Emmanuelle Schindler, MD, PhD

Emmanuelle Schindler, MD, PhD, is a neurologist focused on the management of headache disorders, with a particular interest in cluster headache.

“The pain associated with cluster headache is rated higher than other painful states, such as childbirth or passing a kidney stone,” Dr. Schindler says. “And the headaches themselves can happen multiple times a day, nonstop for years on end, which makes it an important headache to manage and improve treatment for.”

Unfortunately, people with cluster headache are often misdiagnosed as having another headache disorder, such as migraine or sinus headache, and treatments they have tried are not effective, Dr. Schindler adds.

One of the best parts of her job, Dr. Schindler says, is bringing headache patients relief from pain. “If you help lower a patient’s blood pressure or blood sugar, they might not thank you because it meant they had to stop eating their favorite foods, for example,” she says. “But even if I reduce a patient’s number of headaches by 25% to 30%, they are extremely grateful because it makes a huge difference in their life and allows them to get back to work or return to social activities instead of isolating themselves.”

An active researcher, she is exploring how limited dosing of psilocybin (a psychedelic that comes from so-called “magic mushrooms”) can help in the management of cluster, migraine, and post-traumatic headache (those that occur within days of a head injury).

Her research provides even more promise for better treatments for her patients. “It’s exciting to be studying a completely new way of treating headache disorders. I want to help those for whom existing treatments aren’t quite working for them,” Dr. Schindler says.