Southern Headache Society Annual Scientific Meeting
Dr. Richard Lipton 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. He is a neurologist and epidemiologist with a longstanding interest in migraine, particularly in measuring the burden of migraine and assessing the benefits of treatment. He has practiced headache medicine for 30+ years and has directed the Montefiore Headache Center for two decades.
Dr. Lipton earned his medical degree at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine. He completed his neurology residency at Einstein and a neuroepidemiology fellowship at Columbia University. 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 and has published over 1200 papers in indexed journals.
Dr. Alison Alford hails from Pennsylvania where she grew up with an older sister and brother. She attended the University of Miami for her Bachelor’s in Psychobiology and then traveled closer to home to attend medical school in Philadelphia at Jefferson Medical College. When she graduated, she matched to her residency and fellowship at Virginia Commonwealth University.
Dr. Alford serves on a number of boards and committees including the Southern Headache Society, American Headache Society, and the American Academy of Neurology. She knows what her patients live with, having lived with migraines since she was in medical school. She first became passionate about helping children with migraines during her rotations in medical school and it grew while in practice in the Richmond area. Also, as a former athlete, she is enthusiastic about helping children recover from sports concussions.
Dr. Alford opened the Pediatric Headache Center of Richmond in 2016 to provide world-class care for headache and concussion patients by having all the best resources under one roof. Since that time, she has served over 5,000 patients, providing quality care and improving the lives of patients suffering from migraines.
Dr. Shin Beh is the Founder and Director of the Beh Center for Vestibular & Migraine Disorders. He completed his neurology residency at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, and a unique fellowship in neuroimmunology, neuro-otology, and neuro-ophthalmology at UT Southwestern Medical Center, Johns Hopkins University Medical Center, and New York University Medical Center.
Dr. Beh was recruited as Assistant Professor of Neurology at UT Southwestern, where he founded the Vestibular & Neuro-Visual Disorders Clinic. He has published numerous papers, including many articles on vestibular migraine and the use of neuromodulation devices on the condition. In 2021, he established the Beh Center for Vestibular & Migraine Disorders, a clinic dedicated to evaluating and treating people with neuro-vestibular conditions.
Dr. Beh is also the author of Victory Over Vestibular Migraine, The Migraine Manual, Disembark: Overcoming Mal de Debarquement Syndrome, and PREVAIL over PPPD, and is the co-author of The Mediterranean Migraine Diet.
Dr. Pamela Blake is Director of the Headache Center of Greater Heights, is board-certified in Neurology by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, Inc., and board-certified in Headache Medicine by the United Council for Neurological Subspecialties.
She received her medical degree from Georgetown University School of Medicine and completed an internship in Internal Medicine at Washington Hospital Center in Washington, D.C. Dr. Blake completed a residency in Neurology at Georgetown University Hospital and a fellowship in Neuro-Ophthalmology at the Johns Hopkins Hospital.
From 1995-2006, Dr. Blake served on the faculty of the Georgetown University Hospital Department of Neurology, where she was director of the Headache Clinic since its inception in 1999. In addition to her interest in headaches, she has been actively engaged in research in behavioral neurology and cognitive sciences, and served as volunteer faculty at the Cognitive Neurosciences Section at the National Institutes of Neurological Disorders and Stroke at the National Institute of Health.
Dr. Blake is also an Adjunct Associate Professor in the Department of Neurology at the University of Texas Medical School at Houston. She has been featured on ABC-TV’s Good Morning America.
Dr. Megan Donnelly completed her undergraduate degree in neuroscience and psychology at Allegheny College and her medical degree at Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine in Pennsylvania. She later completed both her neurology residency and headache fellowship at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio. She is currently the Lead Neurologist at Novant Health in Charlotte, NC.
Dr. Donnelly serves in various leadership roles including vice chair of the Physician Governance Committee, Director of the Comprehensive Headache Center, and Founder and Head of Obstetrics/Women’s Neurology. She also serves as communications co-director for the Southern Headache Society. She has published several articles in peer-reviewed journals and frequently speaks at academic conferences.
Teaching the physicians of tomorrow is important to Dr. Donnelly, so she serves as an adjunct professor and fourth-year neurology clerkship director at the UNC School of Medicine Novant Health Presbyterian Medical Center campus, assistant professor at Campbell University School of Osteopathic Medicine, and as a member of the teaching faculty in the Novant Health Family Medicine Residency Program.
