Prof. Michael S. Okun University of Florida, USA

Michael S. Okun, MD, received his M.D. from the University of Florida where he graduated with Honors. Dr. Okun completed an internship and Neurology residency at the University of Florida. Following residency he was trained at Emory University, one of the world’s leading centers for movement disorders research. He was... read moretrained in both general movement disorders and in microelectrode recording/surgical treatments. He is currently a Professor of Neurology and Co-director of the Center for Movement Disorders and Neurorestoration at the University of Florida College of Medicine. He was instrumental in the construction of a one-stop patient-centered clinical-research experience for national and international patients seen at the University of Florida. Dr. Okun has been an advocate of this interdisciplinary care concept, and since his appointment as the National Medical Director for the National Parkinson Foundation in 2006, he has worked with the NPF centers to help foster the best possible environments for care, research and outreach in Parkinson’s disease. Dr. Okun has been supported by grants from the National Parkinson Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, the Smallwood Foundation, the Tourette Syndrome Association, the Parkinson Alliance, the UF Foundation, the Michael J. Fox Foundation, and he currently runs the online international “ask the doctor forum,” on the National Parkinson Foundation website. Dr. Okun has dedicated much of his career to helping in the development of care centers for people suffering with movement disorders, but has also has enjoyed a prolific research career exploring non-motor basal ganglia brain features. Dr. Okun has served on the boards of the Dystonia Medical Research Foundation and the Tourette Syndrome Association, and currently he is the Medical Advisor to Tyler’s Hope for a Dystonia Cure which is a locally grown but internationally known charity. Dr. Okun holds the Adelaide Lackner Professorship in Neurology and has published over 250 peer-reviewed articles. Dr. Okun directs the international movement disorders fellowship training program at UF, and he has been invited to teach in classrooms and operating rooms around the globe. He lives in Gainesville, FL with wife Leslie and his two children Jack and Gracie.