Mass General Brigham and Harvard Medicine Combined Headache Fellowship

Overview

The Mass General Brigham and Harvard Medicine Combined Headache fellowship, founded by Dr. Paul Rizzoli and UCNS accredited in 2008, is centered out of the John R. Graham Headache Center at Brigham and Women’s Faulkner Hospital in Boston, MA. This one-year fellowship is focused on excellence in clinical care with the integration of research activities, formal and informal didactics, and fellows as teachers. Fellows care for patients with migraine, other headache disorders, and facial pain. Our fellowship is distinguished by the number of faculty, the variety of clinical experiences, and the focus on the humanistic care of patients as individuals.

In addition to the Graham Headache Center at Brigham and Women's Faulkner Hospital, fellows rotate to clinical locations at the John R Graham Headache Center at 850 Boylston St, which includes Brigham and Women's Hospital's Osher Center for Integrative Medicine and Fish Center for Women’s Health, Massachusetts General Hospital, and Children’s Hospital. We currently have over 15 faculty preceptors certified in Headache Medicine and also draw on a depth of expertise from specialists in headache-adjacent specialties.

Training

A majority of the fellowship is focused on clinical care. The fellowship follows a graduated independence model: at the beginning of the fellowship every visit is discussed and staffed, while by the end of the year fellows largely manage patients independently and discuss cases with preceptors as needed. In addition to training in acute and preventive pharmacologic management, fellows integrate nonpharmacologic treatments, a psychosocial approach, and procedures including Onabotulinum Toxin administration and nerve blocks.

Fellows are expected to complete a scholarly project during the year. Extensive mentorship in research design, conduct, and writing is provided. Many opportunities for formal and informal teaching are provided throughout the year, ranging from formal presentations at conferences to having residents and other rotators shadow in a clinic.

Didactics are woven throughout the fellowship and include thrice monthly formal teaching conferences, monthly case conferences, and weekly headache division meetings. Fellows are also strongly encouraged to attend local and national headache medicine educational conferences.

Our fellowship adheres to Mass General Brigham GME policies.

Fellowship requirements

Per the UCNS, our accrediting body, applicants must be a graduate of a residency program in neurology or other specialties accredited by the ACGME or the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC). The fellow must be board certified or eligible for certification in a primary ABMS or RCPSC specialty. Fellows must be eligible to obtain a full MA state license. We are unable to sponsor visas that do not allow the fellow to obtain a full MA license.

More information about the UCNS program requirements can be found here.

Applications and Timeline

We accept two fellows per year. We follow the timeline agreed upon by the AAN and AHS. Interviews begin in March before the year of the fellowship starts and offer positions begin in August of the year before the start of the fellowship.

Please complete applications via the American Headache Society website.

Faculty

Program Director:
Brian E. McGeeney, MD, MPH, MBA

Chief, Division of Headache and Pain at Brigham and Women’s Department of Neurology:
Paul Rizzoli, MD, FAAN, FAHS

Fellowship Coordinator:
Melissa Kimble, MSW

MGH Program Director:
Hsinlin (Thomas) Cheng, MD

BCH Program Director:
Anna Minster, MD