Dr. David Standaert joined our department on July 1, 2006, from the Department of Neurology at Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School as the John and Juanelle Strain Professor of Neurology and Director of the newly established Center for Neurodegeneration and Experimental Therapeutics and the Division of Movement Disorders. Dr. Standaert is an internationally renowned physician scientist whose work focuses on understanding the causes of Parkinson’s Disease and other Movement Disorders with the goal of developing new treatments. He is also an outstanding Movement Disorder Neurologist and he will have a subspecialty practice in UAB’s Kirklin Clinic.

Dr. Standaert brings a very distinguished academic background…Honors graduate of Harvard College, graduate of the Washington University School of Medicine Medical Scientist Training Program with an MD/PhD in Pharmacology, graduate of the University of Pennsylvania Neurology Residency Program, and graduate of a research and clinical Fellowship in Movement Disorders at Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School before joining the faculty there.

As Director of the American Parkinson Disease Association Advanced Center for Parkinson Research at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), his laboratory was working on understanding both the root causes of Parkinson’s disease as well as origin of disabling symptoms appearing after long-term treatment of the disease. He also saw patients in the Parkinson Disease and Movement Disorders Clinic at MGH. Similarly, Dr. Standaert will be continuing with his research and seeing patients with movement disorders at UAB.