The section below provides the Parkinson's Disease Center and Movement Disorders Clinic Annual Reports. These reports are design to provide an annual recap of the clinics accomplishments, improvements patient care, research developments, faculty highlights and other clinic related news. Donations to the PDCMC help make our efforts successful.
It is my pleasure to provide this year’s annual report on the activities and accomplishments of the Parkinson’s Disease Center and Movement Disorders Clinic (PDCMDC). One of our goals is to increase awareness about Parkinson’s disease and other movement disorders. To this end we have developed brochures (enclosed) that contain 6 QR codes that direct the reader to a broad variety of reliable educational materials and other resources as well as information on how to provide financial support/donations to the PDCMDC. Your support will help fund our highly regarded movement disorders fellowship program.
We currently have 4 movement disorders fellows, 3 of whom have made presentations at the 14th International Congress of Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders, in Philadelphia, 9/26-10/2/2024.
Below are some highlights of accomplishments by the PDCMDC faculty.
Joseph Jankovic, M.D.
- Dr. Jankovic was honored by being selected as a Fellow of the International Association of Parkinson and Related Disorders (IAPRD) in recognition of “a long-standing participation in the association and accomplishment of high-quality research and academic activities”. He also served as session chair and speaker at 14th World Congress of IAPRD, Lisbon, Portugal.
- Dr. Jankovic was also a speaker at the 5th International Conference on Functional Neurological Disorders, Verona, Italy; 34th annual meeting of the American Neuropsychiatric Association, Houston; the 34th annual course "A Comprehensive Review of Movement Disorders”, Aspen, Colorado; and 14th International Congress of Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders, Philadelphia, PA.
- Dr. Jankovic participated in International Advisory Board at Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic.
- Dr. Jankovic continues to serve on many editorial boards and is Editor-in-Chief for Expert Review of Neurotherapeutics.
- With H-index of 196, Dr. Jankovic continues to be ranked #1 expert in the world in movement disorders, dyskinesias, and in botulinum toxins (http://expertscape.com/).
Joshua Shulman, M.D., Ph.D.
Understanding interactions between Parkinson’s disease (PD) and other age-related disorders may explain the remarkable heterogeneity of PD and lead to improved therapies. In collaboration with the Rush Alzheimer’s Disease Center in Chicago, Dr. Shulman published a study showing how PD progression can be accelerated by the presence of stroke or Alzheimer’s “co-pathology”. His research has also investigated the mechanisms of genes that affect risk for PD and Alzheimer’s disease. He and his collaborators found that MAPT, a risk gene for PD and Progressive Supranuclear Palsy, also plays an important role in lipid (fat) metabolism that protects brain cells from dying.
Nora Vanegas, M.D.
Dr. Vanegas is currently pursuing unique research in the field of Neuromodulation, including Spinal Cord Stimulation, Deep Brain Stimulation and Focused Ultrasound. Amongst several other invited lectures, she recently presented her work at the Rice University’s PATHS-UP Digital Health Workshop and the World Society of Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery. Given Dr. Vanegas’ strong collaborative relationship and educational activities at Rice University, she recently became an Adjunct Professor for the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.
Arjun Tarakad, M.D.
Dr. Tarakad has continued his focus on community education and close work with the Houston Area Parkinson’s Society (HAPS) functioning as chair of their medical advisory board education committee. He also continues to work with the Rice University neuroscience program in educating and guiding high school and college students interested in careers in neurology. Dr. Tarakad has overseen growth in the PDCMDC deep brain stimulation program as its director, doubling case volume since taking over this position 4 years ago.
Steven Bellows, M.D.
Starting July 2024, Dr. Bellows began his new role as Program Director for the Movement Disorders Fellowship in the PDCMDC. Dr. Bellows was elected for a 3-year term as a Faculty Senator, providing representation in this college-wide body for the Neurology department. In addition to his current roles as Neurology Sub-Internship Director and Neurology Core Clerkship Ben Taub Site Director, Dr. Bellows also began a new role in undergraduate medical education as an associate course director for the Behavioral and Neurologic Sciences foundational course, which is the core neurology educational experience for first-year medical students. He continues to publish academic and patient-oriented information articles, and he serves as primary site investigator at the PDCMDC for clinical research trials.
Charenya Anandan, M.D.
Building on her expertise in electromyography, Dr. Anandan has used this technique and ultrasound for guided botulinum toxin injections for dystonia and has co-authored with Dr. Jankovic papers on the use of botulinum toxin in Parkinson’s and dystonia. She is involved in multiple roles in undergraduate neurology education and has received awards from both clinical neurophysiology fellows and medical students for teaching this year. She is serving on the medical advisory board of HAPS and as neurology representative at faculty senate. She has partnered with the Parkinsons Foundation and presented a lecture for community health care workers.
