Miguel Cortel-LeBlanc

Dr. Miguel Cortel-LeBlanc has a dual practice in Headache Medicine at the Ottawa Headache Centre and Emergency Medicine at The Ottawa Hospital. As an Emergency Medicine specialist he carved a clinical and academic focus on neurological emergencies and headache disorders. He has produced a number of headache-related publications including co-authoring the 2025 American Headache Society updated guidelines for parenteral treatment of migraine in the emergency department.

Focus and interests

Dr. M. Cortel-LeBlanc is particularly interested in optimizing acute headache treatments, and improving transition of care from the emergency department to the outpatient setting. He launched a Rapid Access Headache Clinic for the ED to provide expedited headache consultations to patients discharged from the ED for headache complaints. Beyond improving migraine care, his particular interests also lie in CSF-leaks and spontaneous intracranial hypotension (SIH), trigeminal autonomic cephalalgias (TACs), and secondary headache disorders.

He has an additional interest in medico-legal matters as they relate to clinical practice and improving patient safety.

Appointments

He is an Assistant Professor at the University of Ottawa, Clinician Investigator at The Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Clinician Researcher at Institut du Savoir Montfort, and staff emergency physician at The Ottawa Hospital and Queensway Carleton Hospital. He is completing a thesis-based Master of Headache Disorders at the University of Copenhagen and Danish Headache Center, and will be pursuing a Headache Fellowship at the Ottawa Headache Centre.

Training and credentials

• Headache Fellowship Subspecialty, University of Ottawa, 2026 (expected)
• Master of Headache Disorders, University of Copenhagen, 2026 (expected)
• Certified Medicolegal Expertise, Canadian Society of Medical Evaluators, 2024
• Emergency Medicine Specialist, University of Ottawa, 2019
• Certificate of Quality Improvement and Patient Safety, University of Toronto, 2018
• Doctor of Medicine, McMaster University, 2014
• Master of Health Administration, Dalhousie University, 2011
• Bachelor of Science (Honours), University of Ottawa, 2009

Affiliations

• University of Ottawa - Assistant Professor
• The Ottawa Hospital - Staff Physician
• Ottawa Headache Centre, Staff Physician
• Queensway Carleton Hospital - Staff Physician
• The Ottawa Hospital Research Institute - Clinician Investigator
• Institut du Savoir Montfort - Clinician Researcher

Website

www.ottawaheadachecentre.ca