The Parkinson and Other Movement Disorders Center offers one year sub-specialty training in movement disorders and an optional second year for research training to clinicians with residency training in Neurology. We also offer research fellowships in movement disorders to scientists from different backgrounds. Find out more about our fellowship.
Amy Lin, M.D., PGY6
Dr. Lin completed her undergraduate degree in Molecular and Cellular Biology at Harvard University, then earned her Medical Degree and Master of Public Health at Keck School of Medicine of University of Southern California. At USC she earned admission to the Delta Omega Honorary Society for Public Health and to the Medical Student Training in Aging Research Program. She then completed her neurology residency at Washington University/Barnes-Jewish Hospital and is currently a second year fellow at UC San Diego’s Movement Disorders fellowship program. Dr. Lin is interested in pursuing clinical research in movement disorders.
Kevin Littleton, M.D., PGY5
Movment Disorders Fellow, Academic Year 2024-2025
Eshita Shah, M.D., PGY5
Movement Disorders Fellow, Academic Year 2024-2026
Dr. Shah completed her undergraduate degree in Neuroscience at UCLA. She then earned her Medical Degree at the Chicago Medical School at Rosalind Franklin University. She moved back to California to complete her neurology residency at UC Irvine, where she served as chief resident during the final year. She is currently finishing up her first year of movement disorders fellowship at UC San Diego and plans to stay as a research fellow next year. Dr. Shah is interested in clinical research in Parkinson's disease as well as medical education.
Sophia Raefsky, M.D., PGY5
Movment Disorders Fellow, Academic Year 2025-2026
Aida Akhoundi, M.D.
Aida Akhoundi received her medical training and completed her neurology residency in Tehran. She achieved the impressive rank of 3rd place in the national neurology board examination. Subsequently, she assumed the role of assistant professor of neurology at Iran University of Medical Sciences in Tehran. Her responsibilities included collaborating with neurology residents and interns, managing challenging patient cases referred from across the country, and engaging in research endeavors. Additionally, she served as the educational delegate for the neurology department.
Dr. Akhoundi has authored numerous articles in the field of movement disorders, with a particular focus on deep brain stimulation (DBS). She also contributed as an author to the handbook of neuromodulation. Her research interests extend to identifying effective disease-modifying therapies for atypical Parkinsonian disorders and exploring the long-term implications of DBS. In her leisure time, she enjoys running and spending time at the gym
Nicolas Labaure, M.D.
Nicolas Labaure graduated as a Medical Doctor and completed his neurology residency at Universidad de la Republica in Montevideo, Uruguay. In the same University, he was research assistant in the Laboratory of Cellular Neurophysiology. He received clinical Movement Disorders training as an observer at the University of Cincinnati, mentored by Dr. Alberto Espay.
Dr. Labaure has been a member of the movement disorders team and the DBS team at Dr. Manuel Quíntela’s Clinical Hospital in Uruguay for more than 6 years. He has been part of the Second opinion in Movement Disorders group at the same Hospital, collaborating in the management of challenging cases referred from across the country.
He is cofounder and current President of the Uruguayan Young Movement Disorders Group (JUTRAM), created with the objective of encouraging and facilitating the academic and scientific growth in the field of movement disorders in his country.
His research interests encompass depicting the influence of genetic factors on DBS response in Parkinson’s disease and dystonia, and advancing in the epidemiological study of movement disorders in his home country. In his leisure time he enjoys playing and watching sports, being a soccer fan.
Panteleimon Oikonomou, M.D.
Dr. Oikonomou is a consultant neurologist and currently a postdoctoral scholar in clinical neuroscience at UC San Diego, specializing in clinical and translational research in movement disorders, with expertise in Parkinson's disease (PD). He holds an M.D. from Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and a Doctor of Medicine from Georg-August University of Göttingen, where he researched immunological profiles and PrPC expression in vascular cognitive impairment. He has extensive neurology experience across Germany and has been an investigator in multiple clinical trials. He completed a European Academy of Neurology fellowship at King’s College London and later served as an attending neurologist in the emergency department at the University of Freiburg. Over the last three to four years, he has focused on PD in clinical practice and research, with primary interests in non-motor symptoms, biomarkers, pathogenesis, and novel therapeutic approaches.
Nahid Olfati, M.D.
Dr. Olfati attended medical school at Tabriz Medical university where she also took courses in the field of health care management and evidence based medicine. She completed her neurology residency at Mashhad University of Medical Sciences (MUMS) with a special interest on the field of movement and neurodegenerative disorders. After finishing residency, Dr. Olfati started to work at MUMS as an assistant professor of neurology and served as neurology residency program director. She is interested to pursue her research in the field of etiopathogenesis and biomarkers of atypical Parkinsonian Disorders.