Roy Lin, M.D., M.P.H.
With Dr. Jankovic’s strong support, Dr. Lin leads the CurePSP Center of Care for PSP, CBD, and MSA. He was elected by the Board of Directors to serve on the CurePSP Steering Committee, based on the outstanding performance of Baylor's Center of Care. Dr. Lin also served as Vice Chair of the American Neurological Association’s 2024 annual conference, co-chairing the movement disorders special interest group meeting. Dr. Lin was invited to speak at leading society annual meetings, including delivering a CME lecture at the American Academy of Neurology and presenting at The Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration. His research on the role of the cerebellum in PD was recognized by the Michael J. Fox Foundation’s Parkinson’s Progression Marker Initiative as a leading project award recipient.
I am very proud of our achievements and grateful for the generous support of friends like you.
With warm appreciation,
Joseph Jankovic, M.D.
I am pleased to share accomplishments of the clinical and research team at the Parkinson’s Disease Center and Movement Disorders Clinic from the past year. Our success is made possible thanks to the dedication of friends like you.
I hope this summary will inspire generous support so we can continue to provide the most expert and compassionate care, while advancing research and treatment of Parkinson’s disease, other parkinsonian disorders such as progressive supranuclear palsy, multiple system atrophy, corticobasal syndrome and other movement disorders, including tremors, dystonia, Tourette syndrome and Huntington disease.
Your support will help fund our highly regarded movement disorders fellowship program. While many movement disorder training programs remain unfilled, we are gratified to have a large number of applicants every year for a limited number of available positions. We rely on the generosity of our donors, foundations and industry to fund our fellowship program, which I direct (see below).
In addition to our educational and research activities, we have been recognized as a Center of Excellence by the Parkinson’s Foundation and Tourette Association of America. I am proud to announce that this year we have also received the highly prestigious designation of “Cure PSP Center of Care.”
Below are some highlights of accomplishments by me and other PDCMDC faculty.
Joseph Jankovic, M.D.
There are many ways to measure scholarly productivity. The “h-index” is used as the most important metric for academic footprint. Having an h-index of 60 is considered “exceptional” (84% of Nobel prize winners in physics, for example, had an h-index of at least 30). My h-index is 192. This achievement reflects frequent citations of my publications by other authors.
During the past year, I was invited to lecture at Croatian Catholic University School of Medicine, Zagreb, Croatia and the University of Bologna, Italy, the oldest university in the world, where I was honored by an appointment as the first international member of the Bologna Medical and Surgical Society. I also lectured at the University of Arizona, University of California at San Diego, National Institutes of Health, 33rd annual course on Movement Disorders in Aspen, Colorado, and various international meetings, including the Samuel Belzberg 6th International Dystonia Symposium, Dublin, Ireland, the International Congress of Parkinson’s and Movement Disorders, Copenhagen, Denmark, and Congress for Brazilian Movement Disorder Neurologists, Maceio, Brazil.
Joshua Shulman, M.D., Ph.D.
Recent investigations by Dr. Shulman and his team have focused on understanding neurotoxic mechanisms of alpha-synuclein and tau proteins, which contribute to neurodegeneration associated with Parkinson's disease and progressive supranuclear palsy. Using a Parkinson's disease model in the fruit fly, they found that loss of GBA and other lysosomal storage disorder genes can enhance neurodegeneration caused by alpha-synuclein protein. This approach was used to consider 160 additional Parkinson's disease candidate genes, highlighting dozens of novel promising targets. They also recently discovered that the tau protein can trigger a brain gene expression signature suggestive of accelerated aging. The PDCMDC was the first center to contribute genetic samples to the Global Parkinson’s Genetics Program, a major initiative to identify new Parkinson's disease-related genes.
Nora Vanegas, M.D.
Dr. Vanegas graduated from the American Academy of Neurology - Diversity Leadership Program 2022-23 and was appointed to the editorial board of the Brain & Life Magazine. She continues to apply for funding to pursue unique research in the field of Neuromodulation, including Spinal Cord Stimulation, Deep Brain Stimulation and Focused Ultrasound. In collaboration with Dr. Jankovic, she published a systematic review on the effects of spinal cord stimulation for gait disturbances in Parkinson's disease. Among several invited lectures, she recently discussed the effects of bilateral Deep Brain Stimulation and Focused Ultrasound for the treatment of tremor at the 2nd International Tremor Congress in New York City.
Arjun Tarakad, M.D.
