Dr Olivia Grech PhD

Dr Olivia Grech

Department of Metabolism and Systems Science
Post Doctoral Research Assistant

Contact details

Address
University of Birmingham
Edgbaston
Birmingham
B15 2TT
UK
Olivia Grech - 2022 Members Webinar

Dr Grech is a post-doctoral research assistant in the Translational Brain Science group. She joined Professor Sinclair’s group in 2019 in which she completed a Brain Research UK PhD studentship, which delved into unravelling the mechanisms underlying headaches related to raised intracranial pressure, utilizing advanced animal models and methods. The project also explored the impact of metabolism on headaches, with a particular focus on Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension. Her research has gained international recognition through presentations at prominent conferences and symposiums, and she has authored several articles on IIH, headaches, and metabolism.

Dr Grech now continues her research following her PhD, utilizing animal models of raised intracranial pressure to investigate different facets of raised pressure headaches, aiming to better develop therapeutic solutions.

Qualifications

  • PhD Metabolism and Systems Science 2024
  • MRes Biomedical Science and Translational Medicine University of Liverpool 2018
  • BSc Biomedical Sciences University of York 2017

Other activities

  • Trustee for The Midland Neuroscience Research and Teaching Fund January 2020-Current
  • Social media team member for the European Headache Federation March 2020-Current

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, 'A randomized sequential cross-over trial evaluating five purportedly ICP-lowering drugs in idiopathic intracranial hypertension', Headache, vol. 65, no. 2, pp. 258-268. https://doi.org/10.1111/head.14897

Grech, O, Rubio-Beltran, E, Stanyer, EC, Labastida-Ramirez, A, Lavery, GG, Hill, LJ, Holland, PR & Sinclair, AJ 2025, 'Raised intracranial pressure alters cortical vascular function and cephalic allodynia', Brain. https://doi.org/10.1093/brain/awae415

Mugo, CW, Church, E, Horniblow, RD, Mollan, SP, Botfield, H, Hill, LJ, Sinclair, AJ & Grech, O 2025, 'Unravelling the gut-brain connection: a systematic review of migraine and the gut microbiome', The Journal of Headache and Pain, vol. 26, no. 1, pp. 125. https://doi.org/10.1186/s10194-025-02039-7

Grech, O, Mitchell, JL, Lyons, HS, Yiangou, A, Thaller, M, Tsermoulas, G, Brock, K, Mollan, SP & Sinclair, AJ 2024, 'Effect of glucagon like peptide-1 receptor agonist exenatide, used as an intracranial pressure lowering agent, on cognition in Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension', Eye, vol. 38, no. 7, pp. 1374-1379. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41433-023-02908-y

Reyat, J, Sommerfeld, L, O'Reilly, M, Roth Cardoso, V, Thiemann, E, Khan, A, O'Shea, C, Harder, S, Müller, C, Barlow, J, Stapley, R, Chua, WWL, Kabir, N, Grech, O, Hummel, O, Hübner, N, Kaab, S, Mont, L, Hatem, SN, Winters, J, Zeemering, S, Morgan, N, Rayes, J, Gehmlich, K, Stoll, M, Brand, T, Schweizer , M, Piasecki, A, Schotten, U, Gkoutos, G, Lorenz, K, Cuello, F, Kirchhof, P & Fabritz, L 2024, 'PITX2 deficiency leads to atrial mitochondrial dysfunction', Cardiovascular Research. https://doi.org/10.1093/cvr/cvae169

Mollan, SP, Momin, SNA, Khatkar, PS, Grech, O, Sinclair, A & Tsermoulas, G 2023, 'A neuro-ophthalmologist’s guide to advances in intracranial pressure measurements', Eye and Brain, vol. 15, pp. 113-124. https://doi.org/10.2147/EB.S404642

Alimajstorovic, Z, Mitchell, J, Yiangou, A, Hancox, T, Southam, A, Grech, O, Ottridge, R, Winder, C, Tahrani, A, Tan, TM, Mollan, S, Dunn, W & Sinclair, A 2023, 'Determining the role of novel metabolic pathways in driving intracranial pressure reduction after weight loss', Brain Communications, vol. 5, no. 5, fcad272. https://doi.org/10.1093/braincomms/fcad272

Mitchell, JL, Lyons, HS, Walker, JK, Yiangou, A, Grech, O, Alimajstorovic, Z, Greig, NH, Li, Y, Tsermoulas, G, Brock, K, Mollan, SP & Sinclair, AJ 2023, 'The effect of GLP-1RA exenatide on idiopathic intracranial hypertension: a randomized clinical trial', Brain, vol. 146, no. 5, pp. 1821-1830. https://doi.org/10.1093/brain/awad003

Alimajstorovic, Z, Mollan, S, Grech, O, Mitchell, J, Yiangou, A, Thaller, M, Lyons, H, Sassani, M, Seneviratne, S, Hancox, T, Jankevics, A, Najdekr, L, Dunn, W & Sinclair, A 2022, 'Dysregulation of amino acid, lipid and acylpyruvate metabolism in idiopathic intracranial hypertension: a non-targeted case control and longitudinal metabolomic study', Journal of Proteome Research. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jproteome.2c00449

Mitchell, J, Buckham, R, Lyons, H, Walker, J, Yiangou, A, Sassani, M, Thaller, M, Grech, O, Alimajstorovic, Z, Julher, M, Tsermoulas, G, Brock, K, Mollan, S & Sinclair, A 2022, 'Evaluation of diurnal and postural intracranial pressure employing telemetric monitoring in idiopathic intracranial hypertension', Fluids and barriers of the CNS, vol. 19, no. 1, 85. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12987-022-00384-2

Review article

Anwar, F, Grech, O, Mugo, CW, Roberts, JA, Hubbard, JC, Thomas, CN, Sinclair, AJ & Hill, LJ 2025, 'A systematic review of the causes and consequences of spreading depolarization in neuroinflammation; implications for neurovascular disorders', Journal of Neuroinflammation, vol. 22, no. 1, 178. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12974-025-03503-6

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, 'Current and prospective roles of magnetic resonance imaging in mild traumatic brain injury', Brain Communications. https://doi.org/10.1093/braincomms/fcaf120

Lyons, H, Sassani, M, Hyder, YF, Mitchell, J, Thaller, M, Mollan, S, Sinclair, A, Blanch, R & mTBI Predict Consortium 2024, 'A systematic review of optical coherence tomography findings in adults with mild traumatic brain injury', Eye, vol. 38, no. 6, pp. 1077-1083. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41433-023-02845-w

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, 'Evaluating the Phenotypic Patterns of Post-Traumatic Headache: A Systematic Review of Military Personnel', Military medicine. https://doi.org/10.1093/milmed/usae353

Grech, O, Sassani, M, Terwindt, G, Lavery, G, Mollan, S & Sinclair, A 2022, 'Alterations in metabolic flux in migraine and the translational relevance', The Journal of Headache and Pain, vol. 23, no. 1, 127. https://doi.org/10.1186/s10194-022-01494-w

View all publications in research portal