Christopher H. Gottschalk, MD, established the first headache medicine program at Yale, and continues to treat patients with chronic headaches, facial pain and general neurology issues. “We have an extraordinary network of clinical services dedicated to improving headache care, and world-class scientists who are ready to advance our understanding of a highly prevalent, disabling and misunderstood disease,” he says.

In addition to his clinical work, Dr. Gottschalk is an assistant professor of neurology at Yale School of Medicine who researches ways to optimize interventions to improve headache diagnosis and management across medical specialties. Recurring moderate to severe headaches are often misdiagnosed and poorly treated, which is a problem that Dr. Gottschalk would like to change. “The burden of illness due to migraine and related conditions is gigantic—it is the most important cause of disability for women worldwide, and yet this fact is largely unknown or ignored,” he says.

Insights into the biology of migraine headaches is leading to a better understanding of brain function at a fundamental level and advancing treatment, Dr. Gottschalk says. “In the past, we have had to borrow treatments from other fields of medicine, and that has been of some value. But now, for the first time, we are developing treatments specifically designed to reduce the frequency and severity of migraine and other primary headache disorders.”

Susan L. Hutchinson, MD, is director and founder of Orange County Migraine & Headache Center in Irvine, California. She is also on the Volunteer Faculty Department in the Department of Family Medicine at UC-Irvine Medical Center. Dr Hutchinson concentrates on the management of migraine and mood disorders with a special interest in the relationship of both conditions to hormones. In recent years, she has co-authored numerous journal articles and chapters about migraine. Dr Hutchinson served as chair of the Women’s Issues Section of American Headache Society from 2005-2010 and is president of the Headache Cooperative of the Pacific. She was selected as a Physician of Excellence by the Orange County Medical Association in January 2007.