Bob is 69 years old and together with his wife Mary, of 49 years. have raised 4 children and are currently the proud grandparents of 10. He was diagnosed with Cluster Headaches approximately 45 years ago which eventually lead to his founding Clusterbusters, Inc. in 2002. Clusterbusters, was founded upon the principles of the need for psychedelic research proving it’s benefits as a safe and effective treatment for cluster headaches, one of the most devastatingly painful conditions known to mankind.
In addition to his work as founder and Executive Director with Clusterbusters Inc., Bob sits on the Board of AHDA (the Alliance for Headache Disorder Advocacy) and has served as it’s Vice President and was one of the founding board members of AHMA (the American Headache and Migraine Association). Additionally, Bob is proud to serve many other positions within headache disorder advocacy groups including the National Headache Foundation’s Patient Advisory Council, the Eli Lilly Patient Advisory Board and the governance committee of CHAMP.
Bob’s work and accomplishments within the headache community include legislative initiatives and organizing events for the patient community and medical professionals in Washington DC. Among these successful issues have been the adoption of legislation, increased federal research funding, testifying before the FDA for additional treatment options and the formation of a training manual for SAMHSA. Recently, after a long 10 year advocacy effort, Bob, working with the AHDA, was instrumental in getting CMS to overturn their decision of non-coverage of oxygen as a life saving acute treatment for cluster headaches. Getting a reversal on such a matter is a rarity.
Clusterbuster’s first published research of the use of psychedelics to treat cluster headaches, in 2006, is the basic foundation and building block for the current psychedelic research into the treatment of pain disorders.
Since the founding of Clusterbusters, the organization has grown to the largest cluster headache support and advocacy non-profit organization in the U.S. Bob’s work with Clusterbusters has included research projects carried out at institutions such as Harvard, Yale and the University of West Georgia in the United States, McGill University in Montreal Canada and Hannover Medical School in Hannover Germany. This research has lead to increased and improved treatments for the cluster headache community and is helping advance future treatment improvements.
Bob has been deeply involved as an advisor on successful clinical research projects leading to FDA approvals of both pharma and non-pharma treatments for headache disorders. Advising upon study and protocol design, recruitment, site selection, lowering of AE’s and participant retention.
Clusterbusters brings awareness and understanding of cluster headaches through such projects such as two National Geographic documentaries, magazine articles as well as TV, radio, newsprint and web based news outlets. Their education initiatives include regional patient meetings and highlighted by their annual patient conference. The 2022 in-person conference was their 17th and it’s annual growth continues to make it the largest gathering of cluster headache patients, caregivers and professionals in the world.
