Lars Jacob Stovner

Lars Jacob Stovner is a Professor of Neurology at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) since 1995. He has held significant leadership roles, including as head of the Norwegian Advisory Unit on Headaches and director of the WHO-affiliated charity Lifting The Burden. His research focuses on headache disorders, particularly migraine, cluster, and cervicogenic headaches, with an emphasis on epidemiology, clinical trials, and neurophysiological mechanisms. His group's work with the HUNT study has contributed to understanding global headache burden, including collaborations with the World Health Organization and European Union projects like Eurolight. Stovner also pioneered the use of blood biobanks for genetic studies of headache and has explored the health economic impacts of headaches in Europe and India.

Stovner's editorial leadership includes co-editorship of The Journal of Headache and Pain (2007–2014) and contributions to methodological frameworks for headache surveys. His clinical work spans surgical and pharmacological interventions, notably validating candesartan and lisinopril for migraine prevention. He has served as an expert witness in legal cases involving post-traumatic headaches, influencing future rulings on whiplash-related claims. His research has been published extensively in journals such as Cephalalgia and The Lancet, covering topics from population health to neurogenetics.

• Key Collaborations: World Health Organization, European Headache Federation, Global Burden of Disease Study.
• Methodologies: Population-based cohort studies (HUNT), neuroimaging, genetic biobanks, clinical trials.
• Policy Impact: Advocacy for headache as a public health priority, cost-of-illness analyses for the European Brain Council.