Speakers

Alejandro obtained his BSc in Medicine at the Anahuac University of Mexico, followed by a MSc in Neuropharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics at the Center for Research and Advanced Studies of the National Polytechnic Institute (Mexico). Later, he obtained his PhD in Neurovascular Pharmacology at the Erasmus University Medical Centre, the Netherlands, which focused on exploring the peripheral and central site of action of novel antimigraine drugs. Currently, he works as a research associate at the Headache Group, London, led by Dr. Hoffmann, Dr. Holland, and Prof. Goadsby. His main research interests include craniofacial pain transmission, migraine pharmacology and the role of sex hormones in migraine and temporomandibular joint disorder. 

Dr. Alex DaSilva DDS, DMedSc is the Director of H.O.P.E. (Headache & Orofacial Pain Effort) Laboratory at the University of Michigan (UM), which is a multidisciplinary team that investigates the brain as a research and therapeutic target for trigeminal pain disorders and comorbidities, including migraine and TMD. He is a Tenured Professor at the UM School of Dentistry and Psychology Department. He received his Doctorate in Medical Science (DMedSc) degree with clinical training in Orofacial Pain at Harvard University, followed by migraine/pain neuroimaging and neuromodulation research at the Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Radiology Department, Massachusetts General Hospital and Psychiatric Department, McLean Hospital, both at Harvard University.
 
The UM H.O.P.E. Laboratory focuses on the development of neuroscience driven tech-innovations for human neuroimaging (PET, MRI, fNIRS, EEG), neuromodulation, mobile technology, 3D neuronavigation, artificial intelligence, augmented/virtual reality, and their integration for migraine/pain research, education, treatment, and entrepreneurship. He is an awardee of several U.S. governmental clinical translation grants on the evaluation and modulation of opioid and dopamine activity and other neuromechanisms in the brains of migraine/pain patients in vivo. His publications have received broad media coverage by national and international venues, for instance, Discovery Channel, US Today, Scientific American Mind, and others.

Dr. Amr Hassan received his degree in M.B.B.Ch (Medicine and Surgery) from Cairo University, Egypt in 2001.

He completed his Neurology residency at Kasr Al-Ainy Hospital which is one of the biggest hospitals in the Middle east and North Africa.

Dr Hassan has obtained his Master degree in Neuropsychiatry in 2007 and  completed his Doctoral degree in 2010 at Cairo University, Egypt.

Currently, he is a Consultant and Professor of Neurology  at Kasr Al Ainy Hospital, Cairo University.

He is a Fellow of the European Board of Neurology since 2016. Dr Hassan is a co-opted IHS board member since 2021. He is also a board member of Headache chapter of the Egyptian Society of Neurology and the Council of Egyptian Fellowship of Neurology  and head of its training committee.

Dr Hassan has authored and co-authored many peer-reviewed articles in Headache in adults and children.

Dr. Amy Gelfand is an Associate Professor of Neurology & Pediatrics at the University of California, San Francisco. She directs the Child & Adolescent Headache Program at the UCSF Benioff Childrens’ Hospitals. She is the Editor-in-Chief of Headache, the journal of the American Headache Society.  Her research interests include examining the role of melatonin and circadian rhythm in the management of pediatric migraine, as well as the relationships between migraine and “ episodic syndromes” such as infant colic, benign paroxysmal torticollis, and cyclic vomiting syndrome.  

Andrea Carmine Belin is a senior researcher and group leader at the department of neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden. Her research focus on primary headache disorders and especially cluster headache by identifying genetics factors and characterizing the link to circadian rhythm and sex differences using a large biobank.

Dr Carmine Belin defended her thesis on the role of genes in Parkinson’s disease and Schizophrenia at Karolinska Institutet in 2003 and she became an Associate Professor in neuroscience in 2011. She is part of the Swedish Headache Society board, a member of the International Headache Genetics Consortium (IHGC) and has been part of establishing the International Consortium for Cluster Headache Genetics (CCG) where she is currently the chair. In 2023 Dr Carmine Belin established the world's first research centre for cluster headache at Karolinska Institutet where she is the director and chair of the board.

Dr Carmine Belin is an editorial board member of the journal Brain Sciences and has been the guest editor of two special issues entitled “Recent Advances and New Insights in Cluster Headache” respectively “Genetic Aspects of Primary Headache”.

Dr Carmine Belin has authored more than 80 peer-reviewed publications in the field of neuroscience.

Dr Andy Russo is a Professor of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics and Professor of Neurology at the University of Iowa. He received his PhD in Biochemistry from UC Berkeley and did postdoctoral training at UCSD on the neuropeptide CGRP. The focus of Dr Russo’s research is the molecular basis of migraine. He is currently using mouse genetic models to study how CGRP contributes to the pain and altered sensory processing of migraine. The overall goal of his studies is to develop effective diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for migraine and post-traumatic headache.

Arn M.J.M. van den Maagdenberg is full professor and holds a Chair in Functional and Molecular Neurogenetics at the Leiden University Medical Center in Leiden, the Netherlands with affiliations at both the Departments of Human Genetics and Neurology. He is a neurogeneticist and neurobiologist. He studied biology at the University of Nijmegen and received his PhD in 1993 at Leiden University for which he investigated molecular mechanisms of cardiovascular disease in patients and transgenic mouse models. In 1998, he joined the Leiden migraine group and became professor in 2011. His genetic and functional research on various episodic neurological diseases (e.g. migraine and comorbid disorders epilepsy and stroke) covers the identification of gene variants (using GWAS) and mutations (using next generation sequencing) as well as elucidating their functional consequences. To this end he has generated and characterised transgenic mouse models that carry pathogenic gene mutations. More recently, he started using induced pluripotent stem cells as a means to generate human models of migraine. To ensure translation of basic science findings to the clinic he works closely with Prof. Gisela Terwindt. The ultimate goal of the research efforts of the team is to develop newly prophylactic treatments for migraine.     

Arne May is a Professor of Neurology in the Department of Systems Neuroscience at the University of Hamburg and head of the headache outpatient clinic of the University clinic of Hamburg. His major research interests are the basic mechanisms of headpain, the chronification of pain and plasticity within the human brain. The work of his group involves human imaging studies in primary headache as well as experimental studies of trigeminovascular nociception, with the aim of understanding how to modulate headache syndromes and chronicity of pain. Prior to his position at the University of Hamburg, Professor May was a clinician and conducted research into pain and headache syndromes at the University of Regensburg. Prior to this he completed his residency in the Neurology Department of the University of Essen, followed by post-doctorate studies at the Institute of Neurology in London. Professor May is currently a member of the Board of trustees of the International Headache Society since 2013. He has published over 280 original and review articles and is since 2016 the Editor of Cephalalgia.

Professor of Neurology, Algology and Clinical Neurophysiology in Mersin University School of Medicine in Turkey, an international lecturer, writer, and social worker on Alzheimer and Headache Societies. She is the board member of International Headache Society for 2019-2025. She is working on Pediatric headache Special Interest Group of IHS since 2004 and she was the president of 7^th Headache in Children and Adolescents Congress in 2008. She is active member of MENA Headache society since 2015 and currently founder and the president of Global Migraine and Pain Summit working integrating with IHS and other international societies in order to more available headache science and awareness in the region.

She has edited 5 International Headache Books, wrote several National and International chapters. She has been published 140 international articles, and 30 domestic articles with more than 10554 citation. Her H index score is 33 (WOS) and 34 (Google scholar).

Betül Baykan MD is a neurologist-clinical neurophysiologist and working as a Professor of Neurology since 1999 at Istanbul University. She is one of the establishers of the headache department. Her research activities have mainly focused on migraine and epilepsy, EEG, and treatment of headache and epilepsy. Prof Baykan has published more than 250 papers in SCIE journals with over 4700 citations. Her H factor is currently 34. She is currently working in the Women's Leadership Forum of the International Headache Society. 

Dr. Bo-Yong Park carried out undergraduate and PhD studies at Sungkyunkwan University in South Korea. He has been working as an invited researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics in Germany in 2019 and conducted his postdoctoral studies at the Montreal Neurological Institute at McGill University until 2021. Now, he is an assistant professor at the Department of Data Science at Inha University in South Korea. He is also participating in the Center for Neuroscience Imaging Research. He is interested in the development of computational methods for multimodal neuroimaging, connectomics, and machine learning, and has worked in neurodevelopmental, neurological, and neuropsychiatric indications. He published his work in prestigious journals, such as Nature Communications, Brain, and PNAS.

