Noah Rosen, MD, FAHS: September Member Spotlight

Treating headache and migraine patients is a ‘calling’ and a ‘mission,’ Rosen says 

Our September Member Spotlight is Noah Rosen, MD, FAHS. Rosen has been involved in the Refractory, Inpatient and Emergency Care Special Interest Section, of which he is the former Chair. He is also a member of the Behavioral Issues, Procedural Headache Medicine, and Underserved Populations in Headache Medicine Sections. He says he also enjoys attending the New Investigator and Trainee Section meetings “to see the future of our field.” Additionally, Rosen recently won the Above and Beyond Award at the American Headache Society Annual Meeting for his exemplary service.

Rosen’s career is dedicated to treating what he considers an underserved patient population: those with migraine and other headache disorders.

“It is something that I have devoted myself to, in part because of what I perceive as a lack of care and a lack of awareness around the condition,” says Rosen. “I think headache and migraine are more than what I treat at my job—they are things I consider a devotion; a calling; a mission to treat.” 

“This is not just a career,” he says. “I think that feeling is something I share with other members of the Society.”

Discovering a Gap in Care

Members of Rosen’s family live with migraine, meaning that he has always felt the impact of headache disorders. But during his neurology residency at the New York University School of Medicine, Rosen noticed what he calls a “disassociation” in his training. He found that he was constantly being asked to treat headache patients, but he and other students had not received any education on how to do so.

“During my fellowship, I realized that many people ignored or didn’t care to take care of this issue, and that it was one that was incredibly rewarding to me to address,” he says.

A Shortage of Specialists

Rosen notes that there is a “ridiculous” shortage of headache specialists compared with the size of the migraine patient population. He says we a larger number of headache specialists. But he also notes that we have to increase knowledge and skill in headache management at several different levels. 

“All healthcare providers should have a better or more-modern understanding of headache disorders than the one they are currently operating with,” he says.

It’s this notion that drives Rosen to focus on better equipping medical professionals to treat headache patients. 

A Sense of Accomplishment

Rosen says he “couldn’t be happier” with the path he has chosen and the patients he gets to help. He sometimes feels he “can’t make a dent” in the number of patients that need treatment. But he takes pride in training new headache specialists as the residency director at the Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell in New York. 

“I consider that my greatest contribution: to have helped get headache medicine more incorporated into medical education in a way that puts it on the same playing field as other medical disorders,” he says.

About Noah Rosen

Name: Noah Rosen, MD, FAHS

AHS Membership: Member since 2003

Primary: Director of Northwell Health’s Headache Center in Great Neck, New York

Quote: “I feel, on a constant basis, that my understanding of migraine and headache disorders has evolved. I constantly look forward to new research. The more I learn, the more I see gaps in our understanding of pathophysiology, comorbidities and management of headache disorders.”