Jan Lewis Brandes, M.D., M.S., holds an appointment as an assistant clinical professor in the department of neurology at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, Tennessee; she is also the founding director of the Nashville Neuroscience Group, a private headache clinic in Nashville, Tennessee. Prior to attending Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, where she subsequently earned her medical degree, Dr. Brandes attended the Robert Koch Institute of Virology, Free University, in Berlin, Federal Republic of Germany, as a Fulbright Scholar. Her postgraduate medical training was completed at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, where she served as chief resident in neurology. She also holds an M.S. degree in microbiology from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. She is certified by the National Board of Medical Examiners, the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, the National Board for Certification in Headache Management, and is UCNS-certified in headache medicine.
Dr. Brandes has been active in clinical trials for more than two decades. She has served as the principal or co-principal investigator in more than 100 studies, primarily examining issues in migraine including acute treatment, prophylaxis, and menstrual migraine. She has published extensively in peer-reviewed journals including JAMA, Cephalalgia, Headache, and Lancet Neurology.
Dr. Brandes is a fellow of the American Headache Society and the American Academy of Neurology. She is a former member of the board of directors of the American Headache Society, and is the past-president of the American Council for Headache Education. In recognition of her professional endeavors, she has been named to Best Doctors in America from 1996 to present.
Carrie Dougherty, M.D., is an associate professor of neurology and program director of the headache medicine fellowship at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, D.C. She received her medical degree from Indiana University School of Medicine, followed by an internship at NorthShore University HealthSystem in Evanston, IL. Dr. Dougherty completed her neurology residency at Georgetown University Medical Center in Washington, D.C., followed by a fellowship in headache medicine at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, PA. She is board certified in neurology, with subspecialty certification in headache medicine.
Dr. Dougherty is a fellow of the American Headache Society and serves as a member of the guidelines committee and the Scottsdale Headache Symposium planning committee. She is a 2019 graduate of the AHS Emerging Leaders Program. She is on the board of the Southern Headache Society and the Alliance for Headache Disorders Advocacy. She is committed to improving the lives of her patients through her clinical work, as well as through education and advocacy.
Melanie Whetzel is the lead consultant of the Cognitive/Neurological Team with the Job Accommodation Network (JAN). She joined the JAN staff as a consultant in February 2008. She has a 14-year history of teaching and advocating for students with disabilities in the public school system. Melanie holds a Master of Arts degree in special education, a Bachelor of Arts degree in English, and has earned 60 credit hours above master’s level. Her post-graduate work has been primarily focused on special education. She most recently completed a graduate certification in Career Planning and Placement for Youth in Transition, and became a certified brain injury specialist in December 2014. As the lead consultant on the Cognitive/Neurological Team, Melanie specializes in learning disabilities, mental impairments, developmental disabilities, autism spectrum disorders, and brain injuries. She presents nationally on these topics, and has authored several publications.
Katherine Hamilton, M.D. is a board-certified neurologist and headache specialist. She is an assistant professor in clinical neurology at Penn Medicine, and affiliated with the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. She specializes in the treatment of adults with headache disorders. She has published several research papers in medical journals and is a member of the American Headache Society. Her interests include improving systems of care, patient advocacy, women’s health, and integrative medicine.
Shin C. Beh, M.D., is an assistant professor in the department of neurology at UT Southwestern Medical Center. Dr. Beh is the founding director of UT Southwestern’s Vestibular Neurology and Neuro-Visual Disorders Clinic, and serves on the faculty of the Multiple Sclerosis and Neuroimmunology Clinic. Dr. Beh’s research interests include vestibular migraine and various other neuro-otologic disorders. He has published a number of scholarly articles and book chapters, and presented nearly 40 abstracts and lectures related to his specialty. Dr. Beh serves as a reviewer for journals that include JAMA Neurology; Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry; Therapeutic Advances in Neurological Disorders; The Neurologist; and Neurodegenerative Disease Management. He is a member of the American Academy of Neurology, the North American Neuro-Ophthalmology Society, and the American Headache Society.
Interviews from Shin Beh, MD
Understanding Vestibular Migraine
Tissa Wijeratne (MD, FRACP, FRSM, FAAN, FAHA, FRCP) is the chair of the department of neurology at Western Health, Melbourne, Australia. He is the director of academic medicine, director of international affairs, a senior neurologist, and the director of the stroke unit, neuroscience research unit, movement disorders program, and headache program at Western Hospital, Melbourne. Dr. Wijeratne has published 216 papers to date. He has presented more than 200 international lectures (brain-health related) in various parts of the world. His biggest contribution to the world is the 300+ physicians he trained throughout his career to date.
He led the historic first ever World Brain Day campaign (World Federation of Neurology/International Headache Society collaboration) on migraine, The Painful Truth of Migraine, with over 75 million people from all over the world embracing this historic campaign throughout 2019. Dr. Wijeratne is also the global chair of the Migraine Special Interest Group at the World Federation of Neurorehabilitation, the global chair for Public Awareness and Advocacy at the World Federation of Neurology and founder and chair of the Migraine Foundation.