Dr Bronwyn Jenkins is a neurologist from Sydney, Australia. Her undergraduate training was at the University of Newcastle. Her work is primarily in private practice with a subspecialist interest in headache, as well as running the headache clinic as an Honorary Medical Officer at Royal North Shore Hospital. She has written a postgraduate course in headache for the University of Sydney, with an interest in headache education. She is President for the Australian and New Zealand Headache Society (ANZHS), and Chair of the ANZHS Education subcommittee. She is a member of ARCH, IHS and AHS, having been a co-opted member on the International Headache Society Board from 2018 to 2020 and continuing on the education subcommittee of IHS.

Professor Callixte KUATE TEGUEU is an academic physician and specialist in neurology. He trained first in medicine at the Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at the University of Yaoundé 1, Cameroon, then specialization in Neurology at the University of Cocody-Abidjan, Ivory Coast, and then subspecialties in Neurophysiology, Epileptology, at the University of Montpellier, France.

He is a Professor of Neurology (Headache, Epilepsy, Neurophysiology) at the Department of Internal Medicine and Specialties, Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, The University of Yaoundé 1, Cameroon, and Head of the Neurology Department at the Douala Laquintinie Hospital (University Teaching Hospital), Douala, Cameroon.

He has worked as consultant neurologist for 20 years and published more than 70 peer reviewed papers. His principal researh interests is Headache, Epilepsy and dementia. He is the principal investigator of the Cameroon Burden of Headache study in collaboration with Lifting the Burden. He represent West Africa at the IHS Membership Committee.

Catherine Chong, PhD is a neuroimaging scientist at Mayo Clinic who uses structural and functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging techniques to elucidate the pathomechanism underlying headache disorders. It is her goal to identify clinical and neuroimaging biomarkers that predict headache recovery and treatment response in patients with migraine and post-traumatic headache.

Dr. Ayata is a vascular neurologist and a clinician-scientist engaged in translational neurovascular research in brain injury, cerebral small vessel disease, and migraine for over 25 years. Dr. Ayata received his M.D. from Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey, and his Ph.D. from Leiden University, Netherlands. Following a postdoctoral fellowship at the Massachusetts General Hospital, he completed his residency training in neurology at Tufts University and a clinical fellowship in vascular neurology and neurocritical care at the Massachusetts General Hospital. His laboratory uses electrophysiological and multimodal optical imaging techniques in animal models of ischemic or hemorrhagic brain injury and migraine to dissect pathophysiology and test therapeutic interventions. His work has been supported by the NIH, AHA, Leducq Foundation, industry, private non-profit foundations, and philanthropy. In nearly 200 peer-reviewed publications, his most notable contributions have been on spreading depolarizations in ischemic stroke and migraine and preclinical testing of stroke and migraine therapeutics.

Christoph Schankin is Associate Professor of Neurology and Head of the University Headache Clinic at the Department of Neurology, Inselspital, University Hospital Bern in Bern, Switzerland. After his medical studies at the University of Heidelberg in Germany and at Columbia University in New York, he completed his neurology training at the University of Munich in Germany. He has been in the field of headache for over 15 years and is an expert on headache diagnosis and treatment. From 2011 to 2013, he was a clinical research fellow at Prof. Peter Goadsby’s group at the UCSF Headache Center. At his current position, he is primary investigator and national coordinating investigator for several phase 3 and 4 studies in Switzerland. He is a clinician scientist with a focus on clinical research on migraine aura, the blood-brain-barrier in migraine, and secondary headaches, such as idiopathic intracranial hypertension, and spontaneous intracranial hypotension. Prof. Schankin has been involved in the definition of the criteria for visual snow syndrome and has been studying this phenomenon using clinical, electrophysiological, and imaging techniques. In his clinical practice, he regularly sees patients with visual snow syndrome, rare headache disorders and intracranial hypertension or hypotension from all over the world.

Dawn C Buse Ph.D. is a Clinical Professor of Neurology at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City and is a licensed psychologist.  She works remotely and lives in San Diego, California.  She is a member of the board of Directors of the Headache Cooperative of the Pacific (HCOP) and was a Board Member at Large of the American Headache Society for the past six years.  She has more than 200 scientific publications and has won 8 US and international research awards and 4 professional awards for her work in the field of migraine.  She is a co-investigator on the American Migraine Prevalence and Prevention (AMPP) Study, the Chronic Migraine Epidemiology and Outcomes (CAMEO) Study US and International Studies, the Migraine Signature Study (MSS), the International Burden of Migraine (IBMS) Study, the Migraine, Symptoms and Treatment in America (MAST) Study, the OVERCOME Study, and the FDA sponsored Migraine Clinical Outcome Assessment System (MiCOAS) grant.  As a psychologist, Dr. Buse provides clinical care to individuals using biobehavioral techniques which include cognitive behavioral therapy, guided visual imagery, biofeedback and mindfulness training.

Dr. Dan Levy is an Associate Professor of Anesthesia at Harvard Medical School and a Principal Investigator of the basic Headache and Pain research lab in the Department of Anesthesia, Critical Care and Pain Medicine at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Centre (BIDMC). Dr. Levy received his Ph.D. in Neuroscience from the University of Calgary. Dr. Levy’s research seeks to define the mechanisms underlying the onset of migraine headaches - vital information required to develop novel evidence-based therapeutic approaches. To better understand the triggering mechanism of migraine, Dr. Levy studies the cranial meninges and its trigeminal sensory innervation - the neuronal population whose activation has been most directly implicated in the genesis of migraine headaches. The responses of meningeal sensory afferents are assessed in health and under migraine-like conditions in rodent models using in-vivo electrophysiology in anesthetized animals and two-photon calcium imaging in awake, behaving animals. Dr. Levy’s work also aims to understand better the mechanisms underlying the onset and chronification of post-traumatic headaches by developing animal models. Levy’s studies are primarily sponsored by the National Institutes of Health (NIH/NINDS).

Débora Bevilaqua Grossi is a full Professor and head of the Department of Health Sciences of the Ribeirao Preto Medical School, University of São Paulo, Brazil. She received MSc and PhD titles in Biology from the State University of Campinas and completed her postdoc at the Montefiore Headache Center of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine (NY) along with Dr. Richard Lipton and Dr. Marcelo Bigal. Débora coordinated and is currently advisor of the Post Graduate Program in Rehabilitation and Functional Performance at University of São Paulo. Furthermore, she is the head of the Outpatient Physiotherapy Clinic for Headaches and Craniofacial Pain in the Clinics Hospital of the Ribeirão Preto Medical School.  Her research interests concern the musculoskeletal and functional repercussions of headache disorders, especially migraine. Her projects contributed to the knowledge regarding the association between migraine and its sub diagnosis with conditions such as temporomandibular disorders, neck pain, vestibular and balance dysfunction. Debora currently leads several research projects supported by national and international grants, has over 170 articles published and almost 1900 citations. She is active in leadership and management positions of research funding agencies (CNPq and FAPESP) and is member of the Brazilian and the International Headache Society (IHS).

Derya Uludüz Prof. MD

Neurology and Algology Specialist, Faculty Member of Istanbul - Cerrahpasa Medical Faculty Department of Neurology. President of BEYİNDER-Turkish Brain Health Association. Vice President of Turkish Global Migraine and Pain Association. Board Member of Turkish Neurological Association Headache Working Group. Board Member of the 'Lifting the Burden in Headache' group. Has an active role in the Pediatric subcommittee of the International Headache Society.  Turkish representatitve of International  Headache Society and European Headache Federation. Have over 100 scientific studies on headache and pain. Co editor of the books Peripheral Interventional Management in Headache and Headache Disorders in Pandemic Conditions from Springer press. She takes part in informative statements and social projects for the benefit of the public and has a very active role in the civil society initiative to increase awarenes of  headache through communication instruments.

Dimos D. Mitsikostas MD, PhD, FEAN
Professor of Neurology
Aeginition Hospital, Medical School
National & Kapodistrian University of Athens

Prof. Dimos Mitsikostas graduated from the School of Medicine of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and received his PhD in experimental neuropharmacology from the National & Kapodistrian University, Athens, Greece. He has done postdoctoral studies in experimental molecular pain pharmacology at Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA and at the Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK. He was head of the Neurological Department of the Athens Naval Hospital until he moved to the National & Kapodistrian University of Athens. As a Professor of Neurology, he serves at the Aeginition Hospital, (head of the Headache Outpatient Clinic and of the Ward A -Neurological and Cerebrovascular Emergencies of the 1st Neurological Department). He teaches medical students, neurologists and fellows. His clinical work focuses on Headache, Nocebo, Pain and Multiple Sclerosis and he lectures across the country and internationally in all these areas.

