Michael Okun named the national medical director of the National Parkinson Foundation

One of the directors of the University of Florida Movement Disorders Center at the McKnight Brain Institute has been named the national medical director of the National Parkinson Foundation. Michael Okun, M.D., a neurologist in the UF College of Medicine, will represent the foundation in the medical and scientific communities and provide guidance regarding medical and scientific issues relating to Parkinson's disease. The three-year appointment will not affect his position at the University of Florida. "With the appointment of Dr. Okun, NPF has taken a huge step toward enhancing the amount and the level of service to the Parkinson community, including researchers and clinicians, as well as persons with Parkinson's disease and their care partners," said foundation Chairman Paul Oreffice in a printed release. Okun will also assist the foundation in carrying out educational programs and outreach "A crucial factor in our success against Parkinson's disease will be our ability to pool worldwide resources for research, clinical care and outreach," Okun said. "We want to take advantage of all of our opportunities for synergy, partnership and collaboration, particularly within the 40-plus international centers of excellence funded by NPF. We would like to aid the Parkinson community in coming together to develop better symptomatic treatments, improve diagnosis in rural areas, deliver care to the underserved and to eradicate this disease through meaningful research." Okun is co-director of UF's Movement Disorders Center along with Dr. Kelly Foote, an assistant professor of neurosurgery, and Dr. Hubert Fernandez, a neurologist and director of clinical trials for movement disorders. Together, they answer questions from Parkinson patients and family members on a Web-based "ask the expert" forum sponsored by the foundation. "Dr. Okun is absolutely dedicated to finding new treatments and a cure for Parkinson's disease," said Dennis Steindler, Ph.D., executive director of UF's McKnight Brain Institute. "He's a great movement disorders clinician and he works with a great team. His work with the National Parkinson Foundation has been extremely positive for the Movement Disorders Center, the McKnight Brain Institute and the University of Florida." Founded in 1957 and headquartered in Miami, the National Parkinson Foundation was created to serve those affected by Parkinson's disease and to support research aimed at curing the disease. "We at NPF know Dr. Okun well," said Nathan Slewett, NPF chairman emeritus. "We have funded Parkinson research that he is performing, and we have heard him speak on numerous occasions in various forums, always with great enthusiasm and a wealth of knowledge about the disease that we are all intent on eradicating."