Dr. Carrie Dougherty is a Professor of Neurology and Program Director of the Headache Medicine Fellowship at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, DC. She received her medical degree from Indiana University School of Medicine, followed by an internship at NorthShore University HealthSystem in Evanston, IL. Dr. Dougherty completed her neurology residency at Georgetown University Medical Center in Washington, DC, followed by a fellowship in headache medicine at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, PA. She is board-certified in neurology with sub-specialty certification in headache medicine.
Dr. Dougherty is a fellow of the American Headache Society and serves as a co-chair of the Women’s Leadership Development committee, the Fellowship Program Directors Committee, and the Scottsdale Headache Symposium Planning committee. She is president of Southern Headache Society and has served as a representative member on board of the Alliance for Headache Disorders Advocacy. She has participated in Headache on the Hill since 2016 and is committed to improving the lives of her patients through her clinical work as well as through education and advocacy.
Dr. Randolph Evans is a native Houstonian who received his BA from Rice University in 1974 and MD from Baylor College of Medicine in 1978. He completed his internship and residency in Neurology at Baylor College of Medicine in 1982. He is board-certified in Neurology; sub-specialty certified in Headache Medicine; and a fellow of the American Academy of Neurology, the American Headache Society, and the Texas Neurological Society.
Dr. Evans is a clinical professor at Baylor College of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medical College, and on the staff of HCA Houston Healthcare Medical Center, the Houston Methodist Hospital, and CHI Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center Hospital. He is the author of over 350 articles, 85 book chapters, and the author or editor of 19 books.
Dr. Franchesca Fiorito is an Adjunct Professor in the Section of Neurology at the University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine in San Juan, Puerto Rico. She earned both her bachelor’s degree in chemistry and her medical degree at the University of Puerto Rico in San Juan, PR. She then completed her neurology residency at Boston Medical Center and finalized her training with a fellowship in Headache Medicine at Montefiore Medical Center in New York. She is board-certified in Neurology and in the subspecialty of Headache Medicine.
After completing her subspecialty training in New York, Dr. Fiorito returned to Puerto Rico and became the first formally trained and board-certified headache specialist on the island. Since her return, she has dedicated her career to advancing the field of headache medicine through clinical care, advocacy, and education. She developed a formal educational program, including the introduction of specialized headache clinics for medical students and neurology residents at the University of Puerto Rico, and has developed a growing outpatient headache center dedicated to this patient population.
Dr. Fiorito is a recognized lecturer in Puerto Rico and has spoken nationally and internationally. In addition, she has participated in clinical trials, publications, served as a peer reviewer, acted as an ambassador for the global campaign Shades for Migraine, and assisted in translating educational materials for the American Migraine Foundation. She currently serves as Past President of the Puerto Rican Academy of Neurology.
Dr. Marshall Freeman is the Director of the Headache Wellness Center. He is board-certified in Headache Medicine, Neurology, Neuromuscular Medicine, and Electrodiagnostic Medicine. He is a Fellow of the American Headache Society (FAHS), Fellow of the American Association of Neuromuscular and Electrodiagnostic Medicine (FAANEM), and Fellow of the American Academy of Neurology (FAAN).
Dr. Freeman received his undergraduate education at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and his Doctorate of Medicine from Wayne State University in Detroit. He trained in the Adult Neurology Program at the Neurological Institute of Columbia University in New York City. He received additional fellowship training in Electrodiagnostic Medicine and Neuromuscular Diseases from the Eleanor and Lou Gehrig ALS Center at Columbia University.
Dr. Freeman has authored and co-authored numerous articles and textbook chapters on headache medicine and neuromuscular diseases. He lectures throughout the United States as a headache expert. He serves as Chief Medical Officer of Headache Wellness Center Research (HWCR) and as principal investigator on multiple headache studies. He is also an active member of the American Headache Society (AHS), International Headache Society (IHS), American Academy of Neurology (AAN), and the North Carolina Neurological Society (NCNS).
Dr. Deborah Friedman is a Neurologist specializing in Headache Medicine and Neuro-Ophthalmology and the Principal of Yellow Rose Headache and Neuro-Ophthalmology in Dallas, TX. She was the founding director of the Headache and Facial Pain Program and Cerebrospinal Fluid Dynamics Program at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. She is board-certified in Neurology and Headache Medicine and is a Fellow of the American Academy of Neurology, the American Headache Society (AHS), the American Neurological Association, and the North American Neuro-Ophthalmology Society (NANOS).
