Directors
Michael Okun, M.D.
Co-Director, Norman Fixel Institute for Neurological Diseases
Chair of Neurology
– Movement Disorders Neurology
– Deep Brain Stimulation
More about Dr. Okun
Kelly Foote, M.D.
Co-Director, Norman Fixel Institute for Neurological Diseases
Professor of Neurosurgery
– Movement Disorders Neurosurgery
– Deep Brain Stimulation
More about Dr. Foote
Aparna Wagle Shukla, M.D.
Professor, Department of Neurology
Director of Clinical Trials
– Movement Disorders
– Electrophysiology
More about Dr. Wagle Shukla
Nikolaus McFarland, M.D., Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Neurology
Wright/Falls/Simmons Professor of PSP/Atypical Parkinson’s
Director, UF HDSA Center of Excellence
– Atypical Parkinsonisms
– Huntington’s Disease
More about Dr. McFarland
Adolfo Ramirez-Zamora, MD
Associate Professor, Neurology
Chief, Movement Disorders Division
– Clinical Trials
– Deep Brain Stimulation
Irene Malaty, M.D.
Professor of Neurology
Medical Director, NPF Center of Excellence
– Parkinson Disease
– Tourette Syndrome
More about Dr. Malaty
A.J. Yarbrough, MBA, CPC
Director
Department of Neurology
– Health Administration
– Movement Disorders
More about A.J.
Melissa Himes, BA
Clinical ACU Manager
Norman Fixel Institute for Neurological Diseases
– Health Administration
– Movement Disorders
More about Melissa
Julie Segura, BA
Assistant Director of Clinical Trials
Department of Neurology
– Clinical Trials
– Movement Disorders
More about Julie
Faculty & Fellows
Leonardo Almeida, M.D.
Assistant Professor
UF Center for Movement Disorders & Neurorestoration
– Movement Disorders Neurology
– Deep Brain Stimulation
More about Dr. Almeida
Melissa J. Armstrong, M.D., MSc, FAAN
Associate Professor
Director, Mangurian Clinical-Research Center for Lewy Body & Parkinson’s Disease Dementia
– Lewy Body Disease
– PD Dementia
More about Dr. Armstrong
Russell Bauer, PhD, ABPP
Professor
Department of Clinical & Health Psychology
– Alzheimer’s Disease
– Neuropyschology
Matt Beke, RDN, LDN
Clinical Dietitian
Food Science and Human Nutrition
– Nutrition
– Movement Disorders
Frank Bova, Ph.D., F.A.C.R., F.A.A.P.M.
Professor & Staff Physicist
Neurosurgery, Nuclear Engineering
– Stereotactic radiosurgery
– Computer guided neurosurgery
More about Dr. Bova
Dawn Bowers, Ph.D.
Professor, Clinical & Health Psychology, Neurology
Director, Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory
– Emotional Disorders
– Neuropsychology
More about Dr. Bowers
Matt Burns, MD, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Department of Neurology
– Ataxia
– Dementias
More about Dr. Burns
Chris Butson, Ph.D.
Professor Of Neurology And The Fixel Endowed Chair Of Neurotherapeutics
– Neurothreapeutics
– Neuroimaging
More about Dr. Butson
Evangelos Christou, Ph.D.
Professor
Applied Physiology and Kinesiology
– Neural Control of Movement
– Aging
More about Dr. Christou
Shannon Chiu, M.D.
Assistant Professor
Neurology, Movement Disorders
– Deep Brain Stimulation
– Lewy Body Dementia
More about Dr. Chiu
Linda Cottler, Ph.D., MPH
Chair, Department of Epidemiology
Dean’s Professor of Epidemiology
Professor, Department of Psychiatry
– Parkinson Disease
– Healthcare improvement
More about Dr. Cottler
Paul Davenport, Ph.D.
Distinguished Professor
Department of Physiological Sciences
– Respiration
– Neurological disease
More about Dr. Davenport
Coralie de Hempttine, MS, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Department of Neurology
– Deep brain stimulation
– Neurotechnology
More about Dr. de Hemptinne
Matthew Farrer, Ph.D.
Lauren and Lee Fixel Chair in Parkinson’s Disease
Professor of Neurology
Director, Clinical Genomics Program,
UF Clinical and Translational Science Institute
– Genetics
– Parkinson disease
More about Dr. Farrer
Marcelo Febo, Ph.D.
Associate Professor; Departments of Psychiatry and Neuroscience
Director of Translational Research Imaging
– Brain Imaging
– Translational Neuroscience
More about Dr. Febo
Benoit Giasson, Ph.D.
Associate Professor; Neuroscience
Investigator, CTRND and McKnight Brain Institute
– Parkinson Disease
– Alpha-Synuclein
More about Dr. Giasson
Aysegul Gunduz, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Biomedical Engineering
– Neurorehabilitation
– Electrocorticographic signals
More about Dr. Gunduz
Chris Hass, Ph.D.
