Archives: Experts

Dr. Kuruvilla is a board-certified neurologist and director of the Westport Headache Institute, where she employs a holistic, biopsychosocial approach to diagnosis and treatment. She is also certified in headache medicine by the United Council for Neurologic Subspecialties. She is an assistant professor adjunct at the Yale School of Medicine, and has authored many articles, book chapters, and research publications. Her practice focuses on treatment procedures for headache, such as nerve-block injections, botulinum toxin injections, and trigger-point injections.

She is a member of the American Academy of Neurology and the American Headache Society, and actively serves on the Procedural Headache Medicine Special Interest Section of the American Headache Society. She has also been an invited reviewer and author for many peer-reviewed publications, including Headache, Cephalalgia, JAMA, and the British Medical Journal.

Dr. Kuruvilla’s research and clinical work has been widely featured in the press, including Prevention magazine, Neurology Today, the Hartford Courant, and The Wall Street Journal.

Simona Sacco is full professor of neurology at the University of L’Aquila in Italy. She is head of the Department of Neurology and Stroke Unit, and personally runs the local Headache Referral Center. She is treasurer of the European Headache Federation and co-editor of The Journal of Headache and Pain. Professor Sacco’s expertise is not only in headache but also in stroke. She is co-chair of the Guideline Board of the European Stroke Organization and board member of the Italian Stroke Organization. She is assistant editor of Stroke. Professor Sacco has published widely in peer-reviewed journals and elsewhere for over 20 years.

Dr. Jan Hoffmann is a clinical senior lecturer at King’s College London, and an honorary consultant in neurology at King’s College Hospital. He qualified at the Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin (Germany), where he also obtained his doctoral degree. Following a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of California San Francisco, he worked at the headache center at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf before he relocated to London to his current position.

Dr. Hoffmann is an internationally recognized specialist in headache and facial pain disorders. He has published extensively in the field, including the European Headache Federation treatment guidelines for idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH). Currently, he serves as an associate editor for Cephalalgia, the Journal of Oral & Facial Pain and Headache and Frontiers in Pain Research. Dr. Hoffmann is a council member of the British Association for the Study of Pain, as well as a member of the emerging therapies committee of the International Headache Society.

Adriane Dellorco (RYT-200) is the founder of Yoga for Migraine, an online community that offers yoga practices specifically for people living with headache and migraine.  Adriane is a lifelong dancer and yogini with a 200-hour yoga teacher certification in restorative, yin, and yoga nidra styles.  Adriane taught Yoga for Migraine at CHAMP’s 2020 Virtual RetreatMigraine and Miles for Migraine’s Mindfulness for Migraine series.  She was featured on the National Headache Foundation’s Heads UP podcast and Migraine Magic podcast.  A mother of two children, and a former public school teacher, Adriane brings her life experience of living with migraine into her healing yoga programs.  Yoga for Migraine provides migraine-friendly yoga practices in online programs, workshops, and one-on-one coaching. Adriane’s mission is to help others overcome migraine with yoga and thrive.

Dr. Shuu-Jiun Wang is a practicing neurologist and director of the Neurological Institute, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, and the chair, professor and director of the Brain Research Center, National Yang-Ming University. Currently he is the chair of the Asian Regional Consortium of Headache. He was the president of the Taiwan Neurological Society from 2017 to 2019, and the founding president of the Taiwan Headache Society from 2005-2011. He serves as an associate editor of the journals Cephalalgia, Headache, and The Journal of Headache and Pain and others.

Dr. Wang was awarded the Bruce S. Schoenberg International Neuroepidemiology Award by the American Academy of Neurology in Washington DC in 1994, the Seymour Solomon Lecture Award by the American Headache Society in LA in 2010, the G. Nappi Cluster Headache Award by the European Headache Society, 5th European Headache and Migraine Trust International Congress (EHMTIC) in Glasgow, UK in 2016, and the MacDonald Critchley Lecture Award by the Migraine Trust in London in 2020. He was also presented with the Outstanding Research Award by the Ministry of Science and Technology, Taiwan in 2012 and 2018. Dr. Wang has authored more than 400 scientific papers. He enjoys teaching students, and in 2011 was awarded the Outstanding in Teaching Award by National Yang-Ming University and the 2018 Medical Education Contribution Award by the Taipei Veterans General Hospital. He is interested in clinical and neuroimaging research of different headache disorders focusing on chronic migraine, cluster headache, reversible cerebral vasoconstriction syndromes and spontaneous intracranial hypotension.

Noah Rosen, M.D., FAHS, has been a headache specialist for over a dozen years. He is board certified in four areas: neurology, psychiatry, pain management, and headache medicine. He is an associate professor of neurology and psychiatry at the Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell, and adjunct clinical assistant professor of neurology at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. He also serves as residency training director of neurology at Northwell Health in Great Neck, N.Y., and sees patients at the Headache Center at Northwell Health Institute for Neurology and Neurosurgery. Previously he served as fellowship director for headache medicine at Thomas Jefferson University. Dr. Rosen’s major research interests are in headache comorbidities including psychiatric and psychological issues, access to subspecialist care, and validating educational activities. He has additional interests in using technology to improve health care outcomes and empower consumers’ self-determination.

Dr. David Watson is chair and professor of neurology at the West Virginia University School of Medicine, where he founded the WVU Headache Center 12 years ago. He is also a member of the Underserved Populations in Headache Medicine Special Interest Section with the American Headache Society.