Dr. Tarakad has continued his focus on community education and close work with the Houston Area Parkinson’s Society, including presentations for newly diagnosed Parkinson's disease patients, discussion of surgical interventions at the Engage-Educate-Empower Symposium and organization of the first HAPS research fair. He continues to work with the Rice University neuroscience program in educating and guiding high school and college students interested in careers in neurology. Dr. Tarakad also continues to direct Baylor’s growing DBS program.
Steven Bellows, M.D.
Dr. Bellows continues to expand his role in medical education. In addition to his undergraduate medical education duties as the neurology sub-internship director, he has taken on the role of the neurology clerkship site director at Ben Taub Hospital. He has also taken on a new role as the associate program director for the movement disorders fellowship at the PDCMDC. His contributions to resident teaching were recognized by receiving the faculty teaching award, as voted by the neurology residents. He has continued to expand the supportive care clinic at the PDCMDC as the local palliative care champion. He serves as the primary investigator in several clinical trials targeting a wide variety of movement disorder conditions.
Charenya Anandan, M.D.
Dr. Anandan’s expertise in electromyography and ultrasound led her to develop special interest in guided botulinum toxin injections for focal dystonia (involuntary muscle contractions in one body part). She is also involved in undergraduate medical education at the Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center and serves as the neurology clerkship site director. She participates as a sub-investigator in multiple clinical trials at the PDCMDC. This year, she was selected to participate in the Vanderbilt Junior Faculty Forum where she presented on continuous dopaminergic therapies and tardive dyskinesia. She partnered with the HAPS and gave a lecture on deep brain simulation for Parkinson's disease.
Roy Lin, M.D., M.P.H.
During the past year, Dr. Lin was featured twice by The Washington Post to discuss stiff-person syndrome and frontotemporal dementia. For patient care and teaching services, Dr. Lin was awarded the Power of Professionalism and annual Neurology Faculty Teaching award by Baylor College of Medicine. The American Neurological Association invited him to give a lecture at the 2023 annual meeting, discussing the disparity, medical education and research for LGBTQ+ neurology patients. With the support of Dr. Jankovic, the PDCMDC was designated in 2023 by the CurePSP Foundation as the Center of Care for progressive supranuclear palsy, multiple system atrophy, and corticobasal syndrome. Dr. Lin has served as the director with the goal to promote awareness and collaborative research for PDCMDC’s patients with atypical parkinsonian disorders.
I am very proud of our achievements and grateful for the generous support of friends like you.
With warm appreciation,
Joseph Jankovic, M.D.
I hope this letter finds you well. On behalf of the Parkinson’s Disease Center and Movement Disorders Clinic, I am pleased to share highlights of activities and achievements from the past year.
Our success is made possible thanks to the generosity of supporters like you. I hope you’ll be inspired to continue your support of our world renown movement disorders fellowship program. Many of the alumni of our training program have become leaders in the field of Parkinson’s disease and other movement disorders. For example, Francisco Cardoso, M.D., Ph.D., an alumnus of our program, is the current president of the International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society, an umbrella organization for all movement disorders.
I am happy to report that, based on our accomplishments, our designation as the Parkinson’s Foundation Center of Excellence has been extended for another five years. We have been also honored by extension of our Tourette Association of America Center of Excellence.
In addition to over 60 clinical trials and investigator-initiated studies, we have expanded our diagnostic program by providing skin biopsies to search for evidence of Parkinson’s disease and related disorders (synucleinopathies) in very early stages of the disease. We continue to provide the state-of-the art deep brain stimulation and other neuromodulation approaches to our patients and are now offering focused ultrasound as a new treatment for Parkinson’s disease and essential tremor.
Below are some highlights of accomplishments of the individual PDCMDC faculty.
Dr. Joseph Jankovic
The number of times that published findings are cited can be reflective of the impact or influence of the original academic work. Dr. Jankovic is the most cited researcher at Baylor College of Medicine and continues to be ranked #1 in the world in movement disorders (which includes Parkinson’s disease and other disorders manifested by abnormal movement), dyskinesias, and in botulinum toxin (expertscape.com). In addition to over 1,500 scientific articles, Dr. Jankovic published over 70 books, 4 in 2022!
During the past year Dr. Jankovic was invited to lecture at many universities and congresses around the world including Annual Meetings of the Mexican Academy of Neurology, Indian Movement Disorders Society, International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society, International Association of Parkinson and Related Disorders, Pennsylvania Neurological Society, 4th International Conference on Functional Neurological Disorders, and he has served as a lecturer and a visiting professor at University of California at San Diego, University of Texas Medical Branch, and the 33rd annual course on movement disorders in Aspen, Colorado.