Dr. Friedman served on the Board of Directors of AHS, is the Treasurer of the Southern Headache Society, was a Past-President of NANOS, and was a member of the steering committee for the Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension Treatment Trial. She has published over 130 articles in peer-reviewed journals and 28 book chapters. Her key interests are intracranial pressure disorders, cluster headache, and migraine.
Dr. Chaouki Khoury is a dually trained adult and child neurologist working at the South-Eastern Center for Headaches. He is an adjunct clinical professor at Morehouse School of Medicine and adjunct professor at Emory School of Medicine. Dr. Khoury graduated magna cum laude from the American University of Beirut with a Bachelor of Science in Biology in 1996. He then received his medical degree and a Master of Science in Neuroscience from the American University of Beirut and was ranked second in his graduating class. He completed neurology residency at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center in 2005, followed by fellowship in Child Neurology at Texas Children’s Hospital/Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, TX, in 2007.
Dr. Khoury initially joined the faculty at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center as Assistant Professor and then was promoted to Associate Professor. He served there as the residency program director and later moved to Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas, TX, to join the faculty at Texas A&M University as Associate Professor. He was the Neurology Clerkship Director and the Headache Fellowship Director before serving as Director of Neurology Education and Research and as Director of the Comprehensive Headache Center.
Subsequently, Dr. Khoury moved to private practice, where his work has been focused solely on Headache Medicine. Beyond a busy clinical practice, he is heavily involved in clinical research and continues working on developing educational programs. He joined both the Morehouse School of Medicine and the Emory School of Medicine with a promotion to Professor level as Adjunct Professor. Dr. Khoury is core faculty at the newly established Neurology residency at Morehouse School of Medicine, where he serves as the director of Child Neurology education. He also directs an elective in Headache Medicine that is offered at Morehouse School of Medicine, as well as the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine Georgia campus, and the Medical College of Georgia/Augusta University. He is also the Director of the Headache Medicine rotation for the fellows in the Brain Injury Medicine fellowship at Emory School of Medicine.
Dr. Khoury also remains engaged at a national level with headache organizations, despite his busy clinical and academic practice. He currently is on the boards of the Southern Headache Society and the Alliance for Headache Disorders Advocacy, serving as Treasurer on both boards. He additionally serves as chair of the Procedural Special Interest Section within the American Headache Society.
Dr. Liz Leroux is a neurologist and headache specialist. She currently practices at the Montreal Neurology Center and is a Faculty Lecturer for McGill’s Neurology Department. She completed her neurology training at the University of Montreal and her Headache Fellowship in Paris, France. She directed the headache clinic of Centre Hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal (2010-2016), then the CHAMP multidisciplinary program of the University of Calgary (2017-2019).
Dr. Leroux is Past President of the Canadian Headache Society, the founder of Migraine Quebec, and the founder and Chair of Migraine Canada. She is a well-known speaker for all audiences interested in headache medicine and science. She is passionate about education and advocacy for headache disorders. Her particular interests include multidisciplinary and holistic approaches, the impact of migraines in the workplace, vestibular migraines, and cluster headaches.
Dr. Brian Loftus is in private practice in Bellaire, TX, specializing in Headache Medicine and Hyperhidrosis. He is the Co-Founding President of the Southern Headache Society.
Dr. Morris Maizels is the Founding President of the Southern Headache Society (2011). He has been involved in headache care and research since 1994 and his training as a family physician has influenced his career in Headache Medicine. His study, Intranasal Lidocaine for Treatment of Migraine (JAMA 1996), laid the foundation for the recent interest in sphenopalatine ganglion blocks for migraine. Following that publication, he established a group education model for headache patients at Southern California Permanente Medical Group. In 2012, his paper, Beyond Neurovascular: Migraine as a Dysfunctional Neurolimbic Pain Network (Headache 2012), suggested a new paradigm for understanding migraine.
Dr. Maizels is a previous member of the Board of Directors of the American Headache Society and a previous Senior Editorial Advisor for the journal, Headache. His most recent research projects were: to validate an online headache diagnosis program for cluster headache, and an open-label review of SPG blocks for various headache disorders (Practical Neurology, May 2021).
Since retiring from clinical medicine, he volunteers as a prescribing physician with End of Life Choices Oregon, a group which provides for Medical Aid in Dying.
