David W. Dodick

Last updated
David W. Dodick
Born
Ontario, Canada
Alma mater Dalhousie University
Occupations
Title
  • Chief Science and Medical Officer, Atria Health Institute
  • Co-Director, Atria Research Institute
Board member of

David W. Dodick is a neurologist and researcher who specializes in concussion, vascular neurology, and migraine. He was the founding director of the Mayo Clinic's concussion and migraine programs. Dodick has been the president of the American Headache Society, as well as the chair of the American Brain Foundation, the American Migraine Foundation, and the Global Patient Advocacy Coalition for Headache. He has also been the president of the International Headache Society and the editor of the organization's journal Cephalalgia . He is the chief science and medical officer of the Atria Health Institute and co-director of the Atria Research Institute.

Contents

Early life and education

Dodick was born in Ontario [1] and raised in Sydney, Nova Scotia. His father worked at a steel mill and his mother was a hairdresser. Dodick attended medical school at Dalhousie University in Halifax and completed his internship and neurology residency at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. [2]

Career

Dodick is a neurologist and researcher specializing in concussion, vascular neurology, and migraine. [3] [4] He joined the faculty at Mayo Clinic in Rochester in 1996. In 1998, Dodick joined the faculty at the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Arizona, where he established the headache program. [2] As director of the concussion program, Dodick examined National Football League (NFL) players. [5] In 2010, he was part of a Mayo Clinic working group on concussions in ice hockey to recommend a ban on all head contact by the National Hockey League. [6] In 2012, he supported the NFL Players Association's proposal to have an independent neurologist on the sideline. [5] Dodick co-wrote an editorial that accompanied a study about migraines published by the Journal of the American Medical Association in 2012. [7] In 2015, he was the medical director of the Headache Program and the Sports Neurology and Concussion Program in Phoenix. [8] Dodick continued to work in Scottsdale, as of 2020. [9]

Dodick has been involved in clinical trials for some treatments for migraine including OnabotulinumtoxinA [10] and monoclonal antibodies and small molecules (gepants) that target calcitonin gene-related peptide, a protein that is involved in the development of migraine. [11] [12] [13] As chair of the American Migraine Foundation, he has co-directed the American Registry for Migraine Research [14] as well as national public awareness campaigns such as the '36 Million Migraine' campaign to raise funds for headache research. [2] Dodick is the chief science and medical officer of the Atria Health Institute and co-director of the Atria Research Institute. [15] [16]

Board service and recognition

In 2010, Dodick was the president of the American Headache Society (AHS). [17] [18] He was the organization's chair in 2014. [19] Dodick has also been the chair of the American Brain Foundation, [20] the American Migraine Foundation, [21] [22] and the Global Patient Advocacy Coalition for Headache. [23] He has been the president of the International Headache Society and was the editor of the organization's journal Cephalalgia from 2009 to 2015. [2] [24] [25] Dodick has co-chaired World Federation of Neurology's World Brain Day committee. [26] [27]

In 2012, the Dalhousie Medical Alumni Association selected Dodick as Alum of the Year, which recognizes physicians "who have made unique and international contributions to clinical practice, teaching, or research". [28] He received a John R. Graham Lecture Award and a Distinguished Service Award from the AHS in 2012 and 2017, respectively. [29] [30] He has received the Distinguished Educator award and has been named an Investigator of the Year, which honors researchers "who have made significant advances that have strongly influenced their fields of research", by the Mayo Clinic. [31] [32]

Personal life

Dodick is married. [2] He is a former junior ice hockey player. [6]

See also

Select publications

References

  1. Ubelacker, Sheryl (August 13, 2015). "Will the CFL's new concussion test make a difference?". CTV News. The Canadian Press.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Holmes, David (September 2014). "David Dodick: working for patients with headache". The Lancet . 13 (9): 871.
  3. Meier, Barry; Ivory, Danielle (July 3, 2015). "Effective Concussion Treatment Remains Frustratingly Elusive, Despite a Booming Industry". The New York Times .
  4. Schaaff, Sarah Vander (December 1, 2018). "New drugs, decades in the making, are providing relief for migraines". The Washington Post .
  5. 1 2 Fainaru-Wada, Mark; Fainaru, Steve. "NFL reports remain inconsistent". ESPN . Retrieved December 3, 2012.
  6. 1 2 Klein, Jeff Z. (October 20, 2010). "Mayo Clinic Calls for Tougher Head-Checking Rule in N.H.L." The New York Times.
  7. Blue, Laura (November 14, 2012). "Migraines Linked to Brain Lesions in Women". Time .
  8. DeSocio, Jeffrey Thomas (December 29, 2015). "Dr. David Dodick of the Mayo Clinic talks concussions in sports". KTTV.
  9. Brody, Jane E. (January 6, 2020). "New Hope for Migraine Sufferers". The New York Times .
  10. OnabotulinumtoxinA:
  11. "Ubrogepant for the Treatment of Migraine". The New England Journal of Medicine . 381 (23): 2230–2241. December 4, 2019.
  12. Park, Alice (December 4, 2019). "A New Type of Migraine Drug Treats Pain During an Attack". Time .
  13. "Ubrogepant for the treatment of migraine attacks during the prodrome: a phase 3, multicentre, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover trial in the USA". The Lancet. 402 (10419): 2,307-2,316. December 16–22, 2023.
  14. "AMF's New Migraine Registry Offers Hope for Patients". American Migraine Foundation. May 14, 2018.
  15. "Dr. David W. Dodick". Atria Health.
  16. Papisova, Vera (November 20, 2025). "Niko Argento, the Blood Concierge—Yes, Blood Concierge—to the Stars, Shares His Secrets". Vanity Fair .
  17. "Ask an Expert About Migraine". The New York Times . July 21, 2010.
  18. "Board & Committees". American Headache Society.
  19. "New Migraine Drugs Signal Hope for Millions". WNYC. April 23, 2014.
  20. "Leadership". American Brain Foundation.
  21. Carman, Tim (April 12, 2018). "Can a chile pepper really cause an 'incapacitating' headache?". The Washington Post .
  22. "Leadership". American Migraine Foundation.
  23. "History: 2024 in review". Global Patient Advocacy Coalition for Headache.
  24. "Stories by David W. Dodick". Scientific American .
  25. "Cephalalgia". International Headache Society.
  26. "World Brain Day: Brain Health and Disability". American Brain Foundation. July 18, 2023.
  27. Pompilio, Natalie (June–July 2024). "Try These Habits for a Healthy Brain on World Brain Day—and Every Day". Brain & Life.
  28. "Alum of the Year". Dalhousie Medical Alumni Association.
  29. "John R. Graham Lecture Award". American Headaches Society.
  30. "Distinguished Service Award". American Headache Society.
  31. "Reciprocal Development and Progressive Responsibility: The History of the Mayo Clinic Neurology Residency". Mayo Clin Proc Innov Qual Outcomes. 4 (5): 478–498. October 6, 2020.
  32. "Mayo Clinic in Arizona and Florida name Investigators of the Year". Mayo Clinic Alumni Association. November 29, 2019.