Dr. Joshua Shulman completed a research study demonstrating that more than a dozen genes related to Gaucher’s disease can modulate neurodegeneration in an animal model of Parkinson’s disease. In another study, in a collaboration with Dr. Jankovic, Dr. Shulman explored how genome sequencing might soon be used as a clinical tool to enhance the evaluation of Parkinson’s disease. Among several invited lectures, Dr. Shulman presented his Parkinson’s disease research progress at an international workshop in Kolymbari, Crete in Greece.
Dr. Nora Vanegas has been promoted to associate professor of Neurology based on her research leadership and the quality of clinical care that she provides to patients with movement disorders. As a result of Dr. Vanegas’ accomplishments and her potential as a leader in the field, she has been accepted to the highly competitive American Academy of Neurology - Diversity Leadership Program 2022-23. Dr. Vanegas continues to pursue unique research in the field of Neuromodulation, including the first U.S. trial of Spinal Cord Stimulation for Parkinson’s related gait problems. In collaboration with the National Institutes of Health, Dr. Vanegas has published research using eye tracking technology to characterize visual exploration trends in patients with Parkinson’s disease.
Dr. Arjun Tarakad joined the Undiagnosed Diseases Network program, a NIH sponsored program seeking to identify rare genetic and other diseases in affected patients. Dr. Tarakad continues to be involved in community education serving as the chair of the education committee of the Houston Area Parkinson’s Society medical advisory board. He also engages high school and undergraduate students at Rice University’s “Neuro camp.”
Dr. Steven Bellows has started a new role in undergraduate medical education as director of the neurology sub-internship, a rotation for medical students who are interested in pursuing a career in neurology. His latest publication explores some of the latest theories as to the underlying causes of essential tremor. He will be serving as the primary investigator at the PDCMDC for multiple clinical trials that will be starting in the coming months. This past year, he was invited to serve on the medical advisory board for the Houston Area Parkinson’s Society (HAPS).
Dr. Charenya Anandan continues to use her unique training in neuromuscular medicine and movement disorders in evaluating complex patients with overlapping symptoms in these two different subspecialities of neurology. She is also establishing a niche practice in the utilization of EMG and ultrasound in the evaluation and management of focal dystonias. At Baylor College of Medicine, she received a teaching award from medical students who rotated through the neurology clerkship. She has been invited to speak at national and international conferences - ACNS 2022 (American Clinical Neurophysiology Society conference) and Toxins 2022.
Dr. Roy Lin was selected by the following societies to serve as a member with active responsibilities: the American Academy of Neurology movement disorders quality measure working group and International Parkinson and Movement Disorders Society ataxia study group. Dr. Lin was awarded the Baylor Junior Faculty Seed Award to conduct his clinical research, studying the compensatory mechanism of the cerebellum in Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. His most recent work about the abnormal reward systems in Parkinson’s disease and cerebellar ataxia was published in Neurology. Dr. Lin has been invited to give several outreach talks, focusing on mitigating the disparity knowledge and care gap in Parkinson’s disease, including the sexual and gender minority (Davis Phinney Foundation and Parkinson’s News Today) and Mandarin-speaking population in Greater Houston area (The Light and Salt Association). He was also interviewed about the current understanding between loneliness and dementia based on the published scientific literatures (FOX 26 Houston – Houston’s Morning Show).
I am very proud of our achievements and grateful for the generous support of friends like you.
With warm appreciation,
Joseph Jankovic, M.D.
In my last year’s annual letter, I noted that 2020 was “the most challenging and consequential year of our lifetime”. Unfortunately, the pandemic continues to impact our lives into 2021 and probably beyond. Despite these challenges, partly thanks to your continued support, the Parkinson’s Disease Center and Movement Disorders Clinic continues to make progress in and contributions to patient care, research, and education and training. The primary aim of this annual letter is to provide a brief report on some of our activities and achievements during the past year and to highlight our goals for the future.
2021 Highlights
- Joseph Jankovic, M.D. continues to be ranked #1 expert in the world in “movement disorders” and in “botulinum toxins”. This achievement is based on over 1,500 articles published during his career. He has also published over 60 books (four in the past year), including “the bibles” of Neurology and Movement Disorders.
- During the past year, Dr. Jankovic presented several prestigious lectures, including:
- Presidential Perspectives lecture for the International Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders Society
- Jack Penney Lecture, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard University
- Mel Yahr Lecture at XXVI World Congress on Parkinson’s Disease and Related Disorders, International Association of Parkinsonism and Related Disorders
- Lectures at Columbia University, Cleveland Clinic, Movement Disorders Congress, XLV Annual Mexican Academy of Neurology, Pennsylvania Neurological Society, etc.
- Dr. Jankovic has been invited to become a member of the Inaugural Board of Functional Neurological Disorder Society, Clinician Advisory Council on Palliative Care for Parkinson’s Foundation, and other committees.
