Archives: Experts

Carl Cincinnato stopped taking his health for granted at an early age due to migraine. He has had migraine for 30 years. Over this time health has become central throughout his life and work. This includes working with some of the biggest health companies in the world.

Today, he works with several charities, foundations, and organizations, including Headache Australia, the Brain Foundation, the Coalition of Headache and Migraine Patients, the Global Patient Advocacy Coalition and the World Headache and Migraine Alliance. He is a member of the International Headache Society, he acts on several advisory councils and he also is the editor at MigrainePal.com and co-host for the Migraine World Summit.

Carl is a public and passionate patient advocate for migraine. He has spoken nationally and internationally about migraine and the need to increase research funding, reduce stigma, increase patient support and education.

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Elizabeth DeStefano has been a key member of the Migraine World Summit team since 2018, contributing across a variety of roles, including content editing, interviewing, production, and operations. Her expertise and dedication have been instrumental in shaping the Summit’s mission to empower and educate the migraine community.

This year, Elizabeth joins Carl Cincinnato as co-host for the Summit’s live webinars during premiere week, bringing her extensive experience and passion to the forefront. Her inspiring story, shared on her interviewer page video, has resonated with many attendees over the years.

Elizabeth’s journey with migraine began in childhood, fueling her commitment to improving the lives of others. She holds a Master of Public Health from George Washington University and dual Bachelor’s degrees in Science and Arts from Washington & Lee University. With a background in public health, nonprofit leadership, and professional education, she brings a wealth of knowledge and compassion to her work.

Dr. Hope O’Brien is a distinguished neurologist and expert in headache medicine, recognized for her significant contributions to the field of neurology and her innovative approach to patient care. She earned her Bachelor of Science in neuroscience with Honors Distinction for Research from the University of Rochester in New York. Building on this strong foundation, Dr. O’Brien pursued her medical degree at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, where she also completed her residency in adult general neurology.

Following her residency, Dr. O’Brien advanced her expertise through a fellowship in headache medicine at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. Her dedication and expertise in this area led her to a faculty position at the same institution, where she created and directed the Young Adult Headache Program and the Headache Medicine Fellowship. Her work has had a profound impact on the management and treatment of headache disorders.

In June 2021, Dr. O’Brien founded the Headache Center of Hope, a pioneering direct-to-consumer and concierge neurology practice dedicated to addressing the needs of patients of all ages who experience recurrent headaches. This practice reflects her commitment to providing personalized and accessible care.

Dr. O’Brien is board certified in both neurology and headache medicine, and she holds an Executive MBA degree, which complements her clinical expertise with strong business acumen. Her research is particularly focused on late adolescents and young adults with headaches, and she has authored over 75 peer-reviewed publications, abstracts, and book chapters.

Her leadership extends to several expert committees of prestigious organizations, including the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) and the American Headache Society (AHS). Dr. O’Brien serves as the vice chair of the Meeting Management Committee of the AAN and the Accreditation Council of the United Council of Neurologic Subspecialties. She is also a valued member of the Medscape/AHS Migraine Center of Excellence advisory board.

In addition to her clinical and administrative roles, Dr. O’Brien is an associate professor volunteer faculty member in neurology at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, where she contributes to the education and training of future neurologists.

Dr. O’Brien’s career reflects a dedication to advancing the field of neurology and improving patient outcomes through innovative research, leadership, and direct patient care.

Alan Gordon, LCSW, is the founder and director of the Pain Psychology Center in Los Angeles, where he oversees a team of 40 therapists. Alan developed pain reprocessing therapy (PRT), a cutting-edge protocol for treating chronic pain.

He recently completed a groundbreaking neuroimaging study on the efficacy of PRT in conjunction with the University of Colorado Boulder. His work has been featured in The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The Times of London, and the Today show. He was featured in the film Pain Brain and is the author of The Way Out: A Revolutionary, Scientifically Proven Approach to Healing Chronic Pain. Alan has presented on the topic of pain treatment at conferences and trainings throughout the country.

