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Sheena K. Aurora, M.D.

Specialty: Neurology
Practice: Swedish Headache Center
Hospital affiliation: Swedish Medical Center
Medical degree: Christian Medical College, Ludhiana, India

How did you come to specialize in migraines?
My patients chose the specialty for me. The patients I see in my clinic have chronic migraines, which afflict about 3 percent of Americans. It’s very, very common, and very disabling.…It’s much more common than people think. My mantra is that if someone comes to a physician’s office and isn’t able to carry on with normal activities because of headaches, then it’s a migraine until proven otherwise. I just love what I do. It’s a terrific field to be in. In the last 15, 20 years, we’ve made some real [progress] in treatment, both in the preventive and the acute arenas.

How do you relax?
I love to cook. It gives me great pleasure—it’s my wind-down. I cook all kinds of food. I’m originally from India, but I really taught myself to cook everything: Thai food, Italian, Asian inspired. I grill a lot.

Originally published in July 2010