Professor Alexandra J. Sinclair MBChB, MRCP, PhD

Professor Alex Sinclair

Department of Metabolism and Systems Science
Professor of Neurology, Bloomer Chair of Neurology
Director of the Translational Brain Science Research Group
Director and Chief Investigator for the Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Predict Consortia (mTBI Predict)

Contact details

Address
Translational Brain Science Research Group
Department of Metabolism and Systems Science
College of Medicine and Health
University 麻豆精选
Edgbaston
Birmingham
B15 2TT
UK

Professor Sinclair is Professor of Neurology within the Department of Metabolism and Systems Science at the University 麻豆精选, and Head of the Translational Brain Science Research Group. She is an international figure in translational research in Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension (IIH), headache and traumatic brain injury.

She is the vice chair for the , the UK headache society. She has been a board member of the  and , was on the scientific committee for the  and  was the Deputy Chair for the . She was on the research committee for the  and was also the previous patron of the patient charity . Professor Sinclair was previously on the  and the , as well as the .

In partnership with the Defence Medical Services and the Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre, Professor Sinclair and a team of experts at the University 麻豆精选 are leading a major new study aimed at identifying new ways to accurately predict whether patients will develop long-term complications as a consequence of mild Traumatic Brain injury.

Funded by the US Department of Defence and the UK Ministry of Defence, the study is  projected to run over eight years. The multi-faceted study will include a trial involving subjects (civilians, people with sports related injuries and military personnel) aged over 18 with a new diagnosis of mild Traumatic Brain injury  (sometimes called concussion).

Air Vice-Marshal (Professor) R D J Withnall, Director Defence Healthcare, commented: "I am delighted that the Defence Medical Services, including the Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre at Stanford Hall, will be working hand-in-glove with class-leading civilian colleagues.  I fully support this ground-breaking research which I am confident will lead to significant clinical innovation to benefit military and civilian patients, and have translational positive impact for sporting activities from grass-roots to elite levels."

Recently Professor Sinclair has launched a new study  funded by the UK Space Agency aimed at solving the health challenges faced by astronauts during long missions

NASA Chief Health and Medical Officer, James Polk, D.O. commented: 

“NASA is fortunate to have Dr Sinclair, an UK world class expert researcher, helping to answer a much needed space medical problem. Her grant from the UK Space Agency will importantly help protect not only astronauts during long duration space missions but many people on earth who suffer from increased intracranial pressure.”

Professor Alex Sinclair awarded Membership by Distinction of Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine.

 Professor Alex Sinclair, (left), and Dr Felicity Gabbay, FPM President (right)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Professor Sinclair has achieved this award for her significant contributions in the field of headache research and its treatment.

Recognised internationally for her pioneering research in headache and brain trauma, Professor Sinclair, Professor of Neurology at the University 麻豆精选, has been involved in the identification of disease pathways, discovering new drug approaches that act on these pathways and subsequently evaluating these drug approaches in clinical studies to assess their usefulness in treating patients.

Professor Sinclair has driven her preclinical and translational findings into pharmaceutical development. By securing intellectual property (patents, orphan drug designation (ODD) granted by the FDA and European Medicines Agency and key proof of concept data) she was able to raise significant funding ($38M) to create a University 麻豆精选 spin-out company. The company was launched on the Australian Stock market in July 2019. In her role as Chief Scientific Officer, she co-developed a comprehensive business strategy and led drug repurposing and reformulation and then animal bridging studies and pharmacokinetic assessments in human volunteers. She has been involved with the strategic engagement with regulatory authorities (EMA and FDA) and investigational new drug applications (IND). She has designed both Phase 2 and 3 clinical trials, has run and overseen analysis of data and authorisation of the Clinical Study Reports. She has overseen the filing to competent authorities for ethical approval in numerous geographies (US, Australia, New Zealand, Israel, Germany, France, UK). She actively involved in training and developing the next generation of clinical and basic scientists.

Professor Sinclair's expertise on raised intracranial pressure and her discovery of the new use of GLP- 1 receptor agonists to reduce intracranial pressure attracted interest from NASA, in their quest to reduce brain pressure during long duration space travel and allow them to go beyond the moon.

Over the period of 10 years, Professor Sinclair has published her work extensively and has also been awarded over £22million in grant funding in relation to her research from organisations such as, but not limited to, the Medical Research Council, Department of Defence USA, the Ministry of Defence UK and the UK Space Agency.

Qualifications

  • Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians, 2019
  • PhD, 2010
  • Member of the Royal College of Physicians (MRCP), UK, 2003
  • MBChB, University 麻豆精选, 2000

Biography

NASA delegation visits University 麻豆精选 to discuss its mission to Mars

Professor Sinclair graduated from the University 麻豆精选's Medical School in 2000 with honours and attained her MRCP in 2003. She completed her PhD in 2010, funded by a . Subsequently, she worked as a  Clinical Lecturer in Neurology and then a NIHR funded Clinician Scientist & Neurology Consultant.