Faraidoon Haghdoost (MD, PhD) is a research fellow on headache disorders at The George Institute for Global Health, University of New South Wales (UNSW), Sydney, Australia. Dr. Haghdoost is interested in studying headache disorders — especially migraine disease — contributing to growing awareness of the need for headache-specific research, and starting a headache-specific research group based on headache patients’ needs.

Dr. Haghdoost is passionate about engaging with scientists, healthcare providers, and people with headache disorders through social media and other communication platforms. He is highly skilled in clinical trials and meta-analysis, study design, statistical data analysis, communication, lecturing, and presentations.

Dr. Thomas Berk is the medical director of Neura Health and a neurologist and headache specialist based in New York City. A former clinical assistant professor at the Department of Neurology at New York University Grossman School of Medicine, he has more than 12 years of clinical experience.

Dr. Berk graduated from the NYU Grossman School of Medicine and completed his neurology residency there. He completed a headache fellowship at the Jefferson Headache Center in Philadelphia. He is a fellow of the American Headache Society and, for the past five years, has been on the Super Doctors list of rising stars, a list of outstanding doctors from more than 40 medical specialties.

Professor Amynah Pradhan, PhD, is the director of the Center for Clinical Pharmacology at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, and a neuroscientist specializing in migraine research. With extensive experience in pain, migraine, and opioid pharmacology, she received her PhD in Pharmacology and Therapeutics from McGill University in Montreal, Quebec. Dr. Pradhan established her own laboratory in 2013 and joined the Center for Clinical Pharmacology in 2022.

A major focus of Dr. Pradhan’s research is understanding the role of opioid receptors in migraine and pain states. She led the first group to develop a novel preclinical model of chronic migraine pain, which is now widely used as a screening tool in both academic and industry labs. Dr. Pradhan identified the delta opioid receptor as a new therapeutic target for headache disorders, leading to the development of a novel delta agonist for migraine that is entering Phase II clinical trials. Her ongoing studies explore how delta opioid receptors regulate headache disorders and associated symptoms. Additionally, she investigates the molecular mechanisms contributing to migraine chronicity, including neuronal complexity and cytoskeletal dynamics. Dr. Pradhan aims to translate laboratory findings into clinical applications, particularly for the treatment of migraine and related neuropsychiatric conditions.

Wade Cooper is a headache specialist and faculty member of the Memorial Healthcare Institute for Neuroscience in Howell, Michigan. He completed a neurology residency at Michigan State University and a fellowship in headache medicine at the Michigan Head Pain and Neurological Institute. He previously served as the headache medicine fellowship director at the University of Michigan.

Dr. Cooper has a special interest in the relationship between inflammatory disorders and autonomic dysfunction in those with chronic pain and headache. He was drawn to the field of headache medicine by the vast unmet need for those affected by chronic headache and facial pain.

Jérôme Mawet is a neurologist at the Emergency Headache Center in Lariboisière, Paris. He is also known as doc.migraine on Instagram, where he aims to increase knowledge and awareness on migraine and headache for patients and those around them.

He became a board-certified neurologist in Liege, Belgium, in 2008 and obtained the European Stroke Organisation (ESO) European master in stroke medicine at the Donau University, Krems, Austria in 2009. He obtained a French inter-university diploma in 2013 specializing in migraine and headache and is now part of its teaching team.

In 2012, after a clinical fellowship in stroke in Lariboisière, Paris, he joined the team at the Emergency Headache Center, which each year receives around 10,000 admissions of patients with acute headache of various causes. In 2013-2014, he completed a one-year research fellowship at Harvard Medical School in Boston on the interaction between headache and stroke.

Because of his dual training in stroke and headache, he has special interest in vascular headache, migraine, and the interaction between migraine and stroke.

Mark J. Burish, MD, PhD, who is board certified in neurology and fellowship trained in pain medicine, specializes in the treatment of neck pain, back pain, and neuropathic pain. His research interests focus on headache and facial pain.