Dr. Sait Ashina is an assistant professor of neurology and anesthesia at Harvard Medical School, as well as the director of the Comprehensive Headache Center at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. He is a prolific researcher and is board certified in neurology and headache medicine. Dr. Ashina is a member of the education and classification committees of the International Headache Society. He serves on the advisory board for The Journal of Headache and Pain, and is associate editor of Neurology Reviews and BMC Neurology.
Interviews from Sait Ashina, MD
When Migraine Starts or Stays in Your Neck
Dr. Burch is a fellowship-trained, board-certified headache medicine specialist at the University of Vermont Medical Center, where she also serves as fellowship director. Dr. Burch received her M.D. from the University of Massachusetts Medical School and completed her neurology residency at Boston Medical Center. Having a family history of headache, she was drawn to headache medicine for its psychosocial component and the opportunity it presents to develop longitudinal relationships with patients. She completed a fellowship in headache medicine at Harvard Medical School/Brigham and Women’s Faulkner Hospital prior to joining the faculty and later serving as fellowship director.
She has served on the board of directors of the American Headache Society and the Headache Cooperative of New England, where she also served as educational co-director. Dr. Burch also serves as an associate editor for the journal Neurology, overseeing general neurology papers including those on headache, pain, and traumatic brain injury. Her research interests include headache epidemiology, preventive treatment of migraine, and women’s health.
Interviews from Rebecca C. Burch, MD, FAHS
Tension Headache or Migraine? Differences and Misdiagnoses
Juggling Multiple Conditions With Migraine
Dr. Dale Bond is a professor of psychiatry and human behavior at The Miriam Hospital and the Brown Alpert Medical School. He received M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in health promotion and education at Purdue University and the University of Utah, respectively, and completed postdoctoral training in behavioral medicine at Brown Alpert Medical School. His research involves two principal areas: (1) assessing and intervening on energy balance behaviors and related mechanisms in the context of bariatric surgery and obesity; and (2) assessment and treatment of psychological and behavioral risk factors and comorbidities among individuals who have migraine.
Dr. Bond has been awarded grants from the National Institute of Health (NIH) and other organizations to conduct prospective studies and randomized trials pursuant to advancement of these areas. He has received scientific honors/awards from the Association of Migraine Disorders and the American Society of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery. He also sits on the editorial boards for multiple obesity-related journals, is a member of several committees for the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS) and International Federation for the Surgery of Obesity and Metabolic Disorders (IFSO), was a recent member of the NIH Behavioral Interventions and Outcomes study section, and is a research mentor within the NHLBI T32 Postdoctoral Training in Cardiovascular Behavioral Medicine Program at The Miriam Hospital and Brown University.
Interviews from Dale Bond, PhD
How Weight Affects Migraine Disease
Dr. Peter McAllister is board certified in neurology and headache medicine. He is the medical director of the New England Institute for Neurology and Headache and chief medical officer of the New England Institute for Clinical Research and Ki Clinical Research in Stamford, Connecticut.
Dr. McAllister is an associate professor of neurology at the Yale University School of Medicine and clinical professor of neurology and anatomy at the Frank H. Netter School of Medicine at Quinnipiac University. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Neurology and an executive board member of the Headache Cooperative of New England.
He is recognized as a “Top Neurologist” by U.S. News & World Report and also listed as a “Top Doc” in Connecticut, metropolitan New York City, and Fairfield County. Dr. McAllister lectures internationally, has been a principal investigator on over 350 clinical trials, and has authored more than 100 articles and book chapters in the lay and scientific press.
Dr. Catherine Stark is a headache specialist and certified neurologist with expertise in chronic migraine. She practices in the department of neurology at Austin Health, in Heidelberg, Australia. Dr. Stark is a member of the Rising Stars program, which is a setting where a group of headache experts from around the world come together to work on their study ideas. Dr. Stark has co-authored several research studies on headache disorders. Highlights of her research have focused on daily chronic headache, the relationship between sleep apnea and migraine, and the effects of onabotulinumtoxinA (Botox) on migraine.
Dr. Levin is professor of neurology at the University of California, San Francisco, where he directs the UCSF Headache Center. Dr. Levin earned his undergraduate degree in biological sciences at Stanford University, and his M.D. degree at the Chicago Medical School. He is board certified in neurology, with special qualification in pain medicine (ABPN). Dr Levin is also board certified in headache medicine (UCNS). Dr. Levin has authored a number of medical journal articles and textbook chapters in the areas of headache and pain, including “Understanding Your Migraines” (Oxford University Press 2017), written primarily for patients and families. He is an active member of the American Headache Society, where he is on the board of directors, and the International Headache Society, where he is chair of the ethics committee. He is also a member of the Headache Cooperative of the Pacific (HCOP) board of directors. He is a fellow of the AAN, AHS, and ANA.
