The Edward B. Bromfield Epilepsy Program at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) is named in memory of the nationally recognized neurologist-epileptologist Edward Barry Bromfield, MD, who founded the program in 1993, to offer the very latest comprehensive services available to patients with epilepsy. Now, under the direction of Barbara Dworetzky, MD, Chief of the Division of Epilepsy, EEG and Sleep Neurology, the program continues to fulfill Dr. Bromfield’s mission to improve the lives of those with epilepsy by offering patients leading-edge evaluation, diagnosis, care and education, inspired by the latest research and imaging technologies.
Multidisciplinary Team
The Bromfield Epilepsy Program brings together an outstanding group of specialists from a variety of disciplines who share the goal of eliminating seizures in the safest and most effective way, while elevating quality-of-life for all of our patients.
Our multidisciplinary approach integrates the expertise of the internationally renowned BWH clinical staff and allows for comprehensive, seamless care of our patients. Our team includes dedicated neurologists, neurosurgeons, psychiatrists, neuropsychologists, social workers, nurse specialists and electroencephalography (EEG) technologists, all with special training and expertise in epilepsy. The epilepsy team communicates each week to tailor care for each individual patient. Our team maintains close communication with referring physicians. We encourage referring physicians to contact us at any time to discuss their patients, or to refer them for consultation.
To refer a patient for an appointment to see one of our epilepsy specialists, please contact us at (617) 732-7547. We will attempt to accommodate each of your requests, including those to have the patient seen promptly by one of our subspecialists.
Neurologists
Barbara Dworetzky, MD, is chief of the BWH Division of Epilepsy, EEG and Sleep Neurology and leads the Bromfield Epilepsy Program and the ACGME-accredited Clinical Neurophysiology Fellowship. A graduate of Brown University, she obtained her medical degree from Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York in 1990. Dr. Dworetzky completed her residency and became BWH’s first epilepsy fellow to help Dr. Bromfield with the building blocks of the program. After completing her fellowship, she was recruited to Boston University to become the clinical director of the Aphasia Research Center and the Epilepsy/EEG program at the Boston VAMC. In 2001, Dr. Bromfield invited her back to BWH to assist in the administration and growth of the BWH program. Dr. Dworetzky is the Chair of the Neurology Quality Assurance Committee and serves on the board of directors of the Epilepsy Foundation of Massachusetts and Rhode Island and of the Massachusetts Motor Vehicle Advisory Bureau. Her interests include epilepsy safety and prevention, disparities in epilepsy care, diagnosis and treatment of epilepsy and suspected seizures, non-epileptic seizures, women’s issues in epilepsy and the treatment of seizures in the elderly.
Ellen J. Bubrick, MD, graduated from Brandeis University and the University of Minnesota Medical School prior to completing the Partners Neurology Residency Program and BWH Clinical Neurophysiology and Epilepsy Fellowship. Dr. Bubrick's areas of clinical expertise include new onset seizures, epilepsy monitoring, surgical treatment of epilepsy and sleep. Her research interests involve emergency EEG techniques, epilepsy and memory, and imaging in epilepsy. She is also associate director of the BWH Clinical Neurophysiology training fellowship, and serves as an advisor to many Harvard medical students.
Autumn Klein, MD, PhD, graduated from Amherst College and completed the MD/PhD Program at Boston University, majoring in neuroscience. She was chief resident for the Partners Neurology Residency, and then completed the Clinical Neurophysiology Fellowship at BWH. Dr. Klein is director of the Program in Women’s Neurology at BWH, where she leads clinicians and researchers interested in women’s issues in neurology, with special interest in epilepsy and pregnancy, and epilepsy and headaches. She also is interested in the influence of hormonal fluctuations on epilepsy and headache throughout the female lifecycle.
Jong Woo Lee, MD, PhD, directs the Brigham ICU Monitoring Program. He graduated from Harvard College and obtained his medical and doctorate degrees at McGill University and the Montreal Neurological Institute before completing the Partners Neurology Residency and Clinical Neurophysiology Fellowship at BWH. Dr. Lee’s interests and areas of expertise include imaging techniques in epilepsy, especially magnetoencephalography (MEG), magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) and advanced MRI processing. He has a special interest in patients with seizures as a result of brain tumor and seizures in critically ill patients.