A cum laude graduate of Princeton University, Dr. Burish received his MD/PhD in the Vanderbilt Medical Scientist Training Program at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. He completed his residency in neurology at the University of California at San Francisco (UCSF), where he was co-chief resident of the UCSF Moffitt-Long Medical Service and was inducted into Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society. During his residency, he was also honored with the Core Clerkship Teaching Award, voted by third-year medical students as one of five residents who went “above and beyond in terms of dedication to teaching, mentorship, community building, patient care, and medical-student development and support.” He completed his fellowship in interventional pain management in the Department of Anesthesiology at UCSF.

Dr. Burish is a co-author of articles that have appeared in The BMJ, The Lancet Neurology, JAMA Neurology, Neurology, and PNAS (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America), among others.

In addition to his membership in Alpha Omega Alpha, he is a member of the American Academy of Neurology and a fellow of the American Headache Society.

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Alan Kaplan worked for over 25 years in the fine wine and spirits industry and 15 years in the restaurant business. His career was cut short by the onset of new daily persistent headache (NDPH), a rare and challenging condition he was diagnosed with around 2018. After exploring various treatments without success, Alan recognized a significant gap in research, information, and FDA-approved treatments for NDPH, which motivated him to take action. This insight led him to shift from patient to dedicated patient advocate.

In 2022, Alan founded the nonprofit NDPHaware, a registered organization focused on promoting research and awareness for NDPH. His advocacy began in 2021, participating in events like the Clusterbusters conference, Coalition for Headache and Migraine Patients (CHAMP) gatherings, the Migraine World Summit, and Headache on the Hill. With the support of Clusterbusters, Alan established NDPHaware, and since then, he has engaged in initiatives like attending American Headache Society conferences and helping to create the first NDPH Patient Experience Survey alongside Dr. Burish and other specialists.

Alan is currently untreated for NDPH and remains dedicated to raising awareness and advocating for more effective treatments for this condition.

Dr. Dale Bond is director of research integration at Hartford HealthCare and co-director of the Hartford HealthCare Digestive Health Institute’s Center for Obesity Research, Innovation, and Education. His research involves assessing and intervening on health behaviors in the context of obesity and related conditions (including migraine) and treatments (metabolic bariatric surgery, obesity-modifying medications, and lifestyle interventions). With grants awarded by the National Institutes of Health and other organizations, he has served as principal and co-investigator on several prospective observational studies and randomized clinical trials pursuant to the advancement of these areas. Of note, he has also conducted seminal studies focused on the interrelationships of migraine with physical activity, obesity, and weight loss.

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Dr. Devika Umashanker is the system medical director for obesity medicine at Hartford HealthCare Medical and Surgical Weight Loss, Hartford HealthCare Digestive Health Institute. She is an associate professor of internal medicine at the Frank H. Netter School of Medicine, Quinnipiac University, and the program director of the Obesity Medicine Fellowship at Hartford Healthcare. She is board certified in internal medicine and fellowship trained in obesity medicine at NewYork-Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medical Center.

Dr. Umashanker’s primary areas of expertise include weight management, preoperative weight loss, and post-operative bariatric surgical care and nutrition management.  Her research focus includes optimization of nonsurgical treatment modalities in patients with a history of bariatric surgery and obesity, association of weight stigma and bias on patient clinical outcomes, and prevalence of migraine in patients seeking treatment in medical and surgical weight loss. Dr. Umashanker was awarded the 2023 Integrated Health Emerging Scientist Award by the International Federation for the Surgery of Obesity and Metabolic Disorders.

Dr. Umashanker has written several publications and book chapters on the topics of obesity management and treatment, pharmacotherapy for obesity, and weight stigma and bias.

Kristen K. Steenerson, MD, is a board-certified neurologist fellowship-trained in vestibular neurology. She graduated cum laude from Claremont McKenna College. She completed medical school at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, followed by a neurology residency at Mayo Clinic in Arizona, where she served as chief resident. There, she discovered the unmet need of patients with vertigo and vestibular symptoms, motivating her to pursue a fellowship in otoneurology/neuro-otology at Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix. She joined Stanford Medicine with positions in both the Otolaryngology — Head & Neck Surgery and the Neurology & Neurological Sciences departments, with the goal of jointly addressing the junction of inner ear and brain disorders. Her specific interests include vestibular migraine, benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, Ménière’s disease, and international neurology.