Dr. Susan Hutchinson is a headache specialist and board-certified family practice physician. In February 2007, she founded Orange County Migraine & Headache Center, dedicated to serving patients with headache and mood disorders. Although she is not a psychiatrist, she has developed a special interest in treating mood disorders as well as headache. The mood disorders she treats include depression; anxiety; bipolar disorder; ADHD; and panic attacks. Dr. Hutchinson suffers from migraine headaches which gives her an empathy with her patients.
She felt such a calling to help patients with headache and mood disorders that she decided to specialize and devote her career to alleviating the suffering caused by both headaches and mood disorders. She lectures nationally on the subject of headache; has written dozens of articles for medical journals; participated in headache research projects and is very active in numerous professional organizations such as the American Headache Society and the National Headache Foundation.
She is the immediate post-chair of the Women’s Issues section of the American Headache Society after serving in the chair position for 5 years. Dr. Hutchinson is a dynamic and sought-after speaker. She speaks for community groups as well as professional groups. In 2010 she became the President of The Orange County Chapter of the California Academy of Family Physicians.
We have three leading advocates who comprise our patient panel. They each leverage their personal experience with migraine to improve the quality of life for people with the disease. Jon Summer is a board member of the American Migraine Foundation, Shirley Kessel is the executive director of Miles for Migraine, and Alicia Torborg is the executive director of the Association of Migraine Disorders. They are all very open with their successes, failures, practical tips, and tools on how they live, manage, or just cope with migraine.
Jon Summer had a successful career in the fast-paced business world, owning and managing several businesses, until chronic migraine made other plans for him. Although he deals with his own challenges brought on by migraine, Jon is happy to lend his experience and entrepreneurial mind to the American Migraine Foundation, offering valuable perspective from both a business and patient standpoint. Jon understands intimately that migraine is so much more than a headache as he continues to battle intractable migraine and the many side effects that come with the disease. He hopes his work as a migraine advocate will bring us closer to treatment options that better alleviate the suffering of millions of people worldwide with migraine — or, even better, brings us closer to a cure.
Shirley Kessel is the mom of three daughters, two of whom live with migraine. When her youngest daughter, Sydney, became diagnosed at an early age, they both decided that it was time to take action to bring awareness and raise money for migraine research. In 2013, Shirley helped bring Miles for Migraine to the Philadelphia community, and she became the executive director in 2017 when it became apparent that Miles for Migraine should take the race series nationwide. Shirley has worked in health care for the past 26 years and has served on various nonprofit boards since 1991. She won’t retire until a cure is found for this disabling disease.
Alicia Torborg began her professional career in the mortgage banking business, working as director of quality and process improvement at Fidelity. Later, she was recruited by her otolaryngologist, who was treating her for migraine disease, to become the executive director of the Association of Migraine Disorders. As someone who has lived with migraine disease since childhood, Torborg understands balance is important to achieving good health, and she seeks that equilibrium in her own life by keeping active outside of work. She has completed five triathlons, and enjoys kayaking and hiking.
Katie Golden is a professional patient, writer, and advocate for those living with migraine, headache, and cluster diseases. When she turned 30, her episodic migraine attacks that started in childhood became a chronic, everyday occurrence. Katie has found purpose in writing about her disease, and found power in the phrase “Never let your pain go to waste.” Katie is the director of patient relations & immediate past steering committee member of CHAMP (Coalition For Headache And Migraine Patients), contributing editor of the INvisible Project magazine, migraine advocacy liaison for the U.S. Pain Foundation, and staff writer for Migraine.com.
Mia T. Minen, MD, MPH, FAHS, is a board-certified headache specialist who treats a wide variety of conditions, including migraine, tension-type headaches, cluster headaches, and postconcussive and postsurgical headaches. Treatment may include the use of medications, but Dr. Minen has a particular interest in nonpharmacologic therapies, including cognitive behavioral therapy, biofeedback, relaxation, sleep assessments, and temporomandibular joint dysfunction assessments.
Dr. Minen’s research interests revolve around improving the diagnosis and treatment of people with migraine by doctors in various medical specialties, including emergency medicine, primary care, psychiatry, and other specialty areas. She is also interested in headaches that are associated with behavioral and psychiatric problems, as well as in headache education.
Dr. Minen has published numerous research articles and lectured at annual meetings, including those of the American Academy of Neurology and the American Headache Society. She serves on the editorial board of the journal Headache.
