The Division of Women’s Neurology, one of only three such programs in North America, bridges the broad specialty of neurology with subspecialties such as obstetrics, gynecology and women’s medicine.
We aim to:
- Provide specialized expert neurological care addressing the specific needs of individuals identifying as women at all stages of life
- Train experts in Women’s Neurology and Neuro-Obstetrics
- Lead Women’s Neurology research in clinical, translational, and population science, and mentor the next generation of Women’s Neurology investigators
Our highly trained clinicians and researchers integrate specialized knowledge regarding how hormonal and reproductive changes – such as pregnancy, menopause, the use of contraceptives and assisted reproduction – affect neurological health and disease. We collaborate closely with specialists at the flagship UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital, including maternal-fetal medicine and women’s cardiology, to provide holistic, interdisciplinary neurological care for women.
Clinical conditions treated:
- Headache disorders: migraine, cluster headache, spinal headache, trigeminal neuralgia and occipital neuralgia
- Neuromuscular disorders: autoimmune neuropathy, Bell palsy, obstetric nerve palsies
- Idiopathic intracranial hypertension
- Restless legs syndrome
- Neuroimmunological conditions: multiple sclerosis, neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder, paraneoplastic conditions
- Epilepsy and seizure disorders
- Cerebrovascular disorders: ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke, transient ischemic attack, cerebral venous thrombosis, carotid or vertebral artery dissection, arteriovenous malformations, moyamoya syndrome, reversible cerebral vasoconstriction syndrome
- Pregnancy- and menopause-associated cognitive disorders
- Functional neurological disorders
Education
Our Women’s Neurology fellowship, one of only two in the United States, provides specialized training at the interface between neurological disorders and women's health across the lifespan. Our fellowship includes training with multiple subspecialists with a dedicated interest in women's neurological health, and an integrated multidisciplinary practice setting in Magee-Womens Hospital, where over 10,000 deliveries occur annually.
Research
We recruit research-oriented clinicians who investigate gender-specific issues that impact neurological disease, and collaborate closely with the world-renowned Magee-Womens Research Institute. Our researchers benefit from resources such as the Magee Obstetric Maternal and Infant (MOMI) Database and Biobank, a comprehensive clinical data warehouse containing information on over 200,000 individual deliveries. The Miller Lab, led by division chief Dr. Eliza Miller, investigates cerebrovascular complications of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, including postpartum stroke and long term risk of stroke and vascular cognitive impairment.
Recent publications from our division include:
- Boylan KA, Spagnolo PA, O'Neal MA. Women's Issues and Female-specific Factors in Functional Neurological Disorder. Semin Neurol. 2026 Apr;46(2):218-224. doi: 10.1055/a-2761-1554. Epub 2025 Dec 23. PMID: 41435901.
- Miller EC, Bello CNA, Chen PR, Leffert L, Leppert M, Madsen T, Skeels K, Tita A, Valdes E, Shields A; Vice Chair, on behalf of the American Heart Association Women’s Health Science Committee of the Council on Clinical Cardiology and Stroke Council; Council on Cardiovascular and Stroke Nursing; and Council on Lifelong Congenital Heart Disease and Heart Health in the Young. Prevention and Treatment of Maternal Stroke in Pregnancy and Postpartum: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association. Obstet Gynecol. 2026 Apr 1;147(4):e43-e65. doi: 10.1097/AOG.0000000000006197. Epub 2026 Feb 12. PMID: 41678811.
- Pennell PB, Li D, Kerr WT, Pack AM, French J, Gerard E, Birnbaum AK, McFarlane KN, Meador KJ; MONEAD Study Group. Antiseizure Medication Dosing Strategy During Pregnancy and Early Postpartum in Women With Epilepsy in MONEAD. Neurology. 2026 Jan 27;106(2):e214483. doi: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000214483. Epub 2025 Dec 29. PMID: 41461064; PMCID: PMC13027315.
Women's Neurology Division Chief
Eliza C. Miller, MD, MS
millerec3@upmc.edu
412-692-4622
Women’s Neurology Clinical Specialists
Denise Li, MD Women's Neurology Fellowship Director (General Neurology, Headache, Epilepsy)
Eliza Miller MD, MS (Women's Stroke and Cerebrovascular Disease)
Page Pennell, MD, FAES (Epilepsy)
Ingrid Loma-Miller, MD (Pregnancy Neuroimmunology)
Laura Kirkpatrick, MD (Child and Adolescent Neurology, Epilepsy)
Erika Kemp, PA-C (General Neurology, Epilepsy)
Angela M. O'Neal, MD (Comprehensive Neurology, Functional Neurological Disorders, Midlife Brain Health)
Rachel Puchalski, PA-C (Women's Neurohospitalist)