M A P C
F E L L O W S H I P S
parkinson’s fellows Benefactors enable young neurologists to receive advanced specialty training at MAPC
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by Sarah Padilla
velyn Kossak and Jean Grossman know firsthand the “We encourage our fellows to take the initiative and to take value of a having a good neurologist. Their late hus- a stronger role in caring for our patients.” bands, John Kossak and Harold Grossman, were both Barrow has employed DBS as a treatment for Parkinson’s, treated for Parkinson’s disease for many years by Barrow’s dystonia and tremor for several years and has developed a Abraham Lieberman, MD, a movement disorder specialist. national reputation for its use. And the recent establishment The care that the families received led the two women of the Barrow Center for Neuromodulation will allow the to give back in honor of their husbands. In 1994, Evelyn made hospital to further apply the treatment to depression, obsesa large gift to the Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center (MAPC) sive compulsive disorders and perhaps even dementia. Barat Barrow to establish the John and Evelyn Kossak Fellow- row is also exploring the use of gene transfer therapy as a treatship to provide further training to neurologists interested in ment for patients with intractable Parkinson’s disease. specializing in Parkinson’s disease and other movement disThe surgical approach to movement disorders is, in part, orders. Seven years later, the initial endowment of $200,000 what drew Drs. Dhanani and Husain to the Barrow fellowhas doubled. In 2007, Jean donated significant funds to ship. “There’s so much variability in patient care. We’re seeestablish the Harold and Jean Grossman Fellowship, which ing patients with both hypo- and hyperkinetic movement diswill bring a prominent Israeli professor to lecture and teach orders, and we’re learning there are so many treatment at the MAPC in 2012. options. You can really be excited Today, the two endowments have about what you do because it’s always been supplemented by additional different,” says Dr. Husain. funding from Lynn Diamond, the Sy A typical day for the fellows might Syms Foundation and Mark Freiberg. include both clinic and operating The Medtronic Foundation also suproom experiences. In the OR, they ports training in deep-brain stimulalearn to conduct physical exams (most tion (DBS). procedures are performed while the Currently, three fellows are in trainpatient is awake), properly place and ing at the MAPC. Sameea Husain, read electrodes, and make the necesDO, and Naomi Salins, MD, are secsary adjustments for voltage and freond-year fellows, while Sara Dhanani, quency. They are also involved in the MD, recently began her first year. BarMAPC’s multiple research studies Guillermo Moguel-Cobos, MD row’s fellowships are among a few and extensive community outreach. nationally that last longer than a year. Dr. Salins was drawn to the The Center also provides training to neurology residents and MAPC’s comprehensive approach to patient care, which fourth-year medical students. includes balance, speech, occupational and physical thera“During their first year, the fellows concentrate on see- py. “It’s an outlook on Parkinson’s disease and movement dising patients and learning about the diversity of movement orders that I haven’t seen anywhere else, having all of the ancildisorders. They learn to recognize, diagnose and treat these lary services in one setting,” she says. disorders, and they learn to counsel patients and families,” Last year, the MAPC saw 1,300 new patients and expesays Ina Lieberman, MD, managing director of the MAPC. rienced 7,200 return visits, making it one of the busiest “In the second year, they learn about advanced treatments movement disorder centers in the United States. The fellows for these conditions, including botulinum toxin and deep- agree that their training is enhanced by the fact that the brain stimulation.” MAPC sees such a high number of patients with such diverse The MAPC has graduated several fellows through the conditions. Additionally, they value the opportunity to work years, including Arshia Sadreddin, MD, and Guillermo alongside so many established neurologists. Moguel-Cobos, MD, both of whom are now attending neu“Everyone has a different perspective, and everyone rologists at the center. teaches a little differently,” says Dr. Husain. “It’s like we’re get“The clinical exposure you get from seeing patients here ting a niche education within a niche.” ■ is very strong,” says Dr. Moguel-Cobos, who also completed his residency at Barrow and now specializes in dystonia.
“The clinical exposure you get from seeing patients here is very strong.”
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