He is involved in multiple multicenter clinical trials in headaches and MS. He is the author of >180 peer-reviewed papers with more than 15,000 citations (h-index 48), editor/co-editor of eight textbooks, and reviewer and/or Advisory Board member of several international peer-reviewed medical journals. He is a member of several national and international societies.

Prof. Mitsikostas is currently President of the Hellenic Headache Society, Co-Chairman of the Management Group of the Scientific Panhellenic Headache Society, European Academy of Neurology and former President of the Executive Board of European Headache Federation (President 2014-2016).

Doga Vuralli, MD, PhD, is an assistant Professor of Neurology at Gazi University Faculty of Medicine. She obtained her basic medical degree and training at Hacettepe University, Faculty of Medicine, Ankara, Turkey. She completed her neurology residency, pain medicine fellowship and neuroscience PhD at Gazi University, Ankara, Turkey. She was the recipient of the International Headache Society Fellowship Award 2016 and she worked with Cenk Ayata in Neurovascular Research Laboratory, Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital between 2017-2018. She is interested in both clinical and basic research studies in the headache field, including the electrophysiological studies in headache disorders and the studies on the pathophysiology of migraine. She is a fellow of the European Board of Neurology and a member of the International Headache Society.

Elif KOCASOY ORHAN is a Professor of Neurology at Istanbul University, Istanbul Faculty of Medicine, Turkiye. She graduated from the Istanbul Medical Faculty of Istanbul University in 1999. She completed the residency training program in the Neurology Department of Istanbul Medical Faculty of Istanbul University in 2005. She graduated from the Electro-Neurophysiology master program of Istanbul University in 2010.

Dr. Elif KOCASOY ORHAN visited to St Radboud University (Nijmegen, The Netherlands) as an observer in 2003 and Great Ormond Street Hospital (London, UK) in 2012.

She is a member of the International Headache Society, European Neurology Society, Turkish Neurology Society, Global Migraine and Pain Society, European Clinical Neurophysiology Society, and Turkish Clinical Neurophysiology EEG-EMG Society. She is also a board member of the Turkish Headache Working Group and the Global Migraine and Pain Society. Dr. Elif KOCASOY ORHAN’s research focuses on electrophysiology and headache. She has more than 60 publications and numerous oral and poster presentations.

Esther Tomkins is a nurse who works full-time clinically as a Headache/Migraine specialist. She has had a dual role for more than 20 years, working in the Headache/Migraine Service in Beaumont Hospital and also in the community nationally in Ireland. She cares for patients with migraine and other primary/secondary headache disorders and is currently appointed at candidate Advanced Nurse Practitioner (cANP) level.

She is a registered nurse prescriber with the RCSI since 2009. She works both independently and (very importantly) part of a multidisciplinary team in Beaumont Hospital. She runs a weekly specialist nurse-led clinic and also reviews patients in at least two other Headache/Migraine clinics each week. In 2019, she hosted and co-chaired the Nursing Session at the biannual International Headache Congress (IHC) in Dublin.

She is co-author of the Irish College of General Practitioners (ICGP) Quick Reference Guide (QRG): Migraine.

She is on the board of the International Forum of Headache Nurses (IFHN), which is focused primarily on establishing headache nurse training programs and developing headache nurse networking frameworks at an international level. This work is supported by the International Headache Society (IHS). Since 2019, she has been involved as the nursing representative on the National Clinical Program (NCP) Neurology Migraine CAG. This group were successful in securing funding from Slaintecare in 2019 for the development of headache services in four pilot hospitals in Ireland.    

Fayyaz Ahmed is a consultant neurologist and professor at the Hull York Medical School and Hull University Teaching Hospitals in the UK since 1996.  He received his undergraduate training at Dow Medical College, Karachi, Pakistan and was trained in Neurology in St James Hospital, Leeds and Imperial College London.  He is currently the treasurer of IHS and and ADMA and former chair of Headache UK, BASH and ADMA; former trustee of the Migraine Trust and director MTIS and co-authored the recent BASH guidelines and contributed to NICE guidelines on headache disorder CG150 revised.  He is a member of the headache special interest group of the Association of British Neurologists and organises the UK's biggest headache meeting in Hull every other year since 2005. He has 100 peer reviewed publications in leading journals. 

Dr Francesca Puledda is a Neurologist and post-doctoral researcher in the headache group at King’s College London. She received her MD in the Sapienza University of Rome, where she also completed her specialization in Neurology in 2016. In 2020 she obtained a PhD in Neuroscience from King’s College London, with a research project aimed at understanding the neurophysiology of visual snow syndrome, an important comorbidity of migraine.

Francesca has been actively involved in headache research since 2010. Her main interests include the pathophysiology of migraine and its comorbidities, neuroimaging, neuromodulation and the neurophysiology of primary headache disorders. Since 2021 she has been Chair of the Junior Group of the International Headache Society, that aims to promote the professional and clinical development of young trainees in the headache field.

Dr. Fu-Chi Yang is currently Professor and Division Chief of the Department of Neurology, Tri-Service General Hospital, National Defense Medical Center, Taiwan. He is also the Director of the Taiwan Headache Society and a headache specialist. Dr. Yang received his medical degree from the National Defense Medical Center in Taiwan. He completed his residency and fellowship training in neurology at the Tri-Service General Hospital in Taiwan. Dr. Yang received his Ph.D. from the Brain Science Institute of National Yang Ming University in Taiwan. He has also served as Deputy Secretary General of the Taiwan Neurological Society. His primary research focused on neuroimaging, genetics, biomarkers and their applications in headache and cognitive disorders. Dr. Yang has authored more than one hundred publications in international peer-reviewed journals (with book chapters), including JNNP, JAMA, Lancet Psychiatry, Journal of Headache and Pain, Sleep, Pain, Alzheimer's Research & Therapy, Cephalalgia, Headache, etc. He is dedicated to research elucidating the pathophysiology of headache and cognitive disorders.

Fu-Jung Hsiao is a researcher at the Brain Research Center in National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taiwan. He majored in Biomedical Engineering and is skilled in biosignal analysis. He has long been dedicated to neuroimaging and electrophysiological studies (MEG and EEG) in order to investigate the mechanisms of pain disorders such as migraine, tension-type headache, and fibromyalgia, as well as other neurological diseases (such as AD and Epilepsy). He has published over 40 original and review papers in prestigious journals including the Journal of Headache and Pain, Pain, Neuroimage, Human Brain Mapping, and Cephalalgia. Recently, he has been utilizing advanced data analysis techniques and machine learning algorithms to decipher the neurophysiological signature of migraine.

Gabriela Carvalho received the B.S. in Physical Therapy from the University of Franca (2008), the MSc (2012) and the Ph.D (2016) titles in Rehabilitation and Functional Performance from the Ribeirão Preto Medical School of the University of São Paulo, Brazil. Currently she works as Research Associate at the Institute of Health Sciences, Department of Physiotherapy of the University of Luebeck, Germany. She is a member of the International Headache Society (IHS) and of the German Society for Physical Therapy (DGPTW). Her clinical and research interests focus on balance and vestibular dysfunctions, measurement proprieties of patient-reported outcomes measures (PROMs), musculoskeletal and chronic pain, especially migraine disorders. In this field she has published over 50 papers in international, peer-reviewed journals, has almost 1000 citations and received several recognitions and awards for her work.

Prof. Dr. Gisela Terwindt is a consultant neurologist and director of the Leiden Headache Center at Leiden University Medical Center, the Netherlands. With extensive experience in the field, she serves in various leadership positions, including chair of the scientific and headache guideline committee of the Dutch Headache Society, the IHS Clinical Trial Guideline Committee, and the Female Leadership's Forum. She also served as committee member for the Classification of Headache Disorders (ICHD-3).

Her research focuses on identifying treatment targets for attack prevention and disease progression in migraine patients, with a particular emphasis on the neurobiological mechanisms that trigger migraine attacks. She also studies monogenic disorders such as Hemiplegic Migraine and Cerebral Hereditary Angiopathies, which provide insights into the pathophysiology of common neurovascular disorders. Additionally, she investigates the relationship between migraine and stroke, especially in females, and explores the role of hormones in migraine attacks.

Dr. Terwindt has published around 450 scientific papers and has been the recipient of a prestigious personal grant from the Dutch Research Council. She holds an MSc in Biology and MD in Medicine from the University of Leiden, Netherlands, and her PhD focused on the epidemiology and genetics of migraine, leading to the discovery of the first migraine gene. To learn more about her research, visit www.hoofdpijnonderzoek.nl, www.whatstudy.nl, and www.RVCLS.com.