- Joshua Shulman, M.D., Ph.D. has been awarded the Derek Denny-Brown Scholar award from the American Neurological Association, recognizing outstanding basic scientific advances toward the diagnosis and treatment of neurological diseases. He recently established a new Baylor strategic research center to promote cross-disciplinary collaborative and translational investigations of neurodegenerative diseases. Among many funded projects, Dr. Shulman received a $5 million National Institutes of Health grant to lead a team of Baylor investigators studying genetic mechanisms of Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and related causes of dementia. In collaboration with Drs. Tarakad and Jankovic, Dr. Shulman’s research team have also published research showing that biosensor devices complement standard clinical assessments for revealing Parkinson’s disease motor heterogeneity.
- Arjun Tarakad, M.D., the director of the deep brain stimulation program, has worked to expand academic collaborations with other medical center institutions including UT Health and Methodist. He also serves as chair of the education committee on the Houston Area Parkinson’s Society Medical Advisory Board, and is the primary investigator for over twenty active clinical trials at the PDCMDC clinical research trials
- Nora Vanegas, M.D. has successfully transitioned all her research studies (from Columbia University in New York) to Baylor College of Medicine, including starting the first U.S. trial of Spinal Cord Stimulation for Parkinson’s related gait problems. She also has been awarded a research project grant from the National Institute of Mental Health to support her work Investigating the neuroanatomical underpinnings of apathy in neurodegenerative diseases. In collaboration with Rice University, Dr. Vanegas (co-principal investigator) has been awarded a Michael J. Fox grant to investigate a novel neuromodulation tool in Parkinson’s disease.
- Steven Bellows, M.D. has published a study examining the clinical features of patients with essential tremor and its relationship to Parkinson’s disease. He was also invited as a faculty member in the Annual Junior Faculty Forum at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. In addition to serving as the primary investigator on multiple ongoing clinical research trials at the PDCMDC, Dr. Bellows has also accepted the position of “palliative care champion” for the PDCMDC.
- In August 2021 we have added to our PDCMDC team Chi-Ying (Roy) Lin, M.D., M.P.H., who completed his movement disorder fellowship at Columbia University. Because of his interests in cognitive and behavioral aspects of Parkinson’s disease and related disorders he will serve as a liaison between the PDCMDC and the Alzheimer’s Disease and Memory Disorders Center at Baylor. We look forward to his leadership in developing collaborative research programs that will align the two centers and their joint missions. Dr. Lin’s diversity advocacy and wellness development work were recently covered by Parkinson’s Foundation and the American Academy of Neurology’s Brain and Life magazine.
- In October 2021 Charenya Anandan, M.D. also joined our PDCMDC faculty. Dr. Anandan previously completed a two-year neuromuscular fellowship at Mayo Clinic before joining the faculty of Baylor Department of Neurology in 2019. She then decided to pursue her passion for movement disorders and recently completed her movement disorders fellowship in our program. We look forward to her expertise in caring for patients with movement disorders complicated by coexisting neuromuscular diseases and also for patients with complex focal dystonias who would benefit from EMG-guided botulinum toxin injections.
- Rory Mahabir, MBA, CCRP was named our new manager of clinical research. He has been developing and expanding our clinical research team, which also includes five experienced research coordinators, needed to advance our research mission by conducting over 30 clinical trials and over 30 investigator-initiated projects!.
Our active research program, coupled with our expert and compassionate patient care as well as our educational, training, and outreach missions, position the PDCMDC as one of the most outstanding Centers of Excellence in the world. However, in order to drive these projects and initiatives forward, we need your support more than ever. Our biggest current unmet need is to secure adequate funding to provide support for training fellows who will become leaders in the field of Parkinson’s disease and movement disorders. I, therefore, appeal to you to make a generous donation to our Movement Disorders Fellowship Training program through our Giving Form. Your support will also help drive our innovative research program designed to improve our understanding of Parkinson’s disease and other movement disorders and to develop better symptomatic and disease-modifying therapies.
With warm appreciation,
Joseph Jankovic, M.D.
What a year this has been! No one could have predicted that 2020 would become the most challenging and consequential year of our lifetime. Today, I’m writing to update you on how the Parkinson’s Disease Center and Movement Disorders Clinic has, despite all the hurdles associated with COVID-19, forged ahead in improving patient care, fostering research and educating the next generation of movement disorders fellows. I also want to express my deepest thanks to those of you who supported us in 2019 and prior years. Without your generous support, none of this work would be possible. But there is much more to be done.
While COVID-19 has proved a substantial challenge, we have made excellent progress in our work. We now offer patients critical telemedicine resources, research and education. We are currently conducting more than 30 clinical therapeutic and observational trials for Parkinson’s disease, Tourette syndrome, Huntington’s disease, Wilson’s disease, tremors, dystonia and other movement disorders.