Professor Lyn Griffiths is the executive director of the Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation, the largest interdisciplinary research institute at Queensland University of Technology. An active and respected molecular geneticist with more than 28 years of experience studying human complex gene disorders, with specific expertise in human gene mapping and gene expression analysis in migraine, cardiovascular disease, and several types of cancer. Professor Griffiths leads the Genomics Research Centre, in which the main focus of research is the identification of genes involved in common human disorders and the translation of this research into new diagnostics and therapeutics.
Professor Griffiths’ own genetics research has appeared in more than 350 peer-reviewed international journals and led to diagnostic breakthroughs for several neurogenetic disorders, including familial migraine, ataxia, epilepsy, and hereditary stroke. A fellow of the Queensland Academy of Arts and Science, Professor Griffiths has also established several significant international collaborations with the Texas Biomedical Research Institute, Oxford University, University of Vienna, the Italian National Research Council, the MS ANZgene Consortium, and the International Migraine Genetics Consortium.
Dr Tad Seifert is the Director of the Norton Healthcare’s Sports Concussion Program and is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Neurology at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine. He has fellowship in Headache and Facial pain at the renowned Houston Headache Clinic. In 2013, he was appointed head of the NCAA Headache Task Force, where he oversees clinical research related to headache in college athletes. Dr. Seifert also serves as a board member of the Kentucky Boxing and Wrestling Authority. Dr. Seifert’s clinical practice involves interpreting preseason baseline and follow-up testing, diagnosing and managing concussions, and following patients after injury. The comprehensive Sports Concussion Program is composed of multidisciplinary services, including neurology, neurosurgery, pediatrics, emergency medicine, neuroradiology, sports medicine and physical therapy. Dr. Seifert cares for athletes of all ages and levels, from youth sports to professional leagues.
He develops computational models of neurological diseases in which massive changes in the energy state of neurons play a major role, e.g., in migraine, stroke, & epilepsy. The aim is not only to better understand these diseases but also to identify new opportunities how to translate this research into therapeutical methods that intervene. This takes him all over the world to places such as Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital. & Cardiovascular Physics at Humboldt University Berlin.
Growing up, he knew that he sometimes felt “sick”, but didn’t understand that he had migraine until he was diagnosed as a young teenager. James has seen many medical professionals in two countries. He took part in migraine studies and headache clinics and has had many other adventures with naturopaths, chiropractors, dentists, physical therapists and so on… including a harrowing visit to an emergency room with a migraine attack. He started researching migraine many years ago and poured his findings onto headacheandmigrainenews.com which has become one the most popular blogs and resources online. He is a husband and father originally from Ontario, Canada.
Medical Director & Founder at The Headache Clinic where he leads a multidisciplinary team of medical specialists. Author of over 30 published scientific studies in peer reviewed medical journals on migraine & tension headache. His collaborators include Harvard Medical School Department of Neurology & researchers from the European & American Headache Societies. Dr Shevel is a peer reviewer for several international journals including ‘Headache’ the official journal of the American Headache Society, ‘Cephalalgia’ the official journal of the International Headache Society. He is the founder and chairman of the International Headache Society’s South African branch.
Dr. Mark W. Green is Director of the Center for Headache and Pain Medicine and Professor of Neurology, Anesthesiology, & Rehabilitation Medicine at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine. Board Certified Neurologist, Founding Editor of International Headache Journal Cephalagia, Board Member of the National Headache Foundation. He also served as the Associate Editor of Headache, the journal of the American Headache Society. Dr. Green has been active in the practice of headache & facial pain since 1978. He has lectured throughout the world on this subject & has written numerous articles on various subjects concerning headache & facial pain.
Conjoint Associate Professor, University of Sydney, Director – The Migraine Clinic, Sydney North Neurology, Senior Staff Specialist Neurologist and Director of Neurophysiology, Royal North Shore Hospital, Sydney, Australia. A/Prof Karl Ng is neurologist who has a particular interest in the treatment & prophylaxis of chronic migraine including the use of botulinum toxin. He has over 50 publications to peer-reviewed journals, serves on council for the Australian & New Zealand Association of Neurologists & on the board of the charitable Brain Foundation, & is the state representative of the Australian & New Zealand Headache Society.
CEO of Cefaly Technology a Belgium company founded in 2004 based in Liege. Its mission is research and development of non-invasive and drug-free medical treatments for neurological diseases. It has invented and developed the first medical device for the treatment of migraine (Cefaly®).