She leads a translational research group, which seeks to establish and exploit the pathophysiological mechanisms underpinning the debilitating effects of metabolism and intracranial pressure on headache, traumatic brain injury and Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension (IIH). She looks to develop therapeutic strategies and generate real impact while improving patient care. The translational portfolio also encompasses a clinical trials programme enabling forward (novel therapeutic molecules are under assessment in patients) and back translation (biomarker evaluation in the laboratory setting).

Professor Sinclair is the vice chair for the , the UK headache society. She has been a board member of the  and   , was on the scientific committee for the  and  was the Deputy Chair for the . She was on the research committee for the  and was also the previous patron of the patient charity .. Professor Sinclair is on the  and the , as well as the .

Professor Sinclair and her research group hosted a high profile visit from NASA, in 2019. NASA are interested in Professor Sinclair's expertise on raised intracranial pressure stemming from her leading  at University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust coupled with her translational science portfolio at the University 麻豆精选. Her recent discovery of the novel use of glucogon-like peptide 1 receptor agonists to reduce intracranial pressure are of particular interest to the NASA team in their quest to reduce brain pressure during long duration space travel and allow them to go beyond the moon. The NASA visitors were: , Chief Health and Medical Officer, Dr Terrance Taddeo, Johnson Space Centre Chief Medical Officer,  Dr Victor Schneider, Physician Liaison to the NASA Human Research Programme and Dr John Allen, Audiologist and member of the Human Exploration. As part of the visit Dr JD Polk gave a sold-out .

Clinical

Professor Sinclair completed her Certificate of Specialist Training in Neurology in 2013 and established and previously led the Complex Headache Service at University Hospital Birmingham. She is a keen advocate and supporter of the multi-disciplinary care approach for Idiopathic intracranial hypertension and traumatic brain injury run at University Hospital Birmingham. She has a particular interest in traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic headache. She is passionate about driving excellence in clinical care and moving knowledge from research to improved patient outcomes.

Teaching

Teaching Programmes

Research

Professor Sinclair's work is supported by a number of academic grants and collaborations with industry.

Defining new treatment and headache mechanisms in raised intracranial pressure

Through a , Professor Sinclair is running a 5-year programme defining new treatment and headache mechanisms in raised intracranial pressure. A previous small clinical trial and shown . In this research program she will be evaluating the efficacy of a GLP-1 receptor agonist to treat Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension (IIH) through a large UK randomised control trial. Mechanistic work will comprise human physiology studies with complimentary in vivo studies. 

Establishing the optimal surgical intervention to preserve vision in IIH

This UK multi-centre randomised control trial funded by the NIHR HTA for six years will evaluate the effectiveness and cost effectiveness of dual venous sinus stenting compared to cerebrospinal fluid shunting to prevent visual loss in fulminant IIH. The trial is called IIH: Intervention and is a UK wide multicentre-trial.

Defining the metabolic contributors to intracranial pressure regulation

Utilising in vivo models with intracranial pressure monitoring, the group is exploring mechanisms that regulate intracranial pressure. 

Establishing accurate biomarkers for mild traumatic brain injury

Funded by the US Department of Defence and UK Ministry of Defence (total funds > £15.5M)  in collaboration with the Royal Centre of Defence Medicine, this study is seeking to identify accurate reproducible biomarkers in mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) that will predict the most common and disabling consequences of mTBI: primarily persistent post-traumatic headache, as well as cognitive dysfunction, depression, PTSD, dizziness and return to work. This will be achieved through an interdisciplinary harmonised research programme consisting of detailed clinical phenotyping of acute mTBI patients coupled with state-of-the-art multimodal biomarker evaluation (brain imaging, fluid biomarkers, steroid hormones, visual, vestibular, cerebral physiology and EEG biomarkers) in both military and civilian patients. The study will run over 8 years and is called mTBI Predict.

Investigate the optimal method of therapeutic weight management in IIH

Through a five year research programme funded by the NIHR, a randomised control trial (IIH:WT) has previously evaluated the optimal method of treating IIH through weight loss by comparing a , . The programme additionally seeks to identify the relationship between weight and . As well as by which .

Laboratory science to evaluate mechanism and novel therapeutics in headache and traumatic brain injury

The Translational Brain Science Preclinical Laboratory Team spans from  in vivo to in vitro laboratory research and  aims to understand and treat neurological conditions associated with headache, raised intracranial pressure and traumatic brain injury.