Professor & Graduate Coordinator
Applied Physiology and Kinesiology
– PD Disease Progression
– Locomotion and Balance
More about Dr. Hass

Shelley Heaton, PhD
Clinical Associate Professor
Co-Director of the Pediatric Brain Injury Programs
– Tourette Syndrome
– Neuropsychology
Nicole Herndon, M.S., CCC-SLP
Speech-Language Pathologist
– Speech treatments
– Swallow treatments
Christopher Hess, M.D.
Director, Veterans Administration Parkinson’s Disease Consortium Center
North Florida/South Georgia VA Medical Center
Assistant Professor in Neurology
– Movement Disorders
– Neuroimaging
More about Dr. Hess
Justin Hilliard, M.D.
Assistant Professor in Neurosurgery
– Deep Brain Stimulation
– Movement Disorders
Wei Hu, M.D., Ph.D.
Director, UF Health International Center
Assistant Professor in Neurology
– Telemedicine
– Neuromodulation Research
More about Dr. Hu
Jack Judy, Ph.D.
Professor
Director of the Nanoscience Institute for Medical and Engineering Technologies
– Nanoscale devices
– Biomedical applications
More about Dr. Judy
Alison Kraus, PT, DPT, NCS
Physical Therapist
– Movement Disorders
– Exercise
More about Dr. Kraus
Matthew J LaVoie, PhD
Fixel Family Chair of Neurology and Neuroscience
Co-Director, Center for Translational Research in Neurodegenerative Disease
Associate Chair for Research, Department of Neurology
– Parkinson Disease Genetics
– Movement Disorders Research
More about Dr. LaVoie
Yuqing Li, Ph.D.
Professor
Tyler’s Hope Center for Dystonia Research
– Translational Neuroscience
– Dystonia
More about Dr. Li
Kevin J. Otto, PhD
Biomedical Engineering
– Neural Engineering
– Deep Brain Stimulation
More about Dr. Otto
Bhavana Patel, M.D.
Department of Neurology
– Movement Disorders
– Deep Brain Stimulation
More about Dr. Patel
Addie Patterson, D.O.
Department of Neurology
– Movement Disorders
– Deep Brain Stimulation
More about Dr. Patterson
Catherine Price, PhD
Clinical and Health Psychology, Anesthesiology
– Parkinsonisms
– Dementia
More about Dr. Price
Jose Principe, PhD
BellSouth Professor
Director of Computational NeuroEngineering Laboratory
– Digital Signal Processing
– Brain Machine Interfaces
More about Dr. Principe
Laura Ranum, PhD
Professor, Director of Center for NeuroGenetics
Department of Molecular Genetics & Microbiology
– Genetics
– Ataxia
More about Dr. Ranum
Ashley Rawls, MD
Assistant Professor, Movement Disorders
– Movement Disorders
– Tics
More about Dr. Rawls
Steven Robicsek, MD, PhD
Professor of Anesthesiology
Director, Neuroanesthesiology Fellowship
– Neuroanesthesiology
– Medical Education
More about Dr. Robicsek
Carley Rusch, MS, RDN, LDN
Clinical Dietitian
Food Science and Human Nutrition
– Nutrition
– Movement Disorders
More about Carley
Markus Santoso, PhD
Assistant Professor
Digital Worlds Institute
– Virtual and Mixed Reality
– Exercise Science
More about Dr. Santoso
Heather Simpson, OTD, MOT, OTR/L
Occupational Therapist
Shands Rehab
– Tourette Syndrome
– Parkinson’s Disease
More about Heather
S. H. Subramony, MD
Professor, Department of Neurology
– Ataxia
– Neuromuscular Disease
More about Dr. Subramony
Malú Gámez Tansey, Ph.D.
Norman and Susan Fixel Chair in Parkinson’s Disease
Professor of Neuroscience and Neurology
Co-Director, Center for Translational Research in Neurodegenerative Disease
– Parkinson Disease
– Neuroscience
More about Dr. Tansey
Nicole Tester, PhD, MOT, OTR/L
Occupational Therapist
UF Health Rehab
– Movement Disorders
– Multiple Sclerosis
More about Dr. Tester
David Vaillancourt, PhD
Professor and Chair
Departments of Applied Physiology & Kinesiology (Neurology, Biomedical Engineering)
– Imaging Techniques
– PD Progression
More about Dr. Vaillancourt
Vinata Vedam-Mai, PhD
Research Assistant Professor
Department of Neurosurgery
– Deep Brain Stimulation
– Immunotherapy
More about Dr. Vedam-Mai
Baba C. Vemuri, PhD
Professor, Computer and Information Science and Engineering
Director, Center for Vision Graphics and Medical Imaging
– Medical Imaging
– Computer Vision
More about Dr. Vemuri
Herbert Ward, MD
Associate Professor of Psychiatry
– PD Depression
– Deep Brain Stimulation
More about Dr. Ward
Lisa Warren, MHS, OTR/L
Site Manager
UF Health Rehab at Fixel Institute for Neurological Diseases
– Movement Disorders
– Occupational Therapy
More about Lisa
Karen Wheeler Hegland, PhD
Associate Professor
Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences
– Speech
– Swallowing problems
More about Dr. Hegland
Keith White, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Psychology, Opthamology, MBI
– Brain Imaging
– Psychology
More about Dr. White