David McCarthy Jr, MD, directs the Boston Veteran's Administration Epilepsy Program and EEG Laboratory. He also supervises the Harvard Medical School Neurology Clerkship and Partners Neurology Residency Program at the Boston V.A. Dr. McCarthy obtained his medical degree from Dartmouth College in 1993. He completed his medicine internship at the National Naval Medical Center and the Naval Aerospace Medicine Institute. He served four years as a United States Navy flight surgeon with HMM263 and VMFA 121 of the United States Marine Corps Aircraft Wing, then completed his neurology residency training at Massachusetts General Hospital/Brigham and Women's Hospital. He completed his fellowship in EEG and Epilepsy at Brigham and Women's Hospital. Dr. McCarthy evaluates epilepsy and general neurology patients at Brigham and Women's Hospital and the V.A. Boston Healthcare system hospitals. His research interests include EEG modeling, seizure prediction, post-traumatic epilepsy and epilepsy management in veterans.
Tracey Milligan, MD, MS, directs the Faulkner Epilepsy Program and is an associate neurologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Dr. Milligan graduated from the University of New Mexico and obtained her medical degree from Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City. She completed her residency in neurology at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital and a two-year fellowship in EEG and epilepsy at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. She treats adolescents and adults with epilepsy and is interested in difficult-to-control seizures, new onset seizures and seizure education. She is a member of the Professional Advisory Board of the Epilepsy Foundation of MA and RI. Dr. Milligan sees patients both at Faulkner Hospital and BWH in the Neurology Clinic and the Spanish Neurology Clinic.
Milena Pavlova, MD, graduated from medical school in Sofia, Bulgaria prior to completing her neurology residency at Yale University. She then completed fellowships at BWH in clinical neurophysiology/epilepsy and later in sleep medicine. She directs the Brigham and Women's (BW/F) Sleep Laboratory and is interested in the interface of sleep disturbances and neurologic disease, particularly epilepsy. In addition to routine studies, the BW/F Sleep Laboratory performs simultaneous polysomnography and overnight epilepsy monitoring with full EEG coverage.
Page B. Pennell, MD, is director of research for the Division of Epilepsy, EEG and Sleep Neurology. A nationally recognized leader in pregnancy and epilepsy, with strong interest in clinical epilepsy, epilepsy surgery and anti-epileptic drugs and lactation, Dr. Pennell is chair of the National Professional Advisory Board for the Epilepsy Foundation. She is also vice chair of the Foundation’s Research Committee, and serves on its Executive Committee and Quality of Life Committee. Prior to joining BWH in 2009, Dr. Pennell was director of the Epilepsy Program at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, Georgia. She has published more than 50 research papers in her field and has served on the editorial boards for the journals Epilepsia and The Neurologist, and as a contributing editor for Epilepsy Currents.
NEUROSURGEONS
Edward R. Laws, M.D.
Peter M. Black, M.D., Ph.D.
Alexander Golby, M.D.
William Anderson, M.D., Ph.D.
Joseph R. Madsen, MD
PSYCHIATRISTS
Melissa Frumin, M.D.
NEUROPSYCHOLOGISTS
Aaron Nelson, Ph.D.
Mary-Ellen Meadows, Ph.D.
SOCIAL WORKERS
Jeffrey Robbins, LICSW
Eileen Salmanson, LICSW
Stacey Schamber, MSW
Nurse Specialist
Erin Farina, RN, oversees patient education and the assessment and triage of patients with seizure emergencies at the Bromfield Epilepsy Program’s outpatient clinic. In addition, she assists in the management of patients following their discharge from the inpatient long-term video EEG monitoring unit. Ms. Farina obtained her associate’s degree in nursing at Massachusetts Bay Community College in Wellesley. Prior to joining BWH’s Neurology Department staff in 2007, she worked in the Harvard Neuroendocrine Unit at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center as an ambulatory clinical and research nurse. At BWH, Ms. Farina’s interests include safety and education of patients with seizures, including seizure first aid, medication side effects and compliance, and health-related quality of life.
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