Gøril Bruvik Gravdahl, MSc, is a senior research nurse at the Norwegian Advisory Unit on Headaches at St. Olavs Hospital, and Norwegian Centre for Headache Research – NorHEAD, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, both in Trondheim, Norway. Since 2011 she has been a founding board member of the International Forum for Headache Nurses, and since 2019 board member of the Norwegian Headache Society.

Gøril has over 20 years of experience working in the headache field and has authored over 30 articles in international journals. She collected the data for the Atlas of Headache Disorders and Resources in the World, WHO, 2011. She aims to empower people to take control and educate themselves on their headache by participating in research projects.

“I want headache sufferers to feel seen, heard, understood, and taken seriously.”

Gregor Brössner is a Professor of Neurology, specialist in Neurologic Intensive Care Medicine and Board-certified pain expert. He heads the Headache Outpatient Clinic at the Medical University Innsbruck, Department of Neurology, Austria. He was President of the Austrian Headache Society and is currently Board Member of the European Headache Federation (EHF). Prof Brössner´s special research interests focus on headache, intensive care medicine and stroke. He has investigated the mechanisms of migraine pathophysiology, the acute/prophylactic action of drugs in migraine, relevant clinical biomarkers in primary headache disorders, the mechanisms of action of migraine drugs utilizing MRI, is a pioneer in inventing a human migraine model using a high-altitude chamber and targeted temperature management in intensive care medicine. He has authored or co-authored more than 100 articles in peer reviewed journals, numerous invited reviews and book chapters.

Prof. Brössner has been the PI in more than 30 trials on the acute treatment or prophylaxis of headache disorders and outcome evaluation/improvement in cerebrovascular disease. Moreover, he is also an enthusiastic university teacher and well-known speaker in his fields of expertise.

Dr. Gregory Dussor is Professor and Chair of the Department of Neuroscience at the University of Texas at Dallas.  The focus of his laboratory is the understanding of the pathophysiology of chronic headache disorders such as migraine. His work focuses on mechanisms of activation and sensitization of peripheral nociceptors innervating the cranial meninges with a goal of understanding how these neurons contribute to the pain phase of migraine attacks.  Using several preclinical models, his group has identified and studied numerous targets within this afferent nociceptive system including acid-sensing ion channels (ASICs), TRPA1/M8/V4 channels, and both adrenergic and IL-6 signaling mechanisms.  More recently, his work has focused on mechanisms that may lead to the higher prevalence of migraine in females.  These studies are based on differential prolactin-receptor signaling in the trigeminal system between males and females.  Dr. Dussor has published over 115 peer-reviewed research articles and is on the editorial boards of Pain, Pain Reports, Molecular Pain, the Journal of Pain, the Journal of Headache and Pain, and the Journal of Neuroscience.  He is also on the advisory board of the Association of Migraine Disorder’s Migraine Science Collaborative.

Prof. Dr. Hans-Christoph Diener is affiliated with the Faculty of Medicine and is the Head of the Department of Neuroepidemiology at the Institute for Medical Informatics, Biometry and Epidemiology at the University of Duisburg-Essen in Essen Germany. He trained as Neurologist and worked in Germany, USA and Australia. He was Chair of Neurology at the University Hospital Essen in Germany from 1989 until 2016 and Senior Professor of Clinical Neurosciences from 2016 to 2019. He published >1.000 papers in peer-reviewed journals. His research interests are stroke and headache and his h-Index is 127.

Henrik Schytz is a consultant in neurology and associate professor at the Danish Headache Center in Copenhagen Denmark. Henrik Schytz is chair of the Education Committee for the International Headache Society and co-director of the master program of headache disorders at the University of Copenhagen. He received his PhD. and DMSCI degrees at the University of Copenhagen. Henrik Schytz has been actively involved in headache research since 2005 and has authored more than 100 articles and book chapters in the headache field. His main interests include diagnostic testing of headache, human headache models, neuroimaging as well as treatment of migraine and secondary headaches.

Dr. Hong-Kyun Park is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Neurology at Inje University Ilsan Paik Hospital in Goyang-si, South Korea. 
Dr. Park received his M.D. from Yonsei University College of Medicine in 2008, and is currently pursuing his Ph.D.  at Seoul National University College of Medicine, which he began in September 2017.  

He completed his residency in the Department of Neurology at Seoul National University Hospital from 2009 to 2013, and served as a public health doctor from 2013 to 2016. He also completed a fellowship in the Stroke and Cerebrovascular Center at Seoul National University Bundang Hospital from 2016 to 2017.
His area of expertise includes medication overuse headache (MOH) and migraine. He has been actively contributing to the registry of MOH in Korea (RELEASE) and is dedicated to advancing the understanding and treatment of these debilitating conditions.

With extensive experience in both clinical and academic settings, Dr. Park is a well-respected member of the medical community. 

Irene de Boer is a medical professional with a background in research, patient care, and education. She obtained her Master's degree in Biomedical Sciences and Medicine from Leiden University and is currently finishing her PhD project at the Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC). As part of her PhD research, De Boer is investigating the role of genetics in migraine (see www.hoofdpijnonderzoek.nl)  and the clinical spectrum of associated hereditary disorders, such as RVCL-S (see www.rvcls.com).

In addition to her research work, Irene works at the headache outpatient clinic and the Cerebral Hereditary Angiopathy outpatient clinic, where she gained valuable experience in working with patients and their families. Furthermore, she is passionate about education and regularly teaches  (bio)medical students at Leiden University.

Irene is actively involved in the Junior Committee and the Women’s Leadership forum of the International Headache Society as she feels strongly about promoting equal career opportunities for all (young) professionals in the headache field.

Ishaq is a consultant paediatrician with special interest in paediatric neurology and expertise in Childhood Headache at the Royal Hospital for Children in Glasgow, UK. He has a major research interest in headache for the past 30 years. Ishaq is the past chair the Child and Adolescent Committee of the International Headache Society 2013-2021. He contributed to the update of the NICE guidelines on “Management of migraine in adults and young people over 12 years of age” in 2015 and also to the “IHS guidelines of on clinical trials for preventive treatment of migraine in children” in 2019. 

Editor of “Childhood Headache” first edition in 2002 and second edition in 2013.

Co-editor “Headache in children and adolescents: a case-based approach in 2016.

International Co-ordinating Investigator, Chief Investigator and Principal Investigator of several clinical trials on medications for the treatment of migraine.

Scientific focus:

The epidemiology and the clinical characterisation of headache disorders in children with special focus on syndromes related to migraine. The assessment of new treatment options including new drugs for acute treatment and for prevention of migraine.  

Jan Hoffmann is a Clinical Reader and Honorary Consultant in Neurology at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience at King’s College London and the Department of Neurology at King’s College Hospital in London, UK.

He graduated at Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin (Germany) where he also obtained his doctoral degree. Following a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of California San Francisco (USA) he worked at the University Medical Center in Hamburg-Eppendorf (Germany) before he relocated to London to his current position.

At King’s College London he leads a translational research group that focuses on the molecular mechanisms and central pain processing of headache and facial pain syndromes and conducts specialised headache and facial pain clinics.

He is an elected member of the Board of Trustees and of the Science and Research Committee of the International Headache Society as well as a Council Member and Treasurer of the British Association for the Study of Headache. Since 2016 he is an Associate Editor for Cephalalgia. He also serves as Associate Editor for The Journal of Headache and Pain, Cephalalgia Reports, Journal of Oral & Facial Pain and Headache as well as for Frontiers in Pain Research.

Jennifer works as a headache nurse at the Headache Clinic of Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC) in the Netherlands. She has been with the department of neurology/neurosurgery since 1990 and at the Headache Center since 2008. Jennifer has been a board member of the International Forum for Headache Nurses (IFHN) since its inception and served as a board member of the Dutch group of Headache Nurses from 2011-2022. Currently, she is a nursing member involved in the development of the national headache guidelines since 2022.

Jennifer's primary responsibility involves working with patients in the outpatient headache clinic through telephone, e-consulting, and clinic consultation. Her area of expertise lies in treating patients with migraine and cluster headaches. Additionally, Jennifer has a keen interest in the management of acute withdrawal in Medication Overuse Headache (MOH) and has observed the positive impact of headache nurse support during the withdrawal process.

