Imaging, Technology, and Parkinson’s Disease

Abstract

Nora Vanegas Dr Vanegas is a neurologist who specializes in deep brain stimulation (DBS) and the treatment of movement disorders including Parkinson’s disease, dystonia, and essential tremor. Dr Vanegas completed her combined clinical-research fellowship at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) under the mentorship of Dr Mark Hallett. Her training had a special focus on neuroimaging and neuromodulation. She transitioned to being an Assistant Professor of Neurology in Columbia University in 2016, and is now an established local expert in neuromodulation for movement disorders. Dr Vanegas is also a clinical investigator whose research involves clinical and translational areas of movement disorders, specifically the use of brain imaging for the understanding of DBS and the physiology of the basal ganglia. As part of multi-disciplinary research activities, Dr Vanegas has developed strong collaborations for various projects with the departments of Biomedical Engineering, Speech Pathology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry at Columbia University. Such collaborative research activities include the use of instrumented assessments to measure gait characteristics in patients with Parkinson’s disease, the benefits of various airway protection interventions in patients with Parkinson’s disease who aspirate with food and the activity of brain neurons during decision making tasks.