Other activities

Membership of professional bodies

  • (since 2018)
  •  (MRCP) UK (since 2003)

Public engagement

  • Previously Patron of charity (producing patient information leaflets, information videos and dissemination of clinically relevant information research through the annual patient conference). 

Patents and commercialisation

  • Patent: Inventor for the use of GLP-1 agonists in intracranial pressure, no: 1415598 (filed 2014 US, EU, ROW: granted 2019 ROW 2020 EU & US)
  • Orphan Drug designation: European Medicine Agency and FDA 2016.
  • Spin out company: , Founder, Previous Executive Director and Chief Scientific Officer (formed 2018 and listed on the Australian Stock exchange following capital raises of AUS $38).

Publications

Recent publications

Article

Mitchell, JL, Lyons, HS, Walker, JK, Yiangou, A, Thaller, M, Grech, O, Alimajstorovic, Z, Tsermoulas, G, Brock, K, Mollan, SP & Sinclair, AJ 2025, '', Headache, vol. 65, no. 2, pp. 258-268.

Sassani, M, Mitchell, JL, Yiangou, A, Davies, N, Sawlani, V, Mollan, SP, Wagshul, ME & Sinclair, AJ 2025, '', Eye (London, England).

Grech, O, Rubio-Beltran, E, Stanyer, EC, Labastida-Ramirez, A, Lavery, GG, Hill, LJ, Holland, PR & Sinclair, AJ 2025, '', Brain.

Thaller, M, Homer, V, Abbott, S, Hazlehurst, J, Mollan, SP & Sinclair, AJ 2024, '', Neuro-Ophthalmology.

Grech, O, Mitchell, JL, Lyons, HS, Yiangou, A, Thaller, M, Tsermoulas, G, Brock, K, Mollan, SP & Sinclair, AJ 2024, '', Eye, vol. 38, no. 7, pp. 1374-1379.

Ashina, H, Diener, H-C, Tassorelli, C, Scher, AI, Lipton, RB, Pozo-Rosich, P, Sinclair, AJ, Chong, CD, Finkel, AG, Ashina, M, Schwedt, TJ, Dodick, DW & Terwindt, GM 2024, '', Cephalalgia, vol. 44, no. 3, pp. 1-18.

Schiffer, L, Oestlund, I, Snoep, JL, Gilligan, LC, Taylor, AE, Sinclair, AJ, Singhal, R, Freeman, A, Ajjan, R, Tiganescu, A, Arlt, W & Storbeck, KH 2024, '', FASEB Journal, vol. 38, no. 7, e23574.

Yiangou, A, Weaver, SRC, Thaller, M, Mitchell, JL, Lyons, HS, Tsermoulas, G, Mollan, SP, Lucas, SJE & Sinclair, AJ 2024, '', Neuro-Ophthalmology, vol. 48, no. 2, pp. 122-133.

Mollan, SP, Momin, SNA, Khatkar, PS, Grech, O, Sinclair, A & Tsermoulas, G 2023, '', Eye and Brain, vol. 15, pp. 113-124.

Thaller, M, Homer, V, Mollan, S & Sinclair, A 2023, '', Clinical and Experimental Ophthalmology.

Comment/debate

Bilton, EJ, Sinclair, A & Mollan, S 2023, '', Eye, vol. 37, 3049.

Review article

UK mTBI Predict Consortium, Sassani, M, Ghafari, T, Arachchige, PRW, Idrees, I, Gao, Y, Waitt, A, Weaver, SRC, Mazaheri, A, Lyons, HS, Grech, O, Thaller, M, Witton, C, Bagshaw, AP, Wilson, M, Park, H, Brookes, M, Novak, J, Mollan, SP, Hill, LJ, Lucas, SJE, Mitchell, JL, Sinclair, AJ, Mullinger, K & Fernandez-Espejo, D 2025, '', Brain Communications.

Lyons, H, Sassani, M, Hyder, YF, Mitchell, J, Thaller, M, Mollan, S, Sinclair, A, Blanch, R & mTBI Predict Consortium 2024, '', Eye, vol. 38, no. 6, pp. 1077-1083.

UK mTBI Predict Consortium, Lyons, HS, Sassani, M, Thaller, M, Yiangou, A, Grech, O, Mollan, SP, Wilson, DR, Lucas, SJE, Mitchell, JL, Hill, LJ & Sinclair, AJ 2024, '', Military medicine.

Wilcha, RJ, Afridi, SK, Barbanti, P, Diener, HC, J眉rgens, TP, Lanteri鈥怣inet, M, Lucas, C, Mawet, J, Moisset, X, Russo, A, Sacco, S, Sinclair, AJ, Sumelahti, ML, Tassorelli, C & Goadsby, PJ 2024, '', European Journal of Neurology, vol. 31, no. S2, e16434.