Dr. Barbara Nye is a Board-Certified Neurologist, UCNS Board-Certified Headache subspecialist, Associate Professor of Neurology at Wake Forest School of Medicine, Director of the Headache Fellowship at Atrium Health – Wake Forest Baptist, and Fellow of the American Headache Society. She is a board member of both the Southern Headache Society (SHS) and Alliance of Headache Disorders Advocacy (AHDA) serving in the role of Vice President.
Dr. Nye graduated from the University of South Florida College of Medicine and completed both her residency and sub-specialty training at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center. She is participating in clinical education of medical students, residents, and fellows. She is also the principal investigator on several clinical research studies and involved in quality improvement projects within the clinic/hospital. Dr. Nye enjoys speaking, as well as teaching patients and providers, about headache and is participating in Headache Advocacy on Capitol Hill and locally.
Dr. Christopher Oakley is an Associate Professor of Neurology and Nursing. He sees patients with a variety of pediatric and adult headache concerns with his focuses on the treatment of pediatric and adolescent migraine. He is the co-director of the Johns Hopkins Adult Headache Center and has established the Pediatric Headache Center at the Johns Hopkins Hospital where he has served as director since its beginning to better serve children and adolescents with these common and potentially disabling conditions.
A long-standing migraine sufferer himself, Dr. Oakley is a member of the Southern Headache Society, the American Headache Society, and the National Headache Foundation. He lectures frequently to the general public and healthcare providers on a multitude of headache topics but focuses on pediatric migraine and other childhood headaches, as this is his primary clinical focus.
Dr. Sara Sacco is the medical director of the Carolinas Headache Clinic in Matthews, NC. She completed her residency in Neurology at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics and fellowships in Clinical Neurology and Strokes at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. She is board-certified in both Neurology and Headache Medicine.
Dr. Sacco is a member of the American Academy of Neurology, American Headache Society, International Headache Society, and Southern Headache Society. She is a Fellow member of the AHS and is on the Board of Directors of Southern Headache Society and the Carolinas Headache Foundation. She has been the education chair for the Southern Headache Society and is the program co-chair for the 2024 SHS Fall meeting.
Dr. Sacco has a special interest in, and is actively involved in, the education of healthcare providers and patients on the topic of headaches and their treatment.
Dr. Lauren Strauss is an associate professor in pediatric neurology and one of the few in the country who is a UCNS certified headache specialist and a Fellow of the American Headache Society. She received her medical degree from New York College of Osteopathic Medicine. She later completed her child neurology residency at Boston Children’s Hospital and her headache medicine fellowship at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, both of which are affiliated with Harvard Medical School.
Dr. Strauss’ clinical work centers on improving the lives of children with headache disorders through educating patients, parents, and other healthcare professionals. She is a national leader in healthcare process improvement and has collaborated with Migraine Action Plan and the PedMAP. For the American Headache Society, she is co-chair of the Electronic Media Committee and she serves on the First Contact program committee that develops educational content for primary care professional societies and neurology training programs. She is also vice chair of clinical operations at the VCU’s Children’s Hospital of Richmond and the section chair of headache.
Julienne Verdi is the Executive Director of the Alliance for Headache Disorders Advocacy as well as the Owner and Principal Attorney at J. Verdi Law, LLC, and JV Consulting Group, LLC, where she provides transactional legal services in addition to strategic planning, management, and operations consulting to small businesses, non-profits, and political organizations. Julienne was named to City & State Magazine’s Staten Island Power 100 list in 2021. She is a graduate of Brooklyn Law School where she was an associate managing editor of the Brooklyn Journal of International Law, Chair of Brooklyn Law Students for Reproductive Justice, and recipient of the Platinum Public Service Award and Evelyn Reid Memorial Prize.
Julienne received a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Special Honors from CUNY Hunter College, where she graduated magna cum laude and was a member of the Thomas Hunter Honors Program. She is admitted to practice law in New York, New Jersey, and the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey. Prior to starting her own law practice, Julienne served as the Director of Government Relations at Planned Parenthood of New York City, a judicial law clerk to the Honorable Francine A. Schott in New Jersey Superior Court, and completed a post-graduate legal fellowship at Safe Horizon’s Immigration Law Project where she provided immigration services to victims of crime.
During law school, Julienne interned at the Domestic Violence Bureau of the Kings County District Attorney’s Office, Staten Island Legal Services, and the Center for Reproductive Rights. Prior to law school, Julienne worked as a political consultant, a researcher for the Office of Speaker of the New York State Assembly, and interned at the Office of Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney and Planned Parenthood of New York City. Additionally, Julienne has served on the board of several non-profit organizations, including Community Health Action of Staten Island and Fearless Females.
