Yale Concussion Program

The Yale Concussion Program is an integrated and collaborative team of experts in concussion, as well as well as a hub for concussion-related research projects. The team provides world-class, comprehensive care to adult patients with concussions (mild traumatic brain injuries), post-concussion syndrome, and related physical injuries in order to restore normal functioning as soon as possible.

Upon arrival at the Yale Concussion Program, an initial evaluation by one of our neurology staff will determine the severity of the problem and if further testing is needed. Then, a treatment plan will be developed that can include any one of our allied specialists:

Neuropsychiatric consultation and treatment
Neuropsychological testing and treatment
Neuro-ophthalmological evaluation
Physical therapy for Vestibular (balance) testing, strengthening, and aerobic exercises to facilitate return to work or play
Social work consultation to coordinate community resources
Speech and/or occupational therapy
Nutritional assessment
Sleep Medicine consultation

Members

Timothy Belliveau, PhD, ABPP
Associate Professor of Neurology
Timothy Belliveau, PhD is a neuropsychologist at Yale Medicine with a specialty focus of evaluation and rehabilitation after traumatic brain injury. Dr. Belliveau’s assessments provide objective measures of the scope of patients’ symptoms, their patterns of cognitive (thinking) abilities, and their emotional adjustment to traumatic injuries or neurological conditions. Dr. Belliveau completed his PhD in Clinical Psychology at The Catholic University of America, a two-year internship in Clinical Psychology and a two-year fellowship in Clinical Neuropsychology at New York - Presbyterian. He is board certified with the American Board of Professional Psychology in both Clinical Neuropsychology and Rehabilitation Psychology. The broad goals of his clinical research are to more effectively identify patients who are in need of early intervention after concussion to reduce their risk for prolonged symptoms, and to integrate data systems which support optimal monitoring of symptoms and functional status after traumatic injuries.
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Tanya Bilchik, MD
Assistant Professor
Board certified Headache Neurology specialist practicing for over 26 years. The first 10 in General Neurology and the past 16 in Headache medicine. Medical school in Johannesburg South Africa. Residency in Neurology at Yale. Private practice in the Hartford area for the past 26 years during which time Dr Bilchik was involved in a large number of headache research studies for new migraine medications. In September 2020 Dr Bilchik returned to Yale to continue her career in Headache Medicine in the YNHH system and Yale Health Plan.
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Vanessa Cooper, MD
Assistant Professor; Associate Director of Diversity and Inclusion Education, Neurology
Dr. Cooper completed her undergraduate education in New York at Stony Brook University prior to attending New York Medical College in Westchester, New York. Following this, Dr. Cooper completed her medicine intern year and neurology residency at Yale New Haven Hospital. Dr. Cooper graduated completing a year as a chief resident in the residency program. Dr. Cooper followed her neurology training with further specialization in headache medicine at Yale. She was promoted to Assistant Professor of clinical neurology and Associate Director of diversity and inclusion education for the neurology residency program.
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Arman Fesharaki-Zadeh, MD, PhD, BMath
Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and of Neurology
Dr. Fesharaki is currently a neuropsychiatrist, as well as a basic neuroscience researcher focusing on Traumatic Brain Injury and Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy. He has a diverse training background, which include a mixture of clinical adult psychiatry, clinical behavioral neurology/neuropsychiatry and bench neuroscience skills. This combination of aforementioned skills has in turn given him a unique vantage point to have the opportunity to apply what he continues to learn in the laboratory to enrich his clinical treatment. His current research focus is to develop a robust animal model of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), as well as investigation of potential treatment modalities. He is also involved in a collaborative research study investigating synaptic density alterations in behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD).
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Christopher Gottschalk, MD, FAHS
Professor; Chief, Division of General Neurology, Neurology; Director, Fellowship Program, Headache & Facial Pain Center
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Steven Novella, MD
Associate Professor of Neurology
Dr. Novella is dedicated to excellence in education of both professionals and patients. He is the editor of Science-Based Medicine - a website dedicated to exploring issues of science in medicine.His practice includes general neurology with a special interest in neuromuscular disease. His research interests include ALS, myasthenia gravis, neuropathy, and erythromelalgia.
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Sirisha Sanamandra, MD
Assistant Professor of Clinical Neurology
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Nicholas Tzikas, MD
Assistant Professor of Clinical Neurology
Headache and Facial Pain fellowship- DartmouthExpertise in medical and interventional management of headache and facial pain syndromes
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