This year we were also fortunate to recruit two new outstanding faculty members who will further support the PDCMDC’s mission of helping patients and advancing research in novel therapies:
- Steven Bellows, M.D., assistant professor of neurology, graduated summa cum laude from Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, with a bachelor of engineering. He obtained his medical degree from Baylor College of Medicine and subsequently completed his neurology residency and a two-year movement disorders fellowship at the PDCMDC. He also is trained in the use of deep brain stimulation (DBS) and botulinum toxin injections for treating a variety of conditions. He is participating in several clinical research trials and developing expertise as a clinical trialist in experimental therapeutics of Parkinson’s disease and other movement disorders.
- Nora Vanegas, M.D., assistant professor of neurology and director of neuromodulation research, received her medical degree from the University of Antioquia, Medellin, Colombia. She completed her neurology residency and served as Chief Resident at North Shore University Hospital in New York. Dr. Vanegas then completed a combined clinical-research fellowship, with an emphasis on neuroimaging and neuromodulation, at the National Institutes of Health before her faculty appointment at Columbia University in New York City. After four years at Columbia, she has joined the PDCMDC, where she will work on novel neurosurgical treatments for patients with movement disorders.
We also have some exciting news about our established PDCMDC faculty:
- Arjun Tarakad, M.D., assistant professor of neurology, has been appointed director of our Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) program. In addition to his busy clinical practice, Dr. Tarakad has increased his involvement in our clinical trials program and our fellowship training program.
- Lisa Taneff, N.P., in addition to working along with our clinical faculty by providing care for patients with a variety of movement disorders, also plays a critical role in our DBS program.
- Joshua Shulman, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of neurology, molecular and human genetics, and neuroscience, was appointed as the director of the Center for Alzheimer’s and Neurodegenerative Diseases, a new strategic research center at Baylor. In this new role, he will broaden the scope of his contributions as a physician-scientist in the PDCMDC.
- After 24 years as the research nurse manager at the PDCMDC, Christine Hunter, R.N., has decided to retire by the end of this year. Christine, my “right-hand” partner during the past 20 years, will be terribly missed by our PDCMDC family, the department and our patients. I will forever be grateful for her many contributions, commitment to excellence and dedicated service.
- Additionally, I have been invited this year to give several lectures at various prestigious conferences and universities, including the University of Tel Aviv, the University of California at San Diego, the Einstein School of Medicine, Columbia University and Harvard University. Finally, I am honored that, based on my scientific publications, I am currently ranked No. 1 in the world in movement disorders and botulinum toxin treatment as noted in Expertscape Inc, an objective rating of world experts.
This collective expertise will continue to spur innovation and inspire the next generation of leaders in the field of Parkinson’s disease and other movement disorders. Consequently, training fellows is one of the PDCMDC’s primary missions. Our program has trained generations of movement disorders specialists who have gone on to help countless patients. Drs. Bellows and Tarakad are graduates of our training program. Dr. Chintan Shah, one of our current fellows and a graduate of Baylor’s Neurology Residency Program, is a recipient of The Edmond J. Safra Fellowship in Movement Disorders, a prestigious award from The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research.
As director of the PDCMDC, driving therapeutic breakthroughs is my chief goal, and securing adequate funding for our highly regarded and competitive Movement Disorders Fellowship Training Program is currently my most urgent priority. I hope you will again support us as we continue to pursue this trailblazing work in 2021.
With warm appreciation,
Joseph Jankovic, M.D.
I am always grateful to be a doctor in the service of my patients. It’s an especially good feeling when I’m able to help someone successfully return to a new life. You may already have heard of one such case, Allison. She got her life back — and then some.
Several years ago, Allison discovered that she was beginning to have trouble doing day-to-day things like pouring a cup of coffee. Later she started to drag her leg and other symptoms appeared. For example, she could no longer use a computer. This was especially concerning to her because she had a young daughter, Emma. After seeing several doctors and discovering she had Parkinson’s disease, she was referred to me.
I’m glad to report to you that today, Allison is thriving. She is living a full, good life. In fact, by 2016, two years after first seeing me, she became a contestant on the television show American Ninja Warrior! Of course, I can’t take all the credit. Allison studiously followed our care plan, which included my advice to engage in physical activity and to fully embrace the possibility of improvement. I also encouraged her to speak about her experiences, which has offered a lot of hope to others with Parkinson’s.
At the Parkinson’s Disease Center and Movement Disorders Clinic, we see many patients like Allison. You, a family member or friend may even understand firsthand. One of the things that contributes to our success is that so many of you have been willing to make donations. Your funds go directly into research and education. This allows me and my team to investigate new therapies to treat patients and to train a new generation of care providers.
