Heidi Henninger

Dr. Heidi Henninger is a clinical epileptologist who practiced in Southern Maine from 2002 to 2024. Over her 22 years of practice, regional care for epilepsy patients expanded from a single epileptologist serving the state to a robust, level III Comprehensive Epilepsy Center. She readily acknowledges that this growth is due to the leadership of the subsequent adult and pediatric providers who joined her. Heidi passionately cares about the well-being of her patients and is known for her collaborative projects with colleagues throughout New England, partnering with both other institutions and EFNE. She was committed to expanding treatment options for patients with epilepsy whose seizures were not controlled. She readily utilized the newest surgical approaches, neuromodulation, and use of new anti-seizure medications. She developed a robust clinical trial program in Maine, offering hope to patients who “had tried everything.” 

Heidi graduated summa cum laude from the University of CA, Berkeley in 1987 with a degree in Neuroscience. She graduated from UCSF School of Medicine with an MD with thesis in 1993. She completed her internship, neurology residency, and 2-year Epilepsy fellowship at Yale New Haven Hospital in 2000. From 2000 to 2002, before moving to Maine, Dr Henninger served as the Medical Director of the Hospice Home Care Service at The CT Hospice in Branford Maine. There, she learned that you do not need to cure patients to help them; you can focus on their individualized needs to enhance quality of life, a lesson she took with her to Maine.

Dr. Henninger retired from her clinical epilepsy practice in June 2024 and is currently serving as an independent consultant to the Medical Leadership team at UCB Inc. in US Medical Affairs, focusing on Epilepsy and Rare Syndromes. She is also a consultant for the Epilepsy Study Consortium. She volunteers on the American Epilepsy Society Treatment Committee and is a fellow of the American Academy of Neurology. She brings her relentless patient advocacy and her desire to collaborate across functional teams to the board of directors of EFNE.

Heidi and her husband, Thomas, raised two sons, Nate and Zach, in Yarmouth, Maine. Together, the family owns and operates Madeleine Point Oyster Farms, an ecologically restorative aquaculture business that grows fantastic oysters, while also providing benefits to the ocean waters in which they are grown. She can be seen paddleboarding around the nearby seafarm, or sometimes, to distant islands offshore. Heidi also enjoys hiking, scuba diving, and boating.