THE HEADACHE CLINICS featuring: The Headache Center University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Pittsburgh, PA
The Headache Center was established in 1992 at Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh, PA, by Robert Kaniecki, MD, and was moved to the University of Pittsburgh in 2000. The following is based on an interview with Doctor Robert Kaniecki. In addition to serving as Founder and Director of The Headache Center at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center( UPMC), he is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Neurology at the University of Pittsburgh.
Doctor Kaniecki received a B. S. from the University of Notre Dame, and his M. D. from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, MO. He completed an internship in Internal Medicine and Neurology residency at Barnes Hospital in St. Louis, where he served as Chief Resident in Neurology. Doctor Kaniecki is Board Certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology in Neurology, and has received subspecialty certification in Headache Medicine from the United Council for Neurologic Subspecialties. In 1999, Dr. Kaniecki was awarded the National Headache Foundation Lectureship
and in 2006, he was the recipient of the National Headache Foundation Provider of the Year, for which he was nominated by several of his patients.
During his neurology residency in the early 1990s, he was introduced to headache medicine at a time when the science and therapeutics of headache were advancing significantly. As Dr. Kaniecki related, in 1993 the release of sumatriptan( Imitrex ®) demonstrated:
“ The scientific excitement and expanding treatment opportunities were developing in a field of medicine that showed great need for compassionate, dedicated specialists. I learned that there were few, if any, areas of medical practice that were more rewarding – where patients would routinely thank you, hug you, for‘ giving their lives back.’”
The other health care providers at the Headache Center include Laurie Knepper, MD; Josif Stakic, MD; Barbara Vogler, MD; Clair Yanta, MD; and, Kimberly McGonigle, MPA, PA-C. Adjunct staff include Barb Wintermantel, Practice Manager, and Kris McClone, Office Manager.
32 HeadWise ® | Volume 5, Issue 1 • 2015