Will you join us? Let's find a cure for debilitating headaches. Donate or subscribe today.
Will you join us? Let's find a cure for debilitating headaches. Donate or subscribe today.
Will you join us? Let's find a cure for debilitating headaches. Donate or subscribe today.
Will you join us? Let's find a cure for debilitating headaches. Donate or subscribe today.
Will you join us? Let's find a cure for debilitating headaches. Donate or subscribe today.
Will you join us? Let's find a cure for debilitating headaches. Donate or subscribe today.
The Will Erwin Headache Research Foundation History
Founded in 2014, our work honors the life of Will Erwin, a courageous young man who battled cluster headaches. At the age of 24, he succumbed to his suffering by taking his own life. Will described the pain of cluster headaches as a knife being stabbed into his eye with no relief for days. Will's family quickly learned that he was not alone in his pain. With a team of visionaries, including Emeritus Board Member Jeff Love, the Will Erwin Headache Research Foundation was formed by Will's parents,
Pam and Jimmy Erwin.
The WEHR Foundation hit the ground running and established the Will Erwin Headache Research Center in 2016. This collaboration with UTHealth and Memorial Hermann Foundation boasts one of the nation’s premier Neurologists and Headache Researchers, Dr. Mark Burish. Dr. Burish partners with experts across the globe to bring clinical support to approximately 1200 patients annually. In addition, he enrolls patients in clinical trials and conducts groundbreaking research in our state-of-the-art laboratory. Dr. Burish has been pivotal in the creation of a cluster headache
pain scale and as well as his research connecting
circadian rhythms and debilitating headaches.
Our mission today
To date, the Will Erwin Headache Research Foundation has served over 10,000 patients and raised more than $5M in direct funding for headache research. We have achieved tremendous momentum.
Our conquest to find a cure, however, is far from complete.
In 2025, the Will Erwin Headache Research Foundation hired our first Executive Director, Catherine Pressly Herring. We have set our visions high with the approval of a 5-Year Strategic Plan in 2026. Goals include upgrading internal systems and technology, adding an annual Women's Event to our fundraising efforts, and hiring a second physician to cut Dr. Burish's patient wait time of nine
months in half by the end of 2027.
Copyright © 2026 Will Erwin Headache Research Foundation - All Rights Reserved.
Questions or concerns? Please reach out to catherine@cureheadaches.org
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