For attendees of the Movement Disorder Society Pan American Section’s (MDS-PAS) 11th annual Movement Disorders School for Neurology Residents, the chance to meet people with Parkinson’s and other movement disorders and learn about the complexity of diagnosis and treatment provided valuable inspiration that sparked interest in a field that is in high, and growing, demand.
The Michael J. Fox Foundation and its partners, the Edmond J. Safra Foundation and Amneal Pharmaceuticals, sponsored the Neurology Residents Course, held in Boston, Massachusetts in September. A total of 99 neurology residents from across Central, North and South America attended the free, two-day course to learn about movement disorders from leading experts.
Movement disorder specialists are in short supply, even as demand for their expertise grows. Residents described being drawn to the long-term relationships that specialists build with their patients, the opportunity to diagnose and treat complex conditions and the promise of a rapidly advancing field.
Residents Gain Inspiration from People with Parkinson’s
Residents met volunteers living with Parkinson’s and other movement disorders — not as cases in a lecture, but in person.
For Kent Mok, MD, a resident at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, meeting people with Parkinson’s was “truly something that I will carry with me in whatever sub-specialty I end up going in to.”
Anna Goodheart, MD, MSc, of Mass General Brigham returned this year as course faculty after attending herself as a resident. She recalls a similar experience: “I distinctly remember meeting the patients who volunteered. It really helped to inform my decision about my career in movement,”
Beyond clinical interest, residents were drawn to the relationships that movement disorders care makes possible. Carlos Zarate, MD, a resident at UT Health San Antonio pointed to “the long-term relationship that is created with patients and the ability to help them like no other way in neurology.”
Christina Kargol, MD, a resident at the University of Virginia School of Medicine said she was drawn to conditions “that other physicians, including other neurologists, are maybe a little bit uncomfortable with recognizing and treating” and the chance to become expert in “a very specific part of a human condition: how you move through life.”
Why MDS-PAS Matters to Neurology Residents
Many neurology residents have limited exposure to movement disorders before choosing a specialty. The Neurology Residents Course offers dedicated time to explore the field and learn from specialists.
Leilani Miranda, MD, a resident at the University of Virginia School of Medicine, described the value of the dedicated time “on topics that we don’t get in-depth information on during residency.” Dr. Mok said the course “showed the value of pursuing a movement disorders fellowship, highlighting the joy it brings to physicians and the profound impact that movement disorder specialists have on their patients.”
Kimberly Kwei, MD, PhD, at Columbia University and course faculty, didn’t attend as a resident but wishes she had. “As excited as I was about movement disorders, it would have been so nice to have been exposed to all these things before I was a fellow,” she said. Even for residents who don’t ultimately specialize, she added, the course offers useful grounding for anyone going into neurology.
A Field Advancing Parkinson’s Research
Residents entering movement disorders specialties now are arriving at a moment of momentum. This September, Foundation founder Michael J. Fox received the 2026 Lasker~Bloomberg Public Service Award, among the highest honors in American biomedical science. The Lasker citation credited him with “dispelling the stigma of the disease and spearheading a revolution in the world of Parkinson’s research.”
The scientific understanding of Parkinson’s is moving quickly. Researchers have been able to detect a biological marker of Parkinson’s in people who don’t yet have symptoms, which may make it possible to study treatments early enough to change the course of the disease. At the same time, more new therapies are reaching patients as others are advancing through clinical trials.
Residents learned about that shift. Wendys Horn, MD, a resident at UT Health San Antonio, said the course gave her cohort “a clear vision and understanding about all movement disorders, what we can do for our patients, and that the future is soon to be here for them.”
For information on next year’s course and when it becomes available, visit the MDS-PAS website.