- This year was particularly productive at the PDCMDC as reflected in a growing number of peer-reviewed publications. Indeed, I was honored to have been recently selected among the top 0.01% of 7 million scientists from around the world based on my publications. This is a critically important validation of the impact my published articles have had on research related to Parkinson’s disease and other movement disorders, which eventually translates into improved quality of life for our patients.
- I am also pleased to announce that our designations of Center of Excellence for the Parkinson’s Foundation and the Tourette Association of America have been renewed. This is another recognition of our continued success in research, patient care and education.
Sincerely,
Joseph Jankovic, M.D.
According to a recent report, charitable giving by Americans has never been more generous! Over the past four decades the Parkinson’s Disease Center and Movement Disorders Clinic has benefitted from the generosity of our patients and friends. Without such support we would not have achieved the pre-eminent status as one of the most accomplished clinical, research, and educational centers in the world. With a robust database of over 32,000 patients and 36,000 diagnoses and a long history of important contributions to research and education, the PDCMDC has been recognized as a "Center of Excellence" by the Parkinson’s Foundation, Huntington Disease Society of America, Tourette Association of America, and the Wilson Disease Association. We currently have five movement disorders fellows, all of whom are graduates of the Baylor Neurology Residency Program, testifying to the high regard for the PDCMDC training program among our residents. In addition, we have recruited our first “translational research” fellow, partly supported by the prestigious Parkinson Study Group/Parkinson Foundation Mentored Clinical Research Award. However, in order to continue on this path of success and productivity we need over $500,000 annually to fund our Movement Disorders Fellowship Training Program!
During the next few weeks we will be actively recruiting new faculty to help us continue delivering the most expert care using cutting-edge medical and surgical treatments and to advance our experimental therapeutic program. In November 2018 we will be hosting in Houston the 25th Annual Meeting of the Huntington Study Group. We will also have a site visit from the Parkinson’s Foundation during which time we will have an opportunity to showcase our center.
Joseph Jankovic, M.D.
- During the past year Dr. Jankovic was invited to participate at national and international meetings on research conducted by the PDCMDC team, including lectures at the First International Tremor Congress sponsored by Columbia University and presentations in Europe and Asia related to Parkinson’s disease, dystonia, Huntington disease, and Tourette syndrome.
- His contributions to the field of therapeutic neurotoxins, such as BOTOX, over the past 35 years will be recognized by a Lifetime Achievement Award, presented by the International Neurotoxin Association in Copenhagen, Denmark.
- Dr. Jankovic has published over 1,200 peer-reviewed articles and 55 books and is currently working on three books.
Joohi Jimenez-Shahed, M.D.
- Dr. Jimenez-Shahed has been promoted to associate professor of neurology.
- She is the recipient of a research grant from the Michael J. Fox Foundation to serve as the co-principle investigator of a nation-wide registry of Parkinson’s patients undergoing deep brain stimulation.
- Dr. Jimenez-Shahed was recognized by the American Academy of Neurology for completing a “women in Neurology” leadership program.
- In the past year, Dr. Jimenez-Shahed has been invited to lecture nationally and internationally on topics related to DBS and Tourette syndrome.
Joshua M. Shulman, M.D., Ph.D.
- In collaboration with the International Parkinson’s Disease Genomics, Dr. Shulman participated in the largest ever genetic study of Parkinson’s disease risk factors, identifying 92 genetic variants. The study examined genetic samples from more than 1 million subjects, including many contributed by PDCMDC.
Arjun Tarakad, M.D.
- Over the past year, Dr. Tarakad has participated in patient outreach and educational programs including lectures for the Houston Area Parkinson’s Society (HAPS) and Help4HD (Huntington’s Disease).
- Dr. Tarakad has been appointed to Harris Health (the county health system) to provide specialized movement disorders care to Houston’s uninsured/underserved populations.
Christine B. Hunter, R.N., B.S.N.
- Christine Hunter serves on the task force for the Mentoring Program Committee of the Parkinson Foundation and on the executive board of Tourette Association of Texas.
- She also participates in the Parkinson Foundation: Women and PD Talk national forum held in Houston and hosted by the PDCMDC.
- She is working with the Parkinson Foundation to partner with the Edmond J. Safra Visiting Nurse Faculty Program to bring this program to the Houston area in the spring 2019.
The PDCMDC continues to be at the forefront of research into Parkinson’s disease and other neurodegenerative and movement disorders. Our focus is on the most compassionate and expert clinical care and research into genetics, experimental therapeutics and surgical treatments for movement disorders as well as training future experts and leaders in the field. Please consider a gift today to help advance our clinical, research and educational areas.