Dr. Watson himself lives with a mild form of episodic migraine and has spent the last 16 years working to improve the lives of patients with migraine and other disorders that cause severe head pain. His clinical work focuses on patients with headache disorders and access to care for underserved populations, while his research interests lie in new and emerging treatment options.

Dr. Watson is a recipient of the American Headache Society’s 2018 Above and Beyond Award, which acknowledges an individual who has provided significant service. He was also named the 2017 Palatucci Advocate of the Year by the American Academy of Neurology.

Stewart J. Tepper, MD, is a professor of neurology at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire. He is director of the Dartmouth Headache Center in the Department of Neurology of Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, New Hampshire. Dr. Tepper received his undergraduate degree (graduating cum laude) in the study of the nervous system/psychobiology from Yale College, New Haven, Connecticut; and attended Cornell University Medical College in New York City. He completed his neurology residency at the Longwood Area Harvard program in Boston, Massachusetts, and has been board certified in headache medicine since 2006.

Dr. Tepper was director of the American Headache Society’s (AHS) Scottsdale Headache Symposium CME course from 2008 to 2020. He was editor-in-chief of the journal Headache Currents and associate editor of the journal Headache from 2012-2020. He has published more than 460 peer-reviewed manuscripts, editorials, and books on headache medicine. Dr. Tepper serves on the executive board of directors and is the corporate liaison for the AHS. He serves on the AHS Education, Exhibits, and Finance committees. For the American Migraine Foundation, he serves on the Governance Committee and board of directors.

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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Paula K. Dumas is a lifelong migraine warrior, Founder, and former Managing Editor of MigraineAgain.com.

After juggling a demanding career with CNN, Apple, and Disney, she shifted gears to devote herself to family, faith, and health advocacy. Although she’s lost a decade’s worth of days to migraine, she’s been able to reduce her frequency from 25 days a month to less than a day a month.

Now, she’s helping others to do the same.

To advocate for people with migraine, Paula has served on the Board of the American Migraine Foundation (AMF), the steering committee of the Coalition of Headache and Migraine Patients (CHAMP), the International Headache Society Global Patient Advocacy Committee, and was nominated for a WEGO Health Advocate award. She and her husband, Karl, lobby legislators on Capitol Hill as part of the US Headache on the Hill organized by the Association of Headache Disorders Advocacy (AHDA).

To raise awareness about migraine, she’s spoken at the International Headache Academy, the first Migraine World Summit, and Research America’s Annual National Health Forum. She presented her research at the American Academy of Neurology conference, one of two academic research studies she co-authored (CaMEO and My Migraine Voice). Together, these research studies measure the impact that migraine has on people’s lives, relationships, work, and finances in over 31 countries.

She’s authored over 300 articles on migraine health and wellness to educate people with migraine and produced over 200 videos, interviews, and podcasts. With Carl and her husband Karl, Paula co-founded the World Health Education Foundation, producing the largest live event for people with migraine, Migraine World Summit Onstage in LA in March 2019 and New York in March 2020.

To create healthier workplaces for people with migraine, Paula serves as chair of the MigraineAtWork.org campaign, focused on helping employers and employees tackle the widespread challenge of working through painful attacks. Each year, Paula co-leads an amazing global team of people with migraine who produce the Migraine World Summit, demonstrating the resilience and commitment of these courageous warriors.

Dr. Peter J. Goadsby is one of the world’s leading headache neurologists and researchers. He is a professor at King’s College London and an emeritus professor at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Dr. Goadsby is on the board of directors of the American Headache Society, and is also a trustee for The Migraine Trust.

He serves on the scientific advisory board and executive committee for the American Registry for Migraine Research (ARMR). He was one of the first to explore calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), the protein known for its involvement in migraine. This discovery has been instrumental in creating the new class of medications CGRP blockers, including Aimovig (erenumab), Ajovy (fremanezumab), Emgality (galcanezumab), Nurtec ODT (rimegepant), Qulipta (atogepant), and Vyepti (eptinezumab).

At the age of 14, Amanda Beard made her first Olympic appearance at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, taking home one gold and two silver medals. Over the next 12 years, she continued to earn four more Olympic medals, and serve as the captain of the USA Olympic swimming team twice. Between Games, Ms. Beard began modeling in magazines and appearing on national television.

In 2012, she released her New York Times best selling autobiography, In the Water They Can’t See You Cry, which chronicled her personal struggle with bulimia, self-mutilation, anxiety, and depression. Her experience dealing with migraine with aura has never been disclosed until now. A frequent speaker, Beard shares her story of professional and personal triumph via motivational speaking engagements, and passes on her swimming expertise via Beard Swim Co.

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Interviews from Amanda Beard

Triumph Over a Private Pain

Dr. Stephen D. Silberstein is the director of the Headache Center at Jefferson University Hospital. He is certified by the United Council for Neurologic Subspecialties in Headache Medicine. Dr. Silberstein has had over 40 years of distinguished medical service. He has been decorated with Philadelphia Magazine Top Doc Awards (2010-2015), and he has received over a dozen other awards throughout his distinguished career. He holds several editorial and advisory board responsibilities for major headache, migraine, and pain publications including Cephalalgia, WebMD, Medscape, CNS Drugs, Current Pain and Headache Reports and Practical Neurology.

Over the course of his career, Dr. Silberstein has authored or co-authored over 100 hundred articles, chapters, and abstracts. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Neurology, a fellow of the American College of Physicians, and a fellow of the American Neurological Association. He is also a long-serving member and previous past president of the American Headache Society.