Faculty

Rajesh Pahwa, M.D., is the Laverne and Joyce Rider Professor of  Neurology, Chief of the Parkinson's and Movement Disorder Division and  Director of Parkinson Foundation Center of Excellence at the University  of Kansas Medical Center. 
Dr. Pahwa received his M.B.B.S. (M.D.)  degree at Seth G.S. Medical College, University of Bombay, India. He  completed an internship in medicine at Baylor College of Medicine  followed by a residency in Neurology at Baylor College of Medicine,  Houston, Texas. He then completed a one-year fellowship in movement  disorders at the University of Kansas Medical Center. Dr. Pahwa joined  the faculty of the Department of Neurology as an Instructor in 1992 and  is currently a Professor of Neurology. He is a Diplomate of the American  Board of Psychiatry and Neurology.

In 2005, Dr. Pahwa was named the inaugural recipient of the Laverne  and Joyce Rider Professorship. This professorship is named for the late  Joyce Rider, a longtime Kansas City, Mo., resident, and for her mother,  Laverne Stapp Rider, who battled Parkinson's disease for many years.  Joyce Rider, who died in 2004, bequeathed financial support for the  professorship to the University of Kansas Endowment Association.

Dr. Pahwa's research interests are centered around the various  aspects of Parkinson's disease and essential tremor. He is currently  involved in studies related to medical and surgical forms of therapies  for Parkinson's disease and essential tremor. Dr. Pahwa has published  more than 250 peer-reviewed articles, chapters and abstracts in leading  neurology and movement disorder journals. He has conducted more than 75  clinical trials related to Parkinson's disease and other movement  disorders. He is the co-editor of "Handbook of Parkinson's Disease," 3rd  and 4th editions; "Therapy of Parkinson's Disease," 3rd edition; and  "Handbook of Essential Tremor and other Tremor Disorders." He is  co-author of the book "Parkinson's Disease: Questions and Answers," 4th  edition.

The Movement Disorders Clinic, directed by Dr. Pahwa, offers  diagnostic and treatment services for persons with Parkinson's disease  and related disorders such as progressive supranuclear palsy and  multiple system atrophy as well as tremor disorders, primary essential  tremor.

DISCLOSURES: 

Dr. Pahwa serves as a consultant for Abbott, AbbVie, ACADIA, Acorda, Adamas, Amneal, CalaHealth, Global Kinetics, Impel, Neuropharma, Kyowa, Lundbeck, Mitsubishi, Neurocrine, Orbis Bioscience, PhotoPharmics, Prilenia, Sunovion, Teva Neuroscience and US World Meds. He receives research support from Abbott, AbbVie, Addex, Biogen, Biohaven, Boston Scientific, EIP, Global Kinetics, Impax, Intec, Lilly, Neuroderm, Neuraly, Parkinson’s Foundation, Pharma 2B, Prelinia, Roche, SIS, Sun Pharma, Sunovion, Theranexus, Theravance, US WorldMeds and Voyager.

 Stuart H. Isaacson MD, directs the Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders Center of Boca Raton, a nationally recognized leading clinical research institution that brings community access to phase 2 and phase 3 FDA-regulated clinical research trials testing new treatments for improving the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease and trying to slow its progression. 

Dr. Isaacson is the Medical Director of the Parkinson’s Research and Education Foundation, a nonprofit whose mission is to support research initiatives, educational and wellness programs, support groups and social services as well as outreach for Parkinson’s disease patients and their caregivers. Their research focus is developing new medications that halt the progression of PD and serve to treat its symptoms. 

Dr. Isaacson, is Associate Professor of Neurology at the Florida International University Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine in Miami, Florida, and Director of the Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorders Center of Boca Raton in Florida, a nationally recognized center for the evaluation, care, and clinical research for patients with these disorders. 

The development of new treatments for Parkinson's disease and other movement disorders, including essential tremor, dystonia, restless legs syndrome, Huntington's disease, and atypical forms of parkinsonism, has long been the research focus of Dr. Isaacson. He has been involved in over 75 clinical trials and has served on national and international committees for many drug developments programs and trials, as well as for the Parkinson Study Group and the movement disorders section of the American Academy of Neurology. Dr. Isaacson has authored or coauthored nearly 100 abstracts, journal articles, and book chapters. He lectures frequently and has presented abstracts at national and international scientific meetings and patient symposiums, and has trained numerous physicians in the injection of botulinum toxins. Dr. Isaacson has worked closely with national foundations, including the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research. He is a member of the American Academy of Neurology and the Movement Disorders Society, among others, and has been recognized in Best Doctors in America, America's Top Physicians, and Florida SuperDoctors.

Dr. Isaacson also runs a private neurology practice in the Boca Raton area and is a fellow of the National Institute of Health.

DISCLOSURES:

Dr. Isaacson serves as a consultant, speaker’s bureau member and receives research support from: Abbvie, Acadia, Acorda, Adamas, Addex, Allergan, Amarantus, Axovant, Benevolent, Biogen, Britannia, Cerecor, Eli Lilly, Enterin, GE Healthcare, Global Kinetics, Impax, Intec Pharma, Ipsen, Jazz, Kyowa, Lundbeck, Michael J. Fox Foundation, Neurocrine, Neuroderm, Parkinson Study Group, Pharma2B, Roche, Sanofi, Sunovion, Teva, Theravance, UCB, US World Meds, and Zambon.

