Skip to main content
Crystal Jicha

Crystal Jicha

HS Assistant Clinical Professor, University of California at Irvine

Director of Headache Program, University of California Irvine

Biography

Crystal Jicha, M.D., is HS Assistant Clinical Professor in the Department of Neurology at the University of California, Irvine, where she serves as Director of the Headache Program. As the founding director and first fellowship-trained headache specialist at UCI, Jicha established the institution's headache program in 2022, developing collaborative care models across multiple departments and expanding access to procedural treatments including onabotulinum toxin A injections, nerve blocks, and sphenopalatine ganglion blocks. Her clinical focus encompasses migraine, post-traumatic headache, and other primary and secondary headache disorders, with particular emphasis on women's health and complementary medicine approaches.

Jicha completed her neurology residency and served as Chief Resident at Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine, followed by fellowship training in headache and facial pain at the Montefiore Headache Center. She is board certified in neurology by the American Board of Psychiatry & Neurology and in headache medicine by the United Council for Neurologic Subspecialties. Her research has examined the relationship between menstrual cycle intervals and emergency department presentations for headache among diverse reproductive-age women, as well as genetic factors in migraine with prolonged aphasic aura.

Jicha received her M.D. with distinction from the University of Kentucky College of Medicine and her B.S. magna cum laude from Drexel University. She has been recognized by the American Headache Society through multiple honors including selection for the Emerging Leaders program, Future of Headache Medicine designation, and the Frontiers in Headache Research Award. She serves as an ad hoc peer reviewer for multiple neurology journals and is active in patient advocacy through organizations including Miles for Migraine and The Alliance for Headache Disorders Advocacy.

Return to top

Education

  • BS in Biology, Drexel University, Pennoni Honors College, 2012
  • MD, University of Kentucky, College of Medicine, 2017
Return to top

Distinctions

  • International Headache Academy, American Headache Society, 2021-2022
  • Emerging Leader, American Headache Society, 2023
  • Future of Headache Medicine, American Headache Society, 2022
  • Frontiers in Headache Research Award, American Headache Society, 2021
  • Dedication Award, Miles for Migraine, 2024
  • Special Recognition for Scholarly Activity, Montefiore Medical Center, 2021
  • Teaching Star Commendation, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, 2021
Return to top

Areas of Expertise

  • Headache Medicine
  • Menstrual Cycle Emergency Presentations
  • Opioid Withdrawal Safety
  • Injection Drug Use Infections
  • Migraine Genetic Mutations
  • Maternal Morbidity Outcomes
  • Neuromodulation Device Therapy

Recent Publications

  • Wells R.E., Floyd J., O'Brien H., Tamol N., Oliver C., Nelson C., Phillips J., Estave P.M., Vaidya S., Moore B., Hamilton K., Adam E., O'Connell N., Moore J.B., Lipton R.B., Houle T.T., Schuman-Olivier Z., Gardiner P., Powers S.W., Anderson A., et al., “Building a national headache medicine research network: The BE WELL with Migraine Champion Providers Network™” (opens in new tab), Headache, vol. 66, pp. 249-261, 2026.
  • Michelle Tram, Nan Cheng, Crystal Jicha, “Differential Impact of Migraine with and without Aura on Severe Maternal Morbidity and Postpartum Readmissions: Insights from a National Cohort Study”, 2025. Presented at AHS Annual Scientific Meeting, June 2025.
  • Jicha, C.J., Pham, K., “Neuromodulation for primary headache disorders: Advantages and challenges” (opens in new tab), Headache, vol. 64, no. 2, pp. 226-228, 2024.
  • Jicha, C.J., Alex, A., Herskovitz, S., Haut, SR., Lipton, R., “Migraine with Prolonged Aphasic Aura Associated with a CACNA1A Mutation: A Case Report and Narrative Review” (opens in new tab), Headache, vol. 63, no. 7, pp. 975-980, 2023.
  • Crystal Jicha, Jelena Pavlovic, “Presentation of headache and its management in the Emergency Department amongst a cohort of diverse reproductive age women”, 2022. Presented at AAN Annual Meeting, April 2022.
  • Crystal Jicha, Jelena Pavlovic, “Presentation of headache and its management in the Emergency Department amongst a cohort of diverse reproductive age women”, 2022. Presented at AHS Annual Scientific Meeting, June 2022.
  • Crystal Jicha, Jelena Pavlovic, “Relation between intervals of the menstrual cycle and presentation to the Emergency Department for headache”, 2021. Presented at AAN Annual Meeting, April 2021.
  • Crystal Jicha, Jelena Pavlovic, “Relationship between intervals of the menstrual cycle and presentation to the Emergency Department for headache”, 2021. Presented at AHS Annual Meeting, June 2021.
  • Jicha, C.J., Saxon, D., Lofwall, M.R., Fanucchi, L.C., “Substance use disorder assessment, diagnosis, and management for patients hospitalized with severe infections due to injection drug use” (opens in new tab), Journal of Addiction Medicine, vol. 13, no. 1, pp. 69-74, 2019.
  • Jicha, C.J., Lofwall, M.R., Nuzzo, P.A., Babalonis, S., Elayi, S.C., Walsh, S.L., “Safety of oral dronabinol during opioid withdrawal in humans” (opens in new tab), Drug and Alcohol Dependence, vol. 157, pp. 179-183, 2015.
  • Caterina Mosti, Kara Douglas, Crystal Jicha, Mary Spiers, “Neuropsychological Tests of Executive Function in Relation to Sensation Seeking Traits”, 2013. Presented at American Academy of Clinical Neuropsychology, Chicago, IL, June 2013.
  • Crystal Jicha, Kara R. Douglas, Tiffany M. Lake, Mary V. Spiers, “Risk Taking and Sensation Seeking”, 2012. Presented at Drexel University Research Day, Philadelphia, PA, April 2012.
  • Tiffany Lake, Crystal Jicha, Lata Valisetty, Mary Spiers, “Estrogenic Influence on Risk-taking and Reward Dependent Behaviors”, 2011. Presented at International Neuropsychological Society, Boston, MA, February 2011.
  • Kara R. Douglas, Tiffany M. Lake, Crystal Jicha, Mary V. Spiers, “Risk-Taking Behavior: Gender, Personality, and Hormonal Influences”, 2011. Presented at Institute for Women's Health and Leadership Sex and Gender Research Forum, Philadelphia, PA, October 2011.
  • Tiffany M, Lake, Crystal Jicha, Mary Spiers, “Estrogenic Influence of Reward Related Dimensions of Personality”, 2010. Presented at Institute for Women's Health and Leadership Sex and Gender Research Forum, Philadelphia, PA, March 2010.
Return to top

Contact Information

Email: cjicha@uci.edu

Phone: (714) 456-7720

Address: 200 S. Manchester, Suite 206, Orange, CA 92868, Irvine, CA 92868

Return to top

This profile was created with the help of AI.

Last updated on 3/11/2026.