Director's Message
Welcome to the Parkinson’s Disease & Movement Disorders Center (PD&MDC) website. Our organization is recognized as a Center of Excellence by the Parkinson’s Foundation, Huntington’s Disease Society of America and Wilson Disease Association. Our program leverages Northwestern Medicine's advanced clinical resources and premier research in movement disorders at Northwestern’s Chicago campus. The mission of our center is to achieve excellence in patient care, education and research.
Conducting Collaborative Research
The PD&MDC is a thriving clinical research program that benefits from rich interdepartmental collaborations between clinicians and basic scientists. The focus of our research is the development of translational projects that take basic science discoveries from the lab to clinical trials and ultimately benefit patients with a variety of different movement disorders.
The scope of our research projects is broad and includes studies that seek to develop and validate:
- Novel symptomatic and disease modifying options for PD and other movement disorders
- Biomarkers of disease progression
- Advanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques for early diagnosis
- The role of exercise and other non-pharmacological interventions in the management of PD and other movement disorders
- Novel surgical approaches for management of movement disorders
We also collaborate with the Simpson Querrey Center for Neurogenetics. Led by Dimitri Krainc, MD, PhD, the center studies the molecular basis of rare lysosomal diseases to better understand neurodegeneration, identify molecular targets and ultimately develop new therapies for both rare and common neurodegenerative diseases, including Parkinson’s and Huntington’s.
Educating Future Leaders
We are committed to training the next generation of skilled physician-scientists in the field of movement disorders and consider this an essential part of our mission to advance the field and care. Our fellows have gone on to academic clinical research positions in different parts of the country. In addition, we offer regular educational programs for physicians and allied healthcare professionals as well as mini fellowships for clinical pharmacists and nurse educators in advanced management of movement disorders.
Providing Information & Care
Our center prides itself on extensive community education and outreach programs that include patient and caregiver support groups, seminars and annual symposiums. The Feinberg-affiliated clinic seeks to meet the many needs of the 2,500 patients and families who work with the clinic every year, including medical and surgical care, physical therapy and exercise programs, occupational therapy, education and support groups, counseling, caregiver support, access to community services, voice and swallowing therapies, nutritional recommendations and complementary practices such as yoga, massage and acupuncture.
Through our research and educational efforts here at Feinberg, and our affiliated Parkinson's Disease & Movement Disorders clinic, we continually strive to fulfill our mission.
We welcome inquiries and potential collaborations. Please contact us for more information.
Tanya Simuni, MD
Director, Parkinson's Disease & Movement Disorders Center
Chief of Movement Disorders in the Department of Neurology
Arthur C. Nielsen, Jr., Research Professor of Parkinson's Disease & Movement Disorders