Jennifer has also contributed to increasing awareness of headaches. She appeared on the podcast 'The impact of migraine podcast' (Leiden Headache Podcast December 2022) and on Dutch television, "dokters van morgen," where she discussed patients with chronic migraine suffering from medication overuse headache and the detoxification process (2019).

Jiying Zhou MD., PhD, neurologist, is a headache specialist at the First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University. She is vice-president of Headache and Sensory Disorders Branch of CMDA, and president of the Chongqing Headache Society. Led by Prof. Zhou, the Headache Centre of the First Affiliated Hospital of CQMU has attracted more than 30,000 headache patients from all over China since its establishment in 2009.

Prof. Zhou's main research is focused on migraine and migraine related vertigo. On clinical studies, the group found that the vestibular dysfunction characteristics of VM and BPV were similar, such as the onset age of vertigo was around 35 years old. The vestibular symptoms were mainly spontaneous vertigo (more than 2/3 ratio), and the numerous durations of vertigo was between 1 to 24 hours. However, after excluding VM and BRV, that the migraine-associated vertigo patients were mainly manifested as dizziness, which was different from VM and BPV. On the mechanism study, vestibular dysfunction was observed in CM rats induced by repeated nitroglycerin injections. And a potential neuronal connection between the trigeminal spinal-fascicular-caudate nucleus and the vestibular nucleus was found.

Ms. Kaori Tabata became a nurse in 1990 and started working as a nurse at Tominaga Hospital, one of the leading neurosurgery hospitals in western Japan, in 1991. In 2013, when she became the head nurse of the neurology ward, she held her first in-house headache class with Dr. Takao Takesima. the director of the Neurology Department. This experience strengthened her commitment to migraine treatment. She also took notice of the burden caused by migraine and the lack of awareness about migraines in Japan through these activities. JPAC was launched in 2017 under the leadership of Prof. Fumihiko Sakai, and Ms. Tabata became the cochair of JPAC activities with Prof. Koichi Hirata, then-president of the Japan Headache Society. Through these experiences, Ms. Tabata has been working steadily to achieve self-improvement regarding her own abilities in migraine treatment from the standpoint of a medical staff member and promoted activities to improve.

Kenta Maruyama M.D., Ph.D. earned his M.D. from Keio University in 2008. After clinical training at the National Hospital Organization of Tokyo Medical Center (NTMC), he joined Immunology Frontier Research Center (IFReC) as a research fellow. He earned his Ph.D. from Osaka University in 2013 and continued his research as an Assistant Professor at IFReC. From 2021, he joined National Institute for Physiological Sciences (NIPS) and The Graduate University for Advanced Studies (SOKENDAI) as an Associate Professor. His research group focuses on senso-immunology and geriatric medicine.

Kuan-Po Peng is a neurologist in the Department of Systems Neuroscience at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf. Originally based in Taiwan and trained under the mentorship of Prof. Shuu-Jiun Wang, he received the IHS fellowship award in 2018 and has since moved to Hamburg to join the team of Prof. Arne May since then. His research focuses on elucidating the generator of cyclic changes in sensory modalities in migraine and exploring the mechanism responsible for the efficacy of migraine treatment using psychophysical and functional imaging methods. Dr. Peng is currently a member of the IHS Junior Committee. He has published around 35 original and review articles and has served on the editorial board of Cephalalgia since 2019. 

She is a medical doctor specializing in neuropediatrics with a PhD in medical biotechnology. She has experience as a research fellow and postdoctoral researcher in pediatric neurology. He has held international masters on management of headache. Author of numerous publications in international journals on the subject of headache in children. Winner of several awards and funds for research on pediatric headaches. In 2020, Fortune magazine named her one of the best researchers under 40 in Europe. She is currently the director of the headache center for the diagnosis and treatment of headaches in children at the Bambino Gesù hospital in Rome, Italy.

Mamoru Shibata (1968-) is Professor at Department of Neurology, Tokyo Dental College Ichikawa General Hospital, Chiba, Japan. He graduated from Keio University School of Medicine in 1992. He obtained his PhD degree from Keio University Graduate School of Medicine in 2000. When he was a post-doctoral fellow at the Department of Cell Biology, Harvard Medical School under the supervision of Prof. Junying Yuan (2002-2005), he worked on the role of autophagy in the pathophysiology of neurodegenerative disease. He served as a Trustee of International Headache Society from 2015 through 2017. He is currently Chair of the Pan-Asian Committee of the American Headache Society. He is also involved in various activities of the Japanese Headache Society. His recent research interests include the biological and structural changes of trigeminal ganglion neurons  in migraine pathogenesis, functional interactions between TRP channels, and cortical spreading depolarization biology.     

She was Board certified in Neurology from Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS) in 1993, and she is a Professor of Neurology at the same University. She has received the award of the best teacher in the school of medicine at Tehran University 2 times.

She established headache and facial pain fellowship in Iran.

She is the head of the neurology ward at Sina Hospital affiliated with TUMS.

She is the founder and president of the Iranian Headache Association where she focused on changing information and ideas concerning the causes and treatments of headaches and related painful disorders along with educating individuals on such subjects.

She reviews for Cephalalgia, Headache and Pain, Frontiers Neurology, and multiple other international journals.

Prof. Togha’s scholarly and research activities have resulted in the publication of 172 articles, 7 books, and several conference papers.

She is the chief editor of the migraine and headache textbook which is recently published by Elsevier publisher.

Besides, Prof. Togha is the director of a Headache Research Center, where she leads numerous novel research projects on headache management and prevention.

In addition, she had a significant role in the clinical management of different types of headaches for more than 20 years.

Marco Lisicki is a Latin-American Headache Neurologist and Researcher. After completing his neurology specialization training, he moved to Belgium to pursue a Ph.D. in the laboratory of Prof. Jean Schoenen. While in Europe, he also completed The Master in Headache Disorders Course at the University of Copenhagen. Now in Argentina, Marco Lisicki coordinates the Headache Department of the Neuroscience Unit at the Conci∙Carpinella Institute and serves as an adjoint Professor of the Biomedical Physics Department of the University of Córdoba. His main research interests include headache electrophysiology and neuroimaging, yet Dr. Lisicki has also participated in recent epidemiological and clinical studies. He has been awarded the Enrico Greppi Award (Endorsed by the European Headache Federation) and the Jorge Leston Award for best scientific study (Endorsed by International Headache Society - Delivered during the Regional Headache Conference) for his research.

Maria Teresa Goicochea MD is a Latin America clinical Neurologist. She is in charge of the Headache Clinic at Fleni (Fundación para la lucha contra enfermedades neurológicas de la infancia) and member of ethics committee in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

She was awarded her degree by Universidad Católica in Córdoba and completed her residency in neurology in Fleni.

Dr Goicochea has been actively involved in the working group in headache for the Sociedad Neurológica Argentina.

She has been a member of the IHS Board since 2021. In 2022 she co-chaired with Professor Messoud Ashina the First Latin American Regional Headache Conference.

Her research interests include medication overuse headache, occipital neuralgia, migraine and artificial intelligence in headache among others. She has participated in recent epidemiological and clinical studies She has published several papers on these matters.

She promotes medical education for neurologists and physicians in the headache field for the Latam region.

Dr. Melissa Cortez is an Associate Professor of Neurology at the University of Utah where she founded and directs the autonomic physiology laboratory. She is board certified in neurology, clinical neurophysiology, and autonomic disorders. Her clinical and research focus is on the development and implementation of novel, patient-centered interventions for ‘network disorders’ – including dysautonomia and sensory dysfunction associated with traumatic brain injury, chronic migraine, post-viral syndromes, and postural tachycardia syndrome. Her overarching goal is to better understand the underlying physiology driving her patients’ symptoms while advancing diagnostic strategies, refining treatment selection, and improving functional outcomes. 

Professor Massimiliano Valeriani is a neurologist working at the Children’s Hospital Bambino Gesù in Rome (Italy), where he directs the Developmental Neurology Unit. He is also assigned professor at Aalborg University, Denmark. He is Chief Editor of the journal Pain Research and Management and Past President of the Italian Society of Psychophysiology and Cognitive Neurosciences.

His scientific activity is focused on headaches, especially in children and adolescents, and clinical neurophysiology of the somatosensory system and pain.

He has published more than 250 papers in international journals and book chapters. His H index (Scopus) is 43.

