MichaelScottOkunMD

Movement Disorder

Director Norman Fixel Institute for Neurological Diseases, and the Adelaide Lackner Professor of Neurology at the University of Florida

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Office
3009 SW Williston Rd
Gainesville, FL 32607
Phone+1 352-294-5400

Summary

Michael S. Okun obtained his M.D. with honors from the University of Florida. He was movement disorders fellowship trained by Drs Mahlon DeLong, Jerrold Vitek and Ray Watts at Emory University in Atlanta GA before moving to co-found the movement disorders program at the University of Florida. He is the past Chair of Neurology (2015-2023), Professor and Executive Director of the Norman Fixel Institute for Neurological Diseases at the University of Florida Health College of Medicine. Dr. Okun has served as the National Medical Director and most recently as the Medical Advisor for the Parkinson’s Foundation since 2006. He has been supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health, the Smallwood Foundation, the Tourette Association of America, the Parkinson Alliance, the Bachmann-Strauss Foundation, the Parkinson’s Foundation, and the Michael J. Fox Foundation. Dr. Okun has an active research career and has been an integral part of some of the pioneering studies exploring the cognitive, behavioral, and mood effects of brain stimulation, and since 2005 his laboratory has been working to uncover the electrical brain signals associated with human tic. He has partnered with Drs Ayse Gunduz and Kelly Foote to develop a first generation of closed loop adaptive deep brain stimulation approaches. He and his group have contributed data to support the FDA approval of several device related approaches now used to treat human disease. Dr. Okun holds the Adelaide Lackner Professorship in Neurology and has published over 500 peer reviewed articles. He is a poet (Lessons From the Bedside, 1995) and his book, Parkinson's Treatment: 10 Secrets to a Happier Life was translated into over 20 languages. His most recent co-authored books include Ending Parkinson’s Disease and Living with Parkinson's Disease. Dr. Okun was recognized in a 2015 White House ceremony by the Obama administration as a Champion of Change for Parkinson’s Disease.

Education & Training

Emory University School of MedicineFellowship, Movement Disorders and Movement Disorders Surgery, 2000 - 2002
University of FloridaResidency, Neurology, 1996 - 2000
University of FloridaInternship, Internal Medicine, 1996 - 1997
University of Florida College of MedicineClass of 1996

Certifications & Licensure

FL State Medical License 1997 - 2027
American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology Neurology

Awards, Honors, & Recognition

CMS Meaningful Use Stage 1 Certification EpicCare Ambulatory EMR, Epic Systems Corporation, 2012-2013

Clinical Trials

Masked Faces in Parkinson Disease: Mechanism and Treatment Start of enrollment: 2004 Dec 01
Completed
Phase 2
Effects of Deep Brain Stimulation on Motor, Mood, and Cognitive Symptoms in Parkinson's Disease Start of enrollment: 2004 Jan 01
Completed
Not Applicable
Effectiveness of Deep Brain Stimulation for Treating People With Treatment Resistant Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
ACTIVE_NOT_RECRUITING
PHASE4
Fatigue in Dystonia (a Single Session, Questionnaire-based Study of Fatigue in Dystonia) Start of enrollment: 2009 Jul 01
Completed
Mood and Subthalamic Nucleus (STN) Deep Brain Stimulation Start of enrollment: 2005 Jul 01
Completed
Brain Stimulation for the Treatment of Tourette Syndrome Start of enrollment: 2009 Sep 01
Completed
Not Applicable
The Dystonia Coalition Natural History and Biospecimen Repository for Isolated Dystonias Start of enrollment: 2011 Jan 01
Completed
Can Short Latency Afferent Inhibition Give us Clues to Better DYT 1 Dystonia Treatments? Start of enrollment: 2012 May 01
Completed
Neuroimaging of Dystonia Start of enrollment: 2014 May 01
Completed
Tourette Syndrome Deep Brain Stimulation Start of enrollment: 2014 Mar 20
COMPLETED
NA
iPad Based Support System to Improve Outcomes From DBS Therapy Start of enrollment: 2014 Sep 01
Neurotoxin and Physical Therapy Start of enrollment: 2014 Dec 01
Completed
Phase 4
Respiratory Load Magnitude Estimation in PD Start of enrollment: 2014 Sep 01
Completed
Tourette Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) Target Detection & Suppression Start of enrollment: 2022 Jun 20
RECRUITING
NA
Roles: Principal Investigator, Contact
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Publications & Presentations

PubMed

Comparative analysis of Parkinson's and inflammatory bowel disease gut microbiomes reveals shared butyrate-producing bacteria depletion.
Maeve E Krueger, Jake Sondag Boles, Zachary D Simon, Stephan D Alvarez, Nikolaus R McFarland
NPJ Parkinson's Disease. 2025-03-19
Motivational disturbances and cognitive effort-based decision-making in Parkinson's disease.
Bonnie M Scott, Robert S Eisinger, Roshan Mara, Amtul-Noor Rana, Anika Bhatia
Parkinsonism & Related Disorders. 2025-03-18
Automated Imaging Differentiation for Parkinsonism.
David E Vaillancourt, Angelos Barmpoutis, Samuel S Wu, Jesse C DeSimone, Marissa Schauder
JAMA Neurology. 2025-03-17

