Dr. David Watson named to new leadership position at the WVU Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – David Watson, M.D., professor and chair of the WVU School of Medicine Department of Neurology, has been named signature vice chair of WVU Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute (RNI) clinical operations and System integration and medical director of RNI multidisciplinary programs. 

In his new role, Dr. Watson will partner with Ali R. Rezai, M.D., RNI executive chair, and Karyn Wallace, RNI vice president, on key enablers to RNI’s total growth, including the management of RNI operations and growth throughout all WVU Medicine hospitals; management of new and existing multidisciplinary programs; and partnering with other WVU Medicine departments and institutes, including WVU Medicine Children’s, the WVU Heart and Vascular Institute, the WVU Cancer Institute, and others, for alignment of System efforts.

“Dr. Watson has been an outstanding leader at the RNI, and we look forward to working with him in his new leadership role to advance neurological care across the Health System,” Dr. Rezai said.

Watson, a board-certified headache neurologist, will remain chair of Neurology in addition to his new responsibilities. WVU Health Sciences Chancellor and Executive Dean Clay Marsh, M.D., will initiate a national search for a permanent chair.

Watson joined WVU Medicine in 2008 as assistant professor of Neurology and has been an active clinician, educator, and researcher. He founded and previously directed the WVU Headache Center.

His clinical work focuses on patients with headache disorders, including migraine and cluster, as well as access to clinical care in underserved populations. He has also been active in clinical research focused on new treatment options for headache patients.

Watson earned his medical degree from the WVU School of Medicine and completed a residency in neurology and a fellowship in headache medicine at the University of North Carolina. In previous roles, he served as an assistant professor of neurology at the University Headache Center at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and a clinical instructor in neurology at the University of North Carolina.

Watson has been a member of the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) Advocacy Committee, chair of the AAN Advocacy Engagement Subcommittee, and a member of the AAN Gender Disparities Task Force. He is also a member of the American Medical Association Opioid Task Force and the NCAA Headache Task Force.

He founded and chaired Runnin’ for Research, a charitable organization dedicated to headache and migraine disorders research, until 2019, when it became part of Miles for Migraine. He has been the recipient of numerous awards, including the AAN 2017 Palatucci Advocate of the Year Award.

For more information on the WVU Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute, visit WVUMedicine.org/RNI.