Following the 2016 elections, Julienne founded Move Forward Staten Island and served as the organization’s Chair for five years. As Chair, she was a lead organizer for the Staten Island People’s Climate March in April 2017, one of the largest demonstrations Staten Island had ever seen, drawing over 500 people in support of common sense policies to protect Staten Island from the harsh realities of climate change. In her capacity as Chair of Move Forward Staten Island, Julienne also directed and produced her first documentary, Staten Island’s Huddled Masses: An Immigration Storytelling Project in September of 2019. In addition to her accomplishments, Julienne is the proud wife of Kevin Lawrie, Founder of LeadFwd, and mother to her four young children Jude, Sloane, Monroe, and Cambria.
Dr. Stephanie Vertrees is a board-certified general neurologist and headache specialist. She founded Vertrees Headache Center in Austin, TX, and is also a fellowship-trained clinical ethicist. She currently serves on ethics committees for the American Headache Society and the International Headache Society.
Dr. Amrittej Virk specializes in Orofacial pain & TMJ management, primary headache disorders (migraine, tension-type headache, etc.), and dental sleep medicine. He received his dental degree with honors from the University of Pennsylvania School of dental medicine. He also earned a certificate in Inter-professional pain education through Penn Dental Medicine’s Selective Program. During dental school, he externed at the Massachusetts General Hospital orofacial pain clinic in Boston which furthered his interest in a headache, facial pain/TMJ, and sleep apnea management. After dental school, Dr. Virk decided to dedicate the rest of his career to orofacial pain and he entered the two-year Orofacial Pain and Dental Sleep Medicine residency program at UCLA school of dentistry. During his last year of residency, he served as chief resident.
Dr Virk is board-certified by the American Board of Orofacial Pain. He is currently a member of the American Academy of Orofacial Pain (AAOP), American Headache Society (AHS), International Association for Study of Pain (IASP), Headache Cooperative of the Pacific (HCOP), American Dental Association (ADA), and Texas Dental Association (TDA). He has presented scientific posters at both national and international conferences and is currently an Adjunct Assistant Professor at the Texas A&M College of Dentistry in Dallas, TX. He is also actively involved in clinical research at both the UCLA Orofacial pain clinic and Texas A&M Dental College sleep research program.
Dr. Virk’s focus is on treating and managing all aspects of chronic refractory primary headache disorders such as migraine, tension-type headache, cluster headache, and occipital neuralgia, etc. Additionally, he treats patients with orofacial pain conditions including musculoskeletal pain (TMD/TMJ, myofascial pain), atypical tooth pain, trigeminal nerve disorders, neurovascular pain, and neuropathic pain. He is experienced in fabrication of TMJ orthotics, dental sleep appliances for management of obstructive sleep apnea/snoring, Botox injections for migraines & orofacial pain conditions, intra-articular injections, trigger point injections, and nerve blocks.
Dr. Virk, being one of less than 300 board-certified Orofacial pain doctors in U.S., is uniquely qualified at evaluating and analyzing the whole picture and how the head, neck, and TMJ may or may not contribute to overall headache pain. He believes in a multidisciplinary approach by working hand-in-hand with his medical and dental colleagues to provide the best possible care for patients. With his pleasant and positive demeanor, he spends the time necessary to evaluate and make decisions in order to improve his patients’ health and wellbeing.
Outside his practice, Dr. Virk enjoys spending time with his wife and son, who keep him busy at home when he is not seeing patients. He enjoys reading and taking road trips with his family exploring new places.
Dr. Rebecca Erwin Wells is a Professor in Neurology and Social Sciences Health Policy at Wake Forest University School of Medicine and Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist in Winston-Salem, NC. She founded and directs their Comprehensive Headache Program. Dr. Wells graduated with highest honors from UNC-Chapel Hill while on full academic scholarship, completed her MD from East Carolina School of Medicine, her Master of 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 a 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). She has served on the Board of the Southern Headache Society as Secretary, Treasurer, Vice-President, and most recently as President. She is on the American Headache Society (AHS) Board of Directors and received the AHS Above and Beyond Award in 2023 for her work serving as Co-Chair of the AHS Diversity, Equity, Inclusion Taskforce. Dr. Wells has 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 the gender differences and genetics of cluster headache.
