Christopher Goetz, MD, is director of the Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorders Program at Rush. He is one of the nation's leading experts on movement disorders, having published more than 400 papers in the field.

A professor of neurological sciences and pharmacology, Goetz is actively involved with the American Academy of Neurology, the American Neurological Association and the Movement Disorder Society. He is co-editor in chief of the journal Movement Disorders and the editor of Textbook of Clinical Neurology. His primary research interests are behavioral disorders related to Parkinson's disease and other movement disorders, scale development and testing, and neurological history of the 19th century.

Goetz leads one of the world's largest group of experts dedicated to movement disorders. Each member of the group focuses on a specific area of interest, whether it be women's health issues, surgical approaches to disease or how disease affects patients while they are sleeping.

Brandon Barton, MD, is assistant professor of neurological sciences at Rush University Medical Center. He received his medical degree from the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee and his internship and neurology residency, followed by a two-year fellowship in movement disorders at Rush University Medical Center. He splits his time between the Movement Disorders section at Rush University Medical Center and the Veterans Administration. Barton's research interests are in clinical trials in movement disorders, and in behavioral changes in Parkinson's disease, particularly impulse control disorders.  

Cynthia L. Comella, MD, is a professor of neurological sciences and obtained her medical degree from the University of Cincinnati Medical College. She completed her residency in neurology and fellowships in movement and sleep disorders at Rush University. She is board-certified in neurology and psychiatry and is a diplomate of the American Board of Sleep Medicine. Her clinical research focuses on dystonia, Parkinson's disease and sleep-related movement disorders. She is the chairman of the Dystonia Study Group and serves on leadership committees in the Movement Disorders Society, American Academy of Neurology and Parkinson Study Group. Additionally, she is on the editorial board of Sleep Medicine, Continuum, and Clinical Neuropharmacology.

Jennifer Goldman, MD, is an assistant professor in the Department of Neurological Sciences, Section of Movement Disorders at Rush University Medical Center. Goldman graduated from Princeton University, magna cum laude, with degrees in psychology and music performance. She obtained her MD from Northwestern University Medical School and completed her neurology residency training at Washington University in St. Louis. She came to Rush in 2002 for her movement disorders fellowship and subsequently joined the faculty in 2004. Goldman obtained her Master of Science degree in clinical research from Rush in 2009. As a movement disorder specialist, Goldman treats patients with Parkinson's disease, other parkinsonian syndromes, dementia with Lewy bodies, tremor, dystonia, and ataxia. Her research focuses on cognitive and neuropsychiatric features of Parkinson's disease and dementia with Lewy bodies. She has received a NIH K23 career development award to investigate cognitive dysfunction in Parkinson's disease using neuroimaging techniques and clinical measures 

Deborah Hall, MD, PhD, is an assistant professor in Department of Neurological Sciences, Section of Movement Disorders at Rush University Medical Center. She was awarded her MD at Indiana University and completed her internship, neurology residency and movement disorders fellowship at University of Colorado. She is the recipient of an NIH K23 career development award to investigate the prevalence of FMR1 repeat expansions in various movement disorders. Her research interests are in Fragile X tremor ataxia syndrome and in clinical aspects of movement disorders.

Katie Kompoliti, MD, is associate professor, Department of Neurological Sciences, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois. Kompoliti earned her medical degree from the University of Patras, School of Health Sciences, Greece, and completed a residency in neurology at Northwestern University in Chicago. She held a fellowship in movement disorders at Rush University Medical Center.

The author and coauthor of numerous publications, her clinical interests as a principal investigator have focused on several therapeutic areas of ongoing research, including studies to evaluate the safety and efficacy of new compounds to treat Parkinson's disease and Tourette syndrome. Her special interests include the gender differences in Parkinson's disease and other movement disorders. Kompoliti is a member of the National Medical Advisory Board of the Tourette Syndrome Association and has given numerous lectures and grand rounds around the country to increase public awareness in Tourette syndrome. She has a special interest in studies to define the effect of neuroleptics on weight, risk for diabetes and dyslipidemia in patients with Tourette, investigate new treatments for Tourette syndrome and define the current status of use of complementary and alternative medicine in patients with Tourette. Kompoliti has been conducting studies to assess therapeutic interventions for patients with functional movement disorders.

Kathleen M. Shannon, MD, is an associate professor of neurology at Rush University Medical Center. She received her MD from Rush Medical College and completed her medicine internship, neurology residency and movement disorders fellowship at Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center, which is now Rush University Medical Center. Shannon's clinical practice focuses on Parkinson disease, Huntington's disease, dystonia and other movement disorders. Her research interest is experimental therapeutics in movement disorders. She is the director of the Huntington's Disease Society of America Center of Excellence at Rush University Medical Center.

Leo Verhagen, MD, PhD, is a board-certified neurologist, an associate professor at Rush Medical College, and medical director of the Rush Movement Disorder Surgery Program. He specializes in the medical and surgical management of patients with Parkinson's disease and other movement disorders such as essential tremor and dystonia.

Verhagen earned his medical degrees from the University of Leiden in the Netherlands in 1983. He completed a fellowship with the Division of Restorative Neurology and Human Neurobiology at Baylor College of Medicine in Texas and a neurology residency at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia. Upon completion in 1992, he accepted a fellowship at the National Institutes of Health, in the Experimental Therapeutics Branch of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, where his main focus was on pharmacological studies of motor response complications in Parkinson's disease. In 1999, he joined the Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorder Section of the Department of Neurological Sciences at Rush University Medical Center, one of the largest movements disorders centers in the United States, to work with his colleagues on better treatment for Parkinson disease and other movement disorders. In 2002, Verhagen earned his doctorate from the University of Leiden based on his studies of motor response complications in Parkinson's disease.

Fellows: Houman Homayoun, MD, Sheila Rane, MD, and Christina Vaughn, MD

Neuropsychologists

• Bryan Bernard, PhD
• Glenn T. Stebbins, PhD

Statistics Faculty: Bichun Ouyang, PhD

In addition to the movement disorder neurologists and the laboratory researchers devoted to Parkinson's disease and related disorders, the clinical team also includes:

Theresa Towle, NP, certified nurse practioner, who works primarily in our surgery program and with patients undergoing deep brain stimulation to adjust their machinery and monitor their function after surgery in conjunction with Verhagen.

Specialized nurses who serve as patient resources for clinical trials, family and patient support, and education.

• Jean A. Jaglin, RN
• Georgian Folino, RN
• Lucy Blasucci, RN

Administrative, clinic and support staff dedicated to the comfort and care of patients and families.

• Teresa A. Chmura, BS (education, research and video-monitoring)
• Bernadette Gillard (disability forms)  
• Cathy Negrete (patient care and support) 
• Alyce Negron (patient care and support)
• Marilynn Payton (special needs programs) 
• Evelyn Perez (medical assistant)
• Adriana Sanchez (patient care and support)
• Sara St. John (patient care and support)
• Tracy Waliczek (patient care and video monitoring)