 Daniel Kremens, MD, JD, is an Assistant Professor of Neurology and Co-Director of the Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorders Center at Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia. Dr.  Kremens graduated from Columbia College, summa cum laude, and was  elected to Phi Beta Kappa. He next graduated from Columbia Law School  and practiced complex corporate litigation law at major law firms in New  York City for seven years. Dr. Kremens then returned to medical school  and graduated from Jefferson Medical College where he was elected to  Alpha Omega Alpha and won the William F. Kellow Prize and The Arthur  Krieger Memorial Prize in Neurology. He completed his residency in  Neurology followed by a fellowship in Movement Disorders at The Hospital  of the University of Pennsylvania.
 

Dr Kremens is a diplomat of the American Board of Psychiatry and  Neurology and a member of the Movement Disorder Society. His academic  interests include neuroprotection and Parkinsons disease and non-motor  symptoms in Parkinsons disease. He also is actively involved in medical  education and serves as the Clerkship Director in the Department of  Neurology at Jefferson Medical College. 

DISCLOSURES:

  Dr. Kremens serves as a consultant Abbott, AbbVie, ACADIA, Acorda, Adamas, Allergan, Amneal, GE Healthcare, Kyowa Kirin, Lundbeck, Merz, Neurocrine, Sunovion, Teva, UCB, and US WorldMeds. He has received research support from Acorda, Enterin and Revance. 

  Mark F. Lew, MD, is a Professor of Neurology at  

Keck Hospital of the University of Southern California. Dr. Lew has an international reputation for the treatment of patients  with Parkinson's disease, dystonia, and other movement disorders. He is a  board certified neurologist and a fellow of the American Academy of  Neurology. Dr. Lew is the director of the Division of Movement Disorders  and serves as the vice chairman of the Department of Neurology. He has lectured extensively in the United States and abroad on clinical  research related to new therapies for Parkinson's disease and dystonia. Dr. Lew also collaborates closely with local and national advocacy organizations (e.g., the Hollyrod Foundation and the National  Parkinson's Foundation) to increase public awareness and to support  research and care.  

DISCLOSURES:

Dr. Lew serves as a consultant for US World Meds, Lundbeck, Abbvie, Adamas, Cynapsus, Revance, Acadia, Neurocrine, Acorda.  He receives research support from Michael J. Fox Foundation, Pharm2B, Cala Labs, Sun Pharma, Aptinyx Inc., Neuraly. Is on the speaker's Bureau for  

Adamas, Acadia, Neurocrine , Acorda, Cynapsus.

Dr. Jerry Vitek is the Head of the Neurology Department, Director of the Neuromodulation Research Program, and Center Director of the University of Minnesota Udall Center of Excellence for Parkinson's Research.  He previously served as the Neuromodulation Research Center Director at  the Lerner Research Institute of the Cleveland Clinic Foundation  developing functional surgery and deep brain stimulation (DBS)  techniques for the treatment of neurological disease. Dr. Vitek has also  held faculty positions at Emory University and The Johns Hopkins  University, where he assisted in the development of the functional  neurosurgery programs and conducted research on the pathophysiology of  movement disorders and mechanism(s) underlying the beneficial effects of  DBS.

He is currently the PI on several NIH-, foundation- and  industry-funded grants, which include both non-human primate and human  clinical studies on the neurophysiology of movement disorders and  neuromodulation mechanisms. Dr. Vitek is also the PI for an  industry-sponsored multicenter phase III pivotal clinical trial to  investigate the safety and efficacy of a new neuromodulation device for  the purposes of an FDA PMA submission. Many of his research projects  involve close collaboration with other neurologists, neuroscientists,  neurosurgeons, radiologists, and/or biomedical engineers. Much of this  work has provided new insight into the neurophysiology of movement  disorders and the therapeutic mechanisms of DBS and contributed to  improvements in DBS surgery and treatment as well as the application of  DBS to other neurological disorders.

DISCLOSURES:

Dr. Robert Hauser is Professor of Neurology at the University of South Florida College of Medicine, in Tampa, Florida. He serves as Director of the USF Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorders Center, a Parkinson Foundation Center of Excellence. Dr. Hauser earned a medical degree from Temple University School of Medicine, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and completed neurology training at the Eastern Virginia Graduate School of Medicine, in Norfolk, Virginia. Dr. Hauser completed a fellowship in Movement Disorders at the University of South Florida and became Center Director in 1994. Dr. Hauser has authored or co-authored more than 300 peer-reviewed publications and is one of the world’s most cited Parkinson’s Disease investigators. He is Past Chairman of the Interventional Neurology Section of the American Academy of Neurology, has served on the executive committee of the Parkinson Study Group, and was a member of the steering committee for the NIH sponsored Neuroprotective Exploratory Trials in Parkinson's Disease program (NET-PD). Dr. Hauser lectures frequently at scientific meetings and served as Chairman of the 2009 World Federation of Neurology International Congress on Parkinson’s Disease and Related Disorders. He has extensive expertise in clinical trial design and execution. Outcome measures that he developed have become the gold standard for use in clinical trials. He maintains an active patient practice and has been voted a Top Doctor by his peers every year since 1993. His primary research interest is the development of new medical and surgical treatments for Parkinson's disease and other movement disorders. 

DISCLOSURES:

Dr. Hauser is a consultant for Treva Pharmaceuticals, UCN, Sunovion, 

Amneal, Lundbeck, Acadia, US World Meds, Adamas. Consults for Abbvie, Merz, Allergan, Acorda, Kyowa Kirin, Neorcrine, GE Healthcare, and St. Jude Medical. He receives resarch funding from Acorda, Enterin, Revance.