# Feasibility, Acceptability, and Pilot Testing of a Behavioral Intervention for Chronic Migraine

> **NIH NIH K01** · STANFORD UNIVERSITY · 2022 · $240,354

## Abstract

Project Summary: This K01 NINDS Award will provide Dr. Yohannes Woldeamanuel with intensive, supervised
training to help him become an independent research scientist focusing on headache medicine, more specifically
on managing migraine using health-promoting lifestyle behaviors (e.g. regular exercise). Using this K01 Award,
Dr. Woldeamanuel will get the support necessary to complete the following goals: (a) become skilled in clinical
trials involving behavioral interventions to manage migraine, (b) train in statistical and bioinformatics methods,
(c) to gain proficiency in mass spectrometry, assays, and quantification, (d) develop activities and scholarship
aimed at career development goals to become an independent investigator. To achieve these goals, Dr.
Woldeamanuel has assembled a team of mentors: Drs. Robert Cowan (Primary Mentor), Oxana Palesh (Co-
Mentor), Jamie Zeitzer (Co-Mentor), Michael Snyder (Co-Mentor), Ying Lu (Advisor), Allis Chien (Advisor).
Research: Increasingly, migraine patients prefer non-drug treatment options and often discontinue drug
treatment due to adverse effects, poor compliance, and cost issues. Currently, there is no direct evidence
demonstrating the utility of regular lifestyle behavior (RLB i.e. regular sleep, exercise, mealtime) to manage
chronic migraine. This proposal is the first to conduct a feasibility and pilot testing study of RLB in managing
chronic migraine using the following specific aims. Primary Aim: To determine the feasibility and acceptability of
RLB in chronic migraine patients. Secondary Aim: To examine the preliminary efficacy of RLB in managing
chronic migraine as measured by reduction in monthly migraine days. Mechanistic Exploratory Aim: To examine
candidate biomarkers that predict chronic migraine patients who are RLB-responders. The development, pilot
testing, and validation RLB-based migraine therapy will have a positive impact in the headache field by providing
a framework for development of efficacious lifestyle-based self-management protocols. By demonstrating it to
be equipotent to daily medications, lifestyle medicine can have the added value of obviating medication risks
and unwanted side-effects common among chronic migraine sufferers. The proposed research is innovative
because its successful completion will pilot test a novel method by utilizing RLB as a self-management tool in
managing migraine. In addition, this proposed research will use multi-omics to elucidate underlying biological
mechanisms of RLB therapy. Application of system biology technology will create a paradigm shift from current
headache research concentrating on single molecule. This approach will be the first of its kind in the headache
field in providing proof-of-principle that personalized lifestyle-based protocols can be used to manage migraine.
This research will form the basis for an R01 application of a full-scale clinical trial before the end of the K award.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10494152
- **Project number:** 5K01NS124911-02
- **Recipient organization:** STANFORD UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Yohannes Woubishet Woldeamanuel
- **Activity code:** K01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $240,354
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2021-09-30 → 2026-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10494152

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10494152, Feasibility, Acceptability, and Pilot Testing of a Behavioral Intervention for Chronic Migraine (5K01NS124911-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10494152. Licensed CC0.

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