Journal Articles

Reforming the Process for Deep Brain Stimulation and Neurologic Device Approval in Rare Diseases
Michael Okun, MD, JAMA Neurology
Case Report: Globus Pallidus Internus (GPi) Deep Brain Stimulation Induced Keyboard Typing Dysfunction
Joshua K Wong, Leonardo Almeida, Addie Patterson, Michael S Okun, Irene A Malaty, Frontiers in Human Neuroscience
STN Versus GPi Ddeep Brain Stimulation for Action and Rest Tremor in Parkinson’s Disease
Joshua K Wong, Vyas T Viswanathan, Kamilia S Nozile-Firth, Kelly D Foote, Adolfo Ramirez-Zamora, Michael S Okun, Frontiers in Human Neuroscience
Time for a New Image of Parkinson Disease
Michael Okun, MD, JAMA Neurology
Structural Connectivity–Based Segmentation of the Thalamus and Prediction of Tremor Improvement Following Thalamic Deep Brain Stimulation of the Ventral Intermediate N...
Leonardo Almeida, Kelly D Foote, Joshua Wong, Markus Bredel, Erik H Middlebrooks, Sanjeet S Grewal, Michael S Okun, ScienceDirect
Beta-Band Oscillations in the Supplementary Motor Cortex Are Modulated by Levodopa and Associated with Functional Activity in the Basal Ganglia
Christopher W Hess, Michael S Okun, ScienceDirect
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Authored Content

Parkinson's DiseaseJune 2021
Diagnosis and Management of Parkinson's DiseaseFebruary 2020
Deep Brain Stimulation and Parkinson's DiseaseOctober 2012

Press Mentions

People with Parkinson’s or IBD May Be Deficient in Similar Types of Good BacteriaMarch 28th, 2025
MRI-AI Model May Help Distinguish Parkinson’s, Atypical ParkinsonismMarch 25th, 2025
AI Boosts Parkinson's Diagnosis to 96% AccuracyMarch 25th, 2025
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Grant Support

ADVANCING THALAMIC NEUROSTIMULATION FOR SUPPRESING ESSENTIAL VOICE TREMORUNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA2023–2028
ADVANCING THALAMIC NEUROSTIMULATION FOR SUPPRESING ESSENTIAL VOICE TREMORUNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA2023–2028
ADVANCING THALAMIC NEUROSTIMULATION FOR SUPPRESING ESSENTIAL VOICE TREMORUNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA2023–2028
Defining Targets for Tic Detection and Suppression in Tourette Syndrome Deep Brain StimulationUNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA2021–2026
Defining Targets for Tic Detection and Suppression in Tourette Syndrome Deep Brain StimulationUNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA2021–2026
Web-based Automated Imaging Differentiation of ParkinsonismUNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA2021–2026
Defining Targets for Tic Detection and Suppression in Tourette Syndrome Deep Brain StimulationUNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA2021–2026
Web-based Automated Imaging Differentiation of ParkinsonismNational Institutes of Health2021–2026
Defining Targets for Tic Detection and Suppression in Tourette Syndrome Deep Brain StimulationNational Institutes of Health2021–2026
University of Florida R25 Early Research Program for Neurology and Neurosurgery ResidentsUNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA2019–2025
University of Florida R25 Early Research Program for Neurology and Neurosurgery ResidentsUNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA2019–2025
University of Florida R25 Early Research Program for Neurology and Neurosurgery ResidentsUNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA2019–2025
H3K27M as a Target for RNA-nanoparticles in the Treatment of Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine GliomaUNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA2019–2025
University of Florida R25 Early Research Program for Neurology and Neurosurgery ResidentsNational Institutes of Health2018–2023
THE HUMAN THALAMOCORTICAL NETWORK IN TOURETTE SYNDROMENational Institutes of Health2018–2022
Mobile Decision Support System for Nurse Management of Neuromodulation TherapyNational Institutes of Health2016–2021
Neural Correlates Of Tourette SyndromeNational Institute Of Neurological Disorders And Stroke2010–2011
Scheduled And Responsive Brain Stimulation For The Treatment Of Tourette SyndromeNational Institute Of Mental Health2008–2010
Effects Of Deep Brain Stimulation On Mood And Cognitive Symptoms In Parkinsons DNational Center For Research Resources2009
Effects Of Deep Brain STIM On Mood And Cognitive Symptoms In Parkinsons DISNational Center For Research Resources2006–2008
DBS Effects On Mood And Cognition In Parkinsons DiseaseNational Institute Of Neurological Disorders And Stroke2003–2007
Effects Of Deep Brain STIM On Mood And Cognitive Symptoms In Parkinsons'DisNational Center For Research Resources2005