The Movement Disorders Division provides comprehensive care for movement disorders of all types. Our Department is designated as both a Parkinson’s Foundation Center of Excellence and a Huntington’s Disease Society of America Center of Excellence.

In addition to the General Movement Disorders Clinic, we have the following specialty clinics within our Division:

Ataxia Clinic: Evaluation and management of patients with ataxia. Director Annie Killoran.

Botulinum toxin Clinic: Treatment of patients with dystonia, spasticity and other movement disorders. Director Christopher Groth.

DBS Clinic: Evaluation of patients with movement disorders for possible placement of deep brain stimulator and continuing programming of DBS. Director Qiang (Johnson) Zhang.

DLB Clinic: Multi-disciplinary clinic for the evaluation and management of patient with Dementia with Lewy Bodies. Directors Georgina Aldridge and Qiang (Johnson) Zhang.

Huntington’s Disease Clinic: Multi-disciplinary clinic for the evaluation and management of patients with HD. HD Neurologist Annie Killoran. Director Peg Nopoulos.

In addition to clinical training, movement fellows will participate in a variety of educational experiences to foster skills in teaching, leadership, and academic involvement.

Weekly conferences

• Movement Disorders Case and Didactic Conference

Fellows will regularly work with rotating medical students, residents, and fellows from other medical disciplines.

We have multiple ongoing clinical trials and research projects spanning all aspects of Parkinson’s disease. Starting with Robert Rodnitzky, MD, the founder of our division, we have been a member of the Parkinson Study Group (PSG) and the Huntington Study Group (HSG) since their inception.

Our Division is also a member of the NeuroNEXT through the institution, Dystonia Coalition, and the research network of Parkinson’s Foundation. We have participated in key multicenter observational studies and clinical trials funded by the NIH, NeuroNEXT, Michael J. Fox Foundation, PCORI, and the industry. Our projects benefit from the extensive research infrastructure at the University of Iowa, including the Institute for Clinical and Translational Science, funded by a NIH CTSA program grant for several decades.

The Narayanan lab studies how Parkinson’s disease affects how brain circuits function and is funded by several NIH grants and philanthropy. This knowledge could lead to new targeted therapies for challenging aspects of Parkinson’s disease such as dementia and cognitive dysfunction. Dr. Narayanan’s lab also studies new exciting treatments that can slow the progression of Parkinson’s disease or prevent its onset. They have multiple ongoing clinical trials and research projects spanning all aspects of Parkinson’s disease.

The Uc lab has been studying cognition, driving, diagnostic biomarkers, and the role of exercise in Parkinson’s disease with funding from the Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Defense, NIH, and MJFF with extensive collaboration across the campus, including the National Advanced Driving Simulator (NADS).

Jeremy D. Greenlee, MD, our excellent DBS neurosurgeon, is a recent recipient of a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) and studies speech generation and effects of DBS with funding from the NIH.

Prashant A Natteru, MBBS

Hometown: Bengaluru, India
Medical School: K.S. Hegde Medical Academy
Residency: University of Mississippi Medical Center
Fellowship: Cleveland Clinic Foundation (Epilepsy)

Why Iowa

After having studied the connectome of the seizure network activation during my epilepsy fellowship, I was intrigued by the intricate connections of the subcortical regions, specifically the basal ganglia. Hence, the additional training in Movement Disorders.

University of Iowa Movement Disorders Program offers expertise in both hypokinetic and hyperkinetic movement disorders – be it the basic science, clinical trials or the clinical care. It trains the fellow in various procedural aspects of Movement disorders, Botulinum toxin injections, and Deep Brain Stimulation. Most importantly, for me, the USP of this fellowship has been the faculty who go above and beyond in taking an active role in the fellows’ education and career interests.