With warm appreciation,
Joseph Jankovic, M.D.
This year marks the 40th anniversary of the Parkinson’s Disease Center and Movement Disorders Clinic. To commemorate this important milestone, all fellows who have trained at the PDCMDC, many of whom have become internationally recognized leaders in the field, have been invited to contribute to a special commemorative book with their bios, photographs and reflections. We currently have four movement disorders fellows, all of whom are graduates of the Baylor Neurology Residency Program, testifying to the high regard for the PDCMDC training program among our residents. Indeed, I am delighted that Arjun Tarakad, M.D., an alumnus of our residency and fellowship program, just joined the PDCMDC faculty. To further enhance our patient care and other services, we also hired a nurse practitioner, Lisa Tian, N.P.
Nov. 15 has been designated National Philanthropy Day to promote and celebrate giving. As founder and director of the PDCMDC, this special day gives me an opportunity to express my deep gratitude to our patients for the privilege to participate in their care and to our generous donors and loyal supporters for their contributions to the PDCMDC’s research and educational endeavors. This annual letter also provides me an opportunity to highlight our accomplishments over the past year.
Joseph Jankovic, M.D.
- As president of the International Neurotoxin Association, Dr. Jankovic presided over the TOXINS 2017 conference in Madrid, Spain.
- Dr. Jankovic presented findings from the first immunotherapy trial for Parkinson’s disease at the 13th International Conference on Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Disease in Vienna, Austria, and at the 3rd Congress of the European Academy of Neurology in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
- He also was invited to lecture at the 3rd International Conference on Functional (Psychogenic) Neurological Disorders in Edinburgh, Scotland, as well as conferences in Vietnam, China and other locations.
- Dr. Jankovic received the 2017 Texas Neurological Society Lifetime Achievement Award.
Joohi Jimenez-Shahed, M.D.
- Dr. Jimenez-Shahed received the Fullbright & Jaworski LLP Faculty Excellence Award in Teaching and Evaluation, awarded to Baylor faculty who meet designated standards to receive recognition for their exemplary educational contributions to the College.
- She was named chair of the Medical Advisory Board of the Houston Area Parkinson Society.
- Dr. Jimenez-Shahed served as a course co-director for the “Texas Tourette Symposium: What Makes Them Tic?,” which provided continuing education credits for healthcare practitioners and practical information for patients and families living with Tourette syndrome.
- She was invited to lecture at the American Academy of Neurology, the 2017 Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) Think Tank and the 2017 DBS Leaders Forum.
- Through a national competition, Dr. Jimenez-Shahed was selected to participate in the year-long American Academy of Neurology Women Leading in Neurology Program.
Joshua M. Shulman, M.D., Ph.D.
- Dr. Shulman’s research team, in collaboration with the International Parkinson Disease Genomics Consortium, discovered several promising new Parkinson’s disease susceptibility genes related to the established risk factor, glucocerobrosidase. These results will be published in the prestigious journal, Brain.
- Dr. Shulman presented his research findings at the 2017 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Neurology in Boston, Massachusetts, the 13th International Conference on Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Disease in Vienna, and the National Institutes of Health (NIH)-sponsored symposium titled “Innovation in Parkinson’s Disease Target and Pathway Identification,” in Miami, Florida.
- Dr. Shulman also received grant support from the NIH for his complementary research on Alzheimer’s disease. His laboratory will integrate cutting-edge studies of human postmortem brain tissue with simple but powerful fruit fly models to pinpoint new Alzheimer’s drug targets.
Arjun Tarakad, M.D.
- Dr. Tarakad spoke at the annual symposium of the Houston Area Parkinson Society on the role of technology in Parkinson's disease.
Christine B. Hunter, R.N., B.S.N.
- Ms. Hunter serves as the coordinator representative on the executive committee of the Parkinson Study Group. She is developing a mentoring program for coordinators across the PSG sites.
- She also serves on the task force for the Mentoring Program Committee of the National Parkinson Foundation.
- She continues to serve on the executive board of the Tourette Association – Texas Chapter.
- Ms. Hunter was honored by HELP 4 HD International for her many years of helping families with Huntington’s disease.
I hope you agree that our brief recap of scholarly activities and other achievements over the past year show that the PDCMDC continues to be at the forefront of research into Parkinson’s disease and other neurodegenerative and movement disorders. Our focus is on the best clinical care and research into genetics, experimental therapeutics and surgical treatments for movement disorders as well as training future experts and leaders in the field. However, we need your generous support to advance our clinical, research and educational mission.
Finally, our thoughts are with those who have suffered hardships as a result of Harvey. The resilience shown by individuals and organizations in the storm’s aftermath has been most inspiring.
With warm appreciation,
Joseph Jankovic, M.D.
