David Charles, M.D. Dr. Charles is Chief Medical Officer of the Vanderbilt Neuroscience Institute and Director of Telemedicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
His research interests include the treatment of spasticity and cervical dystonia and he is currently leading the only clinical trial approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration to test deep brain stimulation in people with early stage Parkinson's disease. Dr. Charles also serves as Professor of Neurology, Vice-Chairman for Education of Neurology, Director of the Movement Disorders Clinic, and is an attending physician at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
Dr. Charles is a member of the American Neurological Association, Fellow of the American Academy of Neurology, Board member of the United Council of Neurologic Subspecialties, Chair of the Alliance for Patient Access, and Past-President of the Tennessee Academy of Neurology. He is a member of Alpha Omega Alpha honor medical society and in 2007 received the CANDLE Award. Recipients are chosen based upon their positive impact on the lives of physicians-in-training, and are recognized by their students as examples of excellence in medical education. In 2007, 2008, and 2010 Dr. Charles received the Five Star Service Award placing him in the top 10% nationally for overall quality of specialty medical care.
From 1997-98, Dr. Charles served as a Health Policy Fellow in the United States Senate on the staff of the Labor Subcommittee for Public Health and Safety. In 1998 he studied deep brain stimulation for the treatment of movement disorders as a Fulbright Senior Scholar at the Universitaire de Grenoble in Grenoble, France. In 2000 Dr. Charles was a nominee for the United States House of Representatives from Tennessee's Sixth Congressional District.
Dr. Charles graduated from Vanderbilt University School of Engineering in 1986 with a B.S. cum laude in Computer Science and Mathematics, and earned his medical degree from Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in 1990. He did his internship in the department of Medicine and his residency in the department of Neurology at Vanderbilt. From 1993-94 he was Chief Resident in Neurology, and from 1994-95 he was a Fellow in Movement Disorders and Clinical Neurophysiology at Vanderbilt. In 1996, he completed a Health Care Management course at Vanderbilt's Owen Graduate School of Management, and in 1997 he completed the Harvard Macy Institute Program for Physician Educators at Harvard Medical School.