Biography

Professor Marcelo Valença is a Full Professor of Neurology and Neurosurgery at the Federal University of Pernambuco in Recife, Brazil. His professional focus is on Headache Medicine, particularly in secondary headaches. He holds the position of Editor-in-Chief at Headache Medicine, the scientific journal of the Brazilian Headache Society, and serves as the society's president.

His engagement in headache research and management dates back to 1991. Professor Valença graduated from the Federal University of Pernambuco in 1981. He completed his Ph.D. at the University of Sao Paulo. He participated in a fellowship in basic neuroendocrinology at the Laboratory of Integrative Neuroscience at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), USA, from 1983 to 1987 and in 1990. His postdoctoral training includes stints at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, London, in 1995 and McGill University, Montreal, in 2010.

Throughout his career, he has published over 400 scientific articles in peer-reviewed journals and authored and co-authored several books and book chapters. Additionally, he has supervised over 80 Ph.D. and M.Sc. theses. His neurosurgery work has propitiated an approach to understanding and treating headache disorders.

Disclosures

Employment: Neurology and Neurosurgery Unit, Professor Titular, Federal University of Pernambuco, Brazil; Scientific commission, Unimed Recife (Medical Cooperative Society); Advances in Science, Director

Society Leadership/Board Position: President Brazilian Headache Association

Professional membership: American Headache Society; Academia Pernambucana de Medicina; Instituto Pernambucano de História da Medicina

Personal fees: Allergan-Abbvie; Eli Lilly; Eurofarma; Libbs; Lundbeck; Novartis; Pfizer; Teva

Research support: CNPq (Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico, Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia e Inovação, Governo Brasileiro); CAPES (Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior); FACEPE (Fundação de Amparo a Ciência e Tecnologia), Brazil

Relationship with Scientific Journals: Editor-in Chief, Headache Medicine (Brazilian Headache Society); Associate Editor Frontier in Neurology, Headache AHS, 2012-2020; Academic Editor Pain Research and Management, Brain Science (2023)

Commercial interests: None