Movement Disorder Clinical Team

 Irene Litvan, MD
Professor of Neurosciences and Director, Movement Disorder Center; Tasch Endowed Professor of Parkinson's Disease Research. Dr. Litvan has over 25 years of experience in adult neurology, movement disorders and psychiatry. Dr. Irene Litvan, was recently elected to serve on the International Executive Committee of the Movement Disorder Society, and is member of several committees of this society.

David Barba, MD
Clinical Professor of Neurosurgery. As UCSD’s Chief of Functional Neurosurgery, Dr. Barba’s areas of expertise include stereotactic surgery for deep brain stimulation and surgical treatments for patients with epilepsy. He is also the neurosurgical consultant for a national multicenter study of gene therapy for Alzheimer's disease. He is a San Diego native with more than 20 years of neurosurgical experience.

Christina Charriez, PharmD, PhD
Clinical Research Trainee. Christina earned her PharmD from the University of Florida and her PhD in Clinical Pharmaceutical Sciences from the University of Kentucky where she conducted research in Alzheimer's disease and traumatic brain injury. With Christina's background as a neuropharmacologist and pharmacist, she is studying aspects of movement disorders and training in clinical research.

Jody Corey-Bloom, MD, PhD
Professor of Neurosciences. She is also a Staff Physician at UCSD’s Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center and Director of the Genetically Handicapped Persons Program and the Huntington’s Disease Society of America (HDSA) Center of Excellence at UCSD. She is consistently named by San Diego Magazine as one of the area’s top doctors, and was also highly rated by US News & World Report.

J. Vincent Filoteo, PhD
Professor of Psychiatry. Dr. Filoteo has over 18 years experience working with patients with various movement disorders and dementias. He received his Ph.D. in clinical neuropsychology/psychology in 1994 from the SDSU/UCSD Joint Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology. His research and clinical work focuses on the cognitive and clinical neuropsychology of Parkinson's disease.

Jennifer Foster, BA
Clinical Trials Coordinator. Ms. Foster has over six years of experience in the research field. Prior to joining the Movement Disorder Clinical Team, she was a research coordinator with UCSD's Comprehensive Alzheimer's Program for three and a half years. She began her career in research at Georgetown University working on pediatric trials investigating the effects of probiotics.

Jennifer Friedman, MD
Associate Professor of Clinical Neurosciences and Pediatrics. Dr. Friedman is an expert in adult and pediatric movement disorders and has particular interest in genetic and metabolic disorders that affect movement. She directs the Movement Disorders and Tourette/Tic Disorder Clinics at Rady Children’s Hospital and does research in the areas of neurogenetics, Tourette’s Syndrome and disability awareness education.

Kathy Huynh, NP-C
Nurse Practitioner. Ms. Huynh graduated from UCSD graduating in 2000 with a BS in biochemistry and cell biology. She was licensed as a registered nurse in 2007 and obtained her MS in Nursing in 2010 from Samuel Merritt University. She is board certified by the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners as a Family Nurse Practitioner.

Stephanie Lessig, MD
Assistant Professor of Clinical Neurosciences. Dr. Lessig evaluates patients regarding general parkinsonism and other movement disorders, including administration of botulinum toxin and deep brain stimulation programming. Her research interests include Parkinson's cognition and applications of deep brain stimulation.

David D. Song, MD, PhD Associate Professor of Clinical Neurosciences. Dr. Song has been with the UCSD Department of Neurosciences and the Neurology Service at the VA Medical Center since 2000, where he has pursued both basic and clinical research in Parkinson’s disease, and continued in the clinical care of patients with movement disorders, in particular Parkinson’s disease and dystonia.

 

Philip A. Weissbrod, MD
Director, Center for Voice and Swallowing, and Assistant Professor of Surgery. Dr. Weissbrod is certified by the The American Board of Otolaryngology and is fellowship trained in aryngology, a subspecialty that encompasses treatment of voice, swallowing, and upper airway disorders.