Messoud Ashina, MD, PhD, DMSc, FEAN

Professor Messoud Ashina is Professor of Neurology and Director of the Human Migraine Research Unit at the Department of Neurology & Danish Headache Center, Rigshospitalet Glostrup, the University of Copenhagen, Denmark. He is Past President of the International Headache Society (2019–2021) and is Past General Secretary of the European Headache Federation. Prof. Ashina is a Fellow of the European Academy of Neurology. In addition, he is an Associate Editor of Cephalalgia, an Associate Editor of The Journal of Headache and Pain, and an Associate Editor of Brain.

Prof. Ashina’s research interests include the pathophysiology of migraine and mechanisms of action of antimigraine medications, as well as experimental migraine models, functional neuroimaging, and novel antimigraine drug targets. He has authored over 600 papers, abstracts and book chapters on the topic of headache, including migraine and cluster headache.

Having obtained his MD from the Azerbaijan Medical University, Prof. Ashina went on to complete his residency in neurology at the University of Copenhagen, where he gained his PhD and DMSc. In the past, he has served as President of the Danish Headache Society.

Dr. Mi Ji Lee is Assistant Professor of Neurology at the Seoul National University College of Medicine in Korea. She is neurologist, headache specialist, and researcher at the Neurology department of Seoul National University Hospital. She obtained her MD in 2009 at the Sungkyunkwan University. She completed the Neurology residency in 2013 and 3-year fellowship in the field of stroke and headache in 2016. From 2017 to 2022, she had been as a clinical assistant professor in Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine.

Dr. Lee authored more than 100 scientific papers in peer-reviewed journals and several book chapters. Her main fields of research involve migraine, cluster headache, RCVS, and pressure-related headaches. She was awarded several research awards, nominated as a Rising Researcher by the Korean Academy of Science and Technology, and recently recognized with official commendation by the Ministry of Health and Welfare of South Korea. She authored several expert review articles on migraine, tension-type headache, and post-traumatic headache published in Lancet, Nature Reviews of Disease Primers, and Lancet Neurology. She is an associate editor of Cephalalgia, the official journal of the international headache society (IHS). She had been an IHS board member and now works as a member of education committee, cluster headache task force, migraine medication GRADE working group, and migraine practice recommendation task force of the IHS.

Dr. Lee is the Principal Investigator of several research projects, have conducted several anti-CGRP monoclonal antibody trials as a site PI, and the recipient of National Grant for an fMRI study of migraine. She is working on several international collaborative projects on RCVS and migraine.

Dr Levin is a Professor in the University of California, San Francisco Department of Neurology, and is the Director of the UCSF Headache Center.  He is board certified in Neurology, with additional qualification in Pain Medicine (ABPN), and he is board certified in Headache Medicine (UCNS) as well. He served as the Neurology Residency Program Director at Dartmouth Medical School from 2001-2014.

He has authored a number of medical journal articles and textbook chapters in the areas of headache and pain, and is the author (or co-author) of 10 books including Neurology Clinical Case Studies (Anadem 2003), Comprehensive Review of Headache Medicine (Oxford University Press 2008), Emergency Neurology (Oxford University Press 2013 and 2^nd edition 2021), Head, Neck and Facial Pain (Anadem 2006), Educational Review Manual in Neurology (Castle Connolly 2006), Headache and Facial Pain (Oxford University Press 2009, second edition 2020), Refractory Migraine (Oxford University Press 2010). And “Understanding Your Migraines”, a guide for patients and families (Oxford University Press 2017).

Dr Levin served on the IHS classification Committee between 2010 and 2020 and was a co-author of the current International Classification of Headache Disorders 3^rd edition. His particular clinical and research interests include headache classification and diagnosis, emergency neurology, medical education in neurology, and professional medical ethics. He currently serves as chair of the Ethics Committee of the International Headache Society.

Associate Professor, M.D., Ph.D.

Consultant neurologist , Mongolian – Japan Hospital,  Mongolian National University of Medical Sciences

President, Mongolian Headache Society

Graduated from the Second Moscow Medical University, Russia.                                                  

Completed residency training in Neurology at the Mongolian Medical University.  

Obtained the Ph.D. degree at the Medical Academy of Lodz, Poland.

Topic of research: “Presence of the myelin-based protein and head shock protein complexes in the brain of the patients with multiple sclerosis”.   

Clinical training in neurophysiology at Malaysian Medical University, Malaysia, at the  Christian Doppler Clinic,  Austria, also completed 1 year-training in Epileptology and EEG in Shizuoka Institute of Neurological Disorders and Epilepsy, Shizuoka, Japan.

Since 1989 Lecturer,  Head of Department of Neurology (2005-2012), Associate Professor, Department of Neurology, Mongolian National University of Medical Sciences, from 2019 Consultant neurologist at the Mongolian-Japan Hospital, MNUMS.

Clinical interest in multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, headache.

Professional membership

• Mongolian Neurology Society, board member                                                         
• Professional Neurological Committee, Ministry of Health of Mongolia, head ( 2008-2012) , member (2008 –present)
• World Stroke Organization, member since 2008
• International Headache Society, member since 2016
• Mongolian Psychosomatic Medicine Society, board member
• Editorial Board member of the official journal of the ASEAN Neurological Association “Neurology Asia” (Since 2004)
• President of “Mongolian Headache Society” since 2019

Patricia Pozo-Rosich MD PhD, is a specialist in Neurology. She is Head of Section of the Neurology Department and Director of the Migraine Adaptive Brain Center at the Vall d’Hebron University Hospital in Barcelona. She is the Group Leader of the Headache Research Laboratory at the Vall d’Hebron Institute of Research (VHIR), which belongs to the Universitat Autonoma of Barcelona(UAB), and currently is the Coordinator of the eCORE “Brain, Mind & Behaviour” at VHIR.

She is the Honorary Secretary of the Executive Board of the International Headache Society, and past member of the European Headache Federation Council, past Coordinator of the Spanish Headache Study Group of the Spanish Neurological Society.

She is the Editor for Headache for Revista de Neurologia, and Associate Editor of Cephalalgia, Headache, The Journal of Headache and Pain, Neurologia, Frontiers in Neurology (Headache Medicine).

Dr. Pozo-Rosich’s research focuses on better understanding migraine from a multidisciplinary approach using genetics, molecular, neuroimaging and electrophysiology.

She educates neurologists, other physicians and patients with the goal of improving the quality of life of patients suffering from headache and helping reduce the stigma of migraine. She is the founder and developer of the website in Spanish dedicated to headache  www.midolordecabeza.org for patients and physicians.

Professor Rami Burstein, Ph.D. is the John Hedley-Whyte Professor of Anaesthesia and Neuroscience at Harvard Medical School, and Vice Chairman of Neuroscience in the Department of Anaesthesia at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. 

Professor Burstein is the President-Elect of the International Headache Society. Previously, he was a member of the Board of Directors of both the American and International Headache Society and the European Headache Federation Meeting in 2018. 

Throughout the years, Professor Burstein has received numerous awards. These include the prestigious Javits Neuroscience Merit Award (National Advisory Neurological Disorder and Stroke Council), the Harold Wolff Awards in 2003 and 2005 (American Headache Society), the Cephalalgia Awards in 2013 and 2015 (International Headache Society), the Seymour Diamond Lectureship Award in 2012 and 2015, and the 2010 Alan Edwards Center for Research on Pain Award (McGill University). and most recently, the 44th John J. Bonica Lectureship Award.

Among Professor Burstein’s accomplishments are the discoveries of the spinohypothalamic tract, the roles of peripheral and central sensitisation in migraine pathophysiology and treatment, the mechanisms of action of several anti-migraine drugs, the neurobiology of photophobia and, most recently, the role of the glymphatic system in migraine.

Raquel Gil-Gouveia MD, PhD, is a clinical neurologist in Hospital da Luz, Lisboa Portugal, where she works as head of the Neurology Department and Coordinates the Luz-Saúde Headache Center. She is a clinical researcher, having participated in multiple clinical trials and investigator-initiated, collaborative and isolated studies. 

She is group leader of the LIoN - Luz Innovation in Neurosciences clinical research group in GLSMED Learning Health. LIoN's main activity is multimodal clinical research (with advanced neuroimaging), applied to brain physiology, ageing and to the most impactful neurological disorders, such as headaches, cognition, neuroinflammation and cerebrovascular disease. Her main focus of research is headache, cognition and clinical and imaging biomarkers.

In 2023 she also integrated the Católica Medical School as an associated teacher and a principal investigator in Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Health, from Universidade Católica Portuguesa. She is currently the President of the Portuguese Headache Society, member of the board of the European Headache Federation and member of the "lifting the burden" committee. 

