The Kellar Family Division of Movement Disorders houses strong basic, translational, and clinical research programs. The close relationships between basic and clinical departments at NYU Langone Health create a unique community dedicated to the important mission of advancing care for patients.

NYU Langone Health’s Fresco Institute for Parkinson’s and Movement Disorders engages basic researchers and clinician–scientists from NYU Langone’s Departments of Neurology, Neuroscience, and Neurosurgery and the Institute for Translational Neuroscience to investigate fundamental research questions in the following areas:

• understanding the genetic architecture of Parkinson’s disease and how gene mutations can affect Parkinson’s disease presentation
• understanding the role of inflammation in Parkinson’s disease and the interaction with environmental factors
• discover new causal genes in undiagnosed rare genetic movement disorders
• understanding the mechanisms of neurodegeneration that underlie Parkinson’s disease, multiple system atrophy, and other neurodegenerative disorders uncovering how the changes to movement-related brain circuitry change in Parkinson’s disease give rise to decreased motor performance, gait dysfunction, postural instability, and motor complications that result from therapy
• gaining a better understanding of the nonmotor disabilities of Parkinson’s disease such as depression, cognitive impairment, sleep disorders, impulse control disorders, and autonomic dysfunction
• investigating new pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic therapies for motor and nonmotor symptoms of Parkinson’s disease

We are committed to making progress in these areas by using groundbreaking science to find new possibilities for therapy, to work towards cures for these neurodegenerative diseases, and to develop innovative models of care that demonstrably improve quality of life for patients, caregivers, and their families.