraineresearchfoundation.org/about-mrfgrants.html. 

 

Since its founding, MRF has run a very lean organization. Members of our Board of Directors underwrite all operating expenses. As a result, all money raised goes directly to fund research and help sufferers. We are acutely aware of our mission – we raise money to give it away. We are not interested in building a bureaucracy or an endowment. 

 

MRF also provides information and other resources for sufferers. We respond to daily requests from all over the world for information, resources, and help. We educate, raise awareness of the importance of research, and maintain proprietary lists of Board-certified headache doctors and children’s headache doctors on our website, www.MigraineResearchFoundation.org. MRF also provides resource material to the press and maintains active Facebook and Twitter communities, where sufferers and their families can share experiences, learn about support services, be alerted to the latest migraine news, and feel less alone.

 

The Migraine Research Foundation has an established reputation within the international headache community, a focused mission, and deep knowledge of the migraine field. We are on the trail of making substantial breakthroughs that will improve our understanding of migraine. Investing in research is the only way to move migraine science forward and lead to the development of better treatments that will enable sufferers to live pain-free, healthy and happy lives. 

 

 

Migraine Research Foundation   

300 East 75th Street Suite 3K

New York, NY 10021 
Phone 212-249-5402

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