Peter Goadsby is Director of the NIHR-SLaM King’s Clinical Research Facility, King’s College London, London, UK, and Honorary Consultant Neurologist at King’s College Hospital. He is also an Honorary Consultant Neurologist at the Hospital for Sick Children, Great Ormond Street, and a National Institute for Health Research Senor Investigator, as well as Professor Emeritus of Neurology at the University of California, Los Angeles, USA. His major research interests are in the basic mechanisms of primary headache disorders, such as migraine and cluster headache, in both experimental and clinical settings, and translating these insights into better management. Professor Goadsby obtained his medical degree at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Australia where he completed neurology and clinical neurophysiology training.

After post-doctoral work at Cornell University in New York and Université VII in Paris, and post-graduate neurology training at Queen Square in London, he returned to UNSW and the Prince of Wales Hospital, Sydney, as a Consultant Neurologist and became an Associate Professor of Neurology. Professor Goadsby was appointed a Wellcome Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Neurology, University College London and was Professor of Clinical Neurology and Honorary Consultant Neurologist at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, Queen Square. He was also Professor of Neurology at University of California, San Francisco.

Paolo Martelletti is currently Professor of Research, Certified Full Professor of Internal Medicine at Sapienza University of Rome. He has been Associate Professor of Internal Medicine at Sapienza University (2005-2022), Director of the Regional Reference Centre (2003-2022), Director of Internal Medicine and Emergency Medicine Clinical Area at University Hospital Sant'Andrea in Rome (2017-2022), Director of Master in Headache Medicine at Sapienza University (2003-2022). His research activities involved headaches and pain clinical medicine, neuroimmunology of head pain, chronicisation factors of headache, rehabilitation protocols, guidelines for clinical and therapeutical aspects of primary headache, public health issues and education in headache disorders, COVID and Vaccines issues in clinical medicine.

Rebecca Erwin Wells, MD, MPH is an Associate Professor in Neurology at Wake Forest University School of Medicine in North Carolina, United States, and founded and directs their Comprehensive Headache Program. She graduated with highest honors from UNC-Chapel Hill while on full academic scholarship, completed her MD from East Carolina School of Medicine, her Masters’ in Public Health from Harvard, and her Internship and Neurology residency from University of Virginia. She completed two fellowships from Harvard—an Integrative Medicine research fellowship and Headache Medicine Fellowship. Dr. Wells is a diplomat of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, has United Council Neurologic Subspecialties Certification in Headache Medicine, and is a Fellow of the American Headache Society (AHS) and the American Academy of Neurology (AAN). Dr. Wells currently serves as President of the Southern Headache Society. She is on the AHS Board of Directors, having recently served as Co-Chair of their Diversity, Equity, Inclusion Taskforce. She received the AHS Early Career Lecture Award and the AAN Wolff-Graham award for her outstanding achievements in headache research. Her NIH R01-funded research investigates the mechanisms and efficacy of mindfulness for migraine. Her National Headache Foundation research examines gender differences and genetics of cluster headache.

Richard B. Lipton, M.D., is the Edwin S. Lowe Professor and Vice Chair of Neurology, Professor of Epidemiology and Population Health and Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, where he also directs the Montefiore Headache Center.  He is a diplomate of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, a fellow of the American Academy of Neurology and UCNS certified in headache medicine.

Dr. Lipton’s headache research focuses on the epidemiology of migraine and on clinical trials.  His epidemiologic studies have evaluated trigger factors for headache attacks and risk factors for headache progression.

Dr. Lipton has published more than 1000 articles in indexed journals and serves on the editorial boards of several journals, including Neurology.  He is a six-time winner of the H.G. Wolff Award for excellence in headache research from the American Headache Society (AHS) and a two-time winner of the       Enrico Greppi award from the European Headache Federation.  He is a Past-President of the AHS.   

Dr. Lipton earned his medical degree at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine.  After a medical internship at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, he completed his neurology residency and clinical neurophysiology fellowship at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine.  He also completed a fellowship in neuroepidemiology at Columbia University.

Sait Ashina, MD, FAHS is an Assistant Professor of Neurology and Anesthesia at Harvard Medical School. He is a Director of Comprehensive Headache Center at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center affiliated with Harvard Medical School in Boston, MA, USA. Dr. Ashina graduated from the University of Copenhagen, Faculty of Health Sciences. He is a member of the Education Committee of the International Headache Society. Dr. Ashina also served as a member of the International Headache Society headache classification subcommittee for the latest edition of the International Classification of Headache Disorders. He serves on Advisory Board for the Journal of Headache and Pain and is Associated Editor of Neurology Reviews, Frontiers in Neurology and BMC Neurology. He is a recipient of the Enrico Greppi Award for excellence in headache research. He is currently involved in several research projects at Harvard Medical School. His research interests include epidemiology of headache and chronic pain, quantitative sensory testing, human pain models, brain imaging and structural brain lesions in migraine, migraine and vestibular dysfunction, implication of photophobia in pathophysiology and treatment of migraine. He is an investigator of clinical trials in migraine, including clinical trials involving novel treatments in migraine and pain.

Prof. Shengyuan Yu (March 1963, M.D., Ph.D.) is a neurologist and the director of Department of neurology, Chinese PLA General Hospital. He is expert in diagnosis, treatment and research of headache, and has done massive researches on the mechanism or therapy of headache. As first author or corresponding author, he has published 177 academic papers in SCI cited journals and led 18 scientific research projects sponsored by WHO or government of China, especially the project “Neural network mechanisms and interventions of headache, sleep disorder and negative emotion reflected by military stress” with a scientific research funding of 9 million was applied in 2022. In addition, He leaded the more than 10 clinical trials related to migraines as the principal investigator. He has obtained 5 Patent for invention，9 National Utility Model Patents, 10 National Computer Software Copyrights, and has written as a general editor or co-edited 16 academic books. Prof. Yu was awarded the second prize of Scientific and Technological Achievements in Beijing, the second prize of Chinese Medical Scientific and Technological Achievements and the prize of Army’s Scientific and Technological Achievements for his work in headache. As professor of Neurology, he has already supervised 47 MD postgraduates and 38 PhD postgraduates, and 9 postdocs. He is the President of Chinese Headache Society since 2010. He is also the head of (the World Health Organization) Lifting The Burden in China, the former chairman of the Branch of Pain Medicine of Chinese Medical Society, the Board of Directors of the Chinese Medical doctor Association, and Vice-president of the Neurology Branch of the Chinese Medical Doctor Association. He serves as vice editor-in-chief of Chinese Journal of Pain Medicine, associate editor of The Journal of Headache and Pain, Journal of Alzheimer Disease, Edorium Journal of Neurology etal.

Shih-Pin Chen, M.D., Ph.D.

Dr. Shih-Pin Chen is a physician scientist who graduated from School of Medicine and Institute of Clinical Medicine, National Yang-Ming University, Taiwan. He received his neurology resident training at Department of Neurology, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taiwan and post-doctoral fellowship training at Neurovascular Research Lab, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School. He is currently an attending physician of Department of Medical Research, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, and Professor of Institute of Clinical Medicine, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei, Taiwan. Dr. Chen’s research interests focus on deciphering the pathophysiology of headache and neurovascular disorders by combining clinical, neuroimaging, genomics, and animal studies. He has published more than 100 research articles in journals such as JAMA Neurology, Brain, Annals of Neurology, Neurology, Stroke, The Journal of Headache and Pain, Pain, Cephalalgia, and Headache etc. He has also been the leading author of 6 textbook chapters and 10 review articles relevant to headache disorders. He has served as the Associate Editor of Cephalalgia (the official journal of International Headache Society) from 2020 to 2022 and Cephalalgia Reports, as well as the Secretary General, Asia Regional Consortium of Headache from 2019 to 2021.

Shuu-Jiun Wang, M.D.
Dr. Shuu-Jiun Wang is a practicing neurologist and the Chair Professor and Vice Dean of College of Medicine and Director, Brain Research Center, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University and Director of The Neurological Institute, Taipei Veterans General Hospital. He was the Chair of the Asian Regional Consortium of Headache from 2019 to 2021. He was the founding President of the Taiwan Headache Society from 2005-2011. He serves as an associate editor of Cephalalgia, Journal of Headache and Pain and others. Dr. Wang was awarded Bruce S. Schoenberg's International Neuroepidemiology Award by the American Academy of Neurology in 1994, the Seymour Solomon Lecture Award by the American Headache Society in 2010, G. Nappi Cluster Headache Award by the European Headache Society in 2016 and MacDonald-Critchley Lecture Award by the Migraine Trust Virtual Symposium in 2020. His studies focus on clinical and neuroimaging research of headache disorders.

