Peter Goadsby: knowledge of politics, politics of knowledge

Abstract

If you work in headache and migraine, you don't need me to tell who Peter Goadsby is, but just in case, he is professor of neurology and director of the National Institute for Health Research's clinical research facility at King's College London, consultant neurologist at King's College Hospital and Great Ormond Street Hospital (both London, UK), and professor emeritus of neurology at the University of California (Los Angeles, CA, USA). I am sure you'll know that he challenged the received vascular mechanism of migraine to unravel one based on dysfunctional neuropeptide production in the trigeminal nerve. You will also know his work lies behind the advent of drugs targeting calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) and its receptor—monoclonal antibodies for keeping migraine at bay, and gepants, which have given relief to many migraineurs. You might even know about his being co-recipient of the 2021 Brain Prize, and his election as a fellow to the Royal Society in May, 2022. But you won't be aware that he initially told me he was so focused on his work that he'd be pretty dull to write about. Well, that was hardly true: especially when he told me he once thought he'd become a politician—a politician with knowledge.