For people and families with Parkinson’s disease (PD), seeing a movement disorder specialist — a neurologist with additional training in diagnosing and treating PD — is one of the keys to living life with the disease as well as possible.

Yet, there can be challenges to seeing a movement disorder specialist, including long wait times for an appointment and unreasonable travel distance between a physician and your home. And the biggest obstacle is, unfortunately, that there simply aren’t enough Parkinson’s doctors for the more than 6 million (and growing) people around the world who live with the disease.

So, how do we help meet this growing need?

The Edmond J. Safra Fellowship in Movement Disorders, launched in 2014 with longtime partner the Edmond J. Safra Foundation, was created to help build a global network of Parkinson’s doctors.

Watch our latest video on how this worldwide network of Parkinson’s experts is providing high quality care, fueling research progress, and training future generations of Parkinson’s doctors.

To date, the Fellowship has trained 21 new movement disorder specialists and is on track to graduate 48 by the year 2025. As Parkinson’s specialists see an average of 600 people with PD and other movement disorders every year, this growing network of fellows is able to make a significant impact. The Edmond J. Safra Fellowship in Movement Disorders is expanding access to care for nearly 12,000 patients, including those in underserved populations around the world.

For a closer look at the program, read our new Edmond J. Safra Fellowship in Movement Disorders publication and hear from the program’s most recent fellowship graduates and their mentors. Edmond J. Safra Fellowship alumnus Christopher Caughman, MD, Class of 2021 graduate of Emory University, discusses why he chose to become a movement disorder specialist:

“People living with Parkinson’s are plugged in to what’s going on with their disease, as well as the research and treatment options. They’re very engaged in their own care and are highly motivated to do well. These interactions make my job fulfilling. Many patients want to learn more, find ways to get better and work together to meet those goals.”

Get to know this distinguished network of Parkinson’s doctors and learn more about the critical value of movement disorder specialists here.