Simona Sacco is professor of Neurology at the University of L’Aquila in Italy and Director of the local Clinical Neurology and Stroke Unit. Dr. Sacco is author of more than 270 publications in the field of stroke and headache.  She is the president elect of the European Stroke Organisation (ESO) and second vice-president of the European Headache Federation (EHF). She has extensive editorial activity and is currently the chief editor for the Headache and Neurogenic Pain section in Frontiers in Neurology, associate editor for the Journal of Headache and Pain, assistant editor for Stroke and member of the editorial board of Neurology. She has chaired the EHF Guideline on the use of monoclonal antibodies targeting the CGRP for migraine prevention, the EHF consensus on resistant and refractory migraine and the EHF consensus on triptan non-responders.

Dr. Soo-Jin Cho, MD, PhD is a headache specialist in Korea and has worked with perseverance and passion during her carrier. She graduated from Yonsei University College of Medicine in 1992 and trained in Severance Hospital as intern and resident of department of Neurology and in Samsung Medical Center as a fellow. She is a professor and chairperson in the Department of Neurology at Dongtan Sacred Heart Hospital in Korea. Her main interests are cluster headache, migraine, and medication-over use headache. She is current president of Korean Headache Society, the member of IHS Cluster Headache Task force and Cluster Headache Special interest group, and junior editor of The Journal of Headache and Pain. She conducted several multicenter investigator-initiated trials including “Korea Cluster Headache Registry” as a principal investigator in Korea and published several scientific papers regarding cluster headache and medication-over use headache.

Neurologist Professor of Neurology and Director of the Jefferson Headache Center at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, PA; one of the few academic centers in the country. Involved with migraine research and clinical trials. Author of over 400 peer-reviewed publications.

A Fellow of the American College of Physicians, the American Academy of Neurology, and the American Headache Society (AHS). Served the AHS as President, Treasurer, and Board of Directors member. He is the 2016 Lifetime Achievement Award recipient by AHS. Chairman within the World Federation of Neurology and President of the Philadelphia Headache Society.

Dr. Silberstein is the senior editor of the 8th edition (and the upcoming 9th edition) of Wolff’s Headache and Other Head Pain, Associate Editor of Cephalalgia and CNS Drugs, and a present or prior member of the Editorial Board of Headache, Cephalalgia, Acta Neurologica Scandanavia, Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychology, and Topics in Pain Management.

Susie completed her Bachelor’s degree in Nursing at Wesleyan University, Philippines in 1996 and moved to the UK in 1999 and has been working at The National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, Queen Square, London. She has undergone numerous post-graduate courses including the Masters for Headache Disorders at the University of Copenhagen in 2018. She is a registered Non-Medical Prescriber.

She was awarded the Top Quality Patient Care Award in 2016 and Winner of the 2022 Royal College of Nursing Awards in recognition of her work in setting up and providing pioneering nurse-led headache services in the UK. She was appointed a topic specific member in the UK’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) Headache Guidelines review in 2015 (CG 150).

Susie has presented at national and international meetings and conferences. She has been doing academic and clinical studies over the last fourteen years and has authored and co-authored a number of scientific papers published in peer reviewed journals.

She is a member of the board of the International Forum for Headache Nurses (IFHN). She is also a member of the Royal College of Nursing International (RCNI) conference scientific panel.

Professor of Pediatric in Tel Aviv University. Senior physician in tertiary center "Schneider Children's medical Center of Israel". Head of pediatric headache clinic.

Head of pediatric committee in assenting hospital's pediatric teaching in Sackler faculty of medicine. A member of the international headache committee. A member of American headache association, a member of International Headache society. A member of Israeli headache association. Published 30 studies regarding pediatric headache. Published reviews and bool chapters in pediatric headache   

Area of research in pediatric headache

1. Allodynia: allodynia  in pediatric migraine-first describing the phenomena allodynia in pediatrics , cephalic allodynia post  headache trauma familial allodynia

Other areas of research: thunderclap headache, trigeminal neuralgia, factors influencing age onset of pediatric migraine ,pediatric headache and hemodialysis, pediatric headache and renal transplantation, gender influence on pediatric migraine ,migraine and tension headache comorbidities, migraine symptoms epidemiology.   

Todd Schwedt, MD, MSCI, is a Professor of Neurology at the Mayo Clinic Arizona. He is Vice Chair for Research in the Department of Neurology, principal investigator of the migraine and headache research team, and Director of the Clinicians Engaged in Research Faculty Development Program. Dr. Schwedt is President-Elect and Chair of the Research Committee for the American Headache Society, and he is on the Board of Directors for the American Migraine Foundation. His headache research has received continuous funding for many years via grants and contracts from the United States Department of Defense, National Institutes of Health, Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute, American Migraine Foundation, Mayo Clinic, Arizona State University, Henry Jackson Foundation, and other sources. He has received honors for his research, including winning the Mayo Clinic Arizona Investigator of the Year award and being the recipient of the Harold G. Wolff Award from the American Headache Society. Dr. Schwedt is a frequent lecturer at national and international meetings and has authored approximately 175 peer-reviewed journal articles.

Toshiyuki Hikita received an MD degree from Teikyo University School of Medicine (Tokyo), and a PhD from Teikyo University Graduate School. His PhD dissertation was titled "Quantification of N-acetyl-and N-glycolylneuraminic acids in gangliosides by fluorometric high performance liquid chromatography." He received clinical specialist training in general pediatrics and child neurology at Teikyo University Hospital. During 2000-2002, as a postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory of Professor Sen-itiroh Hakomori (University of Washington, and Pacific Northwest Research Institute, Seattle), he isolated and characterized a novel cationic glycosphingolipid from bovine brain white matter. Dr. Hikita's subsequent research interests include episodic syndromes associated with migraines, particularly cyclic vomiting syndrome (CVS) and childhood headache disorders. His current studies are focused on treatment, pathophysiology, and epidemiology of CVS, and relationships between chronic headaches and sleep disorders. He is Director of the Hikita Pediatric clinic (since 2008), Visiting Researcher at Teikyo University, and member of the Japanese Headache Society and the Japanese Headache Meeting of Pediatricians. He is an active member of the International Headache Society, attends its biennial Congress, and has served on its Child and Adolescent committees.

Wei-Ta Chen, MD, PhD, is a headache specialist in Taipei Veterans General Hospital and a professor of neurology in School of Medicine, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan. In 2020, he was also elected as the president of Taiwan Headache Society. Dr. Chen became a board neurologist in 2001, received Ph.D. degree from the Institute of Neuroscience, National Yang-Ming University in 2009, and stayed in Boston during 2010-2012 as a research fellowship in the Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School. Dr. Chen has long been interested in exploring the mechanism of neurological diseases by functional neuroimaging. In a series of studies, he has applied magnetoencephalography (MEG) to investigate brain excitability in migraine. To date Dr. Chen has published more than one hundred articles in prestigious medical journals including Brain, Neurology, Pain, NeuroImage and Cephalalgia. He has also published several patents and edited several books on migraine. His current interest is to combine MEG/EEG with structural and functional MRI to disentangle the pathomechanism and neuroplasticity of chronic pain disorders including migraine, tension-type headache and fibromyalgia.

Dr. Renthal is the Director of Research at the John R. Graham Headache Center at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and an Assistant Professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School. He completed his MD, PhD and neurology residency at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, headache medicine fellowship at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and postdoctoral research training at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Renthal treats patients with refractory headache and facial pain and directs a research laboratory [renthal.bwh.harvard.edu] that studies the genomic and epigenomic mechanisms that contribute to chronic headache and pain. For this work he has received the Career Award in Medical Sciences from the Burroughs Wellcome Fund, the Harold Wolff-John Graham Pain Research Award from the American Academy of Neurology, and the Director’s Pioneer and Trailblazer awards from the National Institutes of Health. 

Dr. Yen-Feng Wang obtained his MD from National Yang-Ming University (NYMU) School of Medicine, Taiwan. After completing his neurology residency training in the Department of Neurology of Taipei Veterans General Hospital (VGHTPE), Taiwan, he did his fellowship in headache medicine with Professors Shuu-Jiun Wang and Jong-Ling Fuh. He earned his PhD degree from the Institute of Clinical Medicine of NYMU. He is currently an attending physician at the Department of Neurology of VGHTPE and an associate professor in National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University School of Medicine. His major clinical and research interests focus on the clinical manifestations, radiological characteristics, and genetics in headache disorders, including migraine, medication-overuse headache, and spontaneous intracranial hypotension.