Joseph Jankovic, M.D.
Professor of Neurology
Distinguished Chair in Movement Disorders
Director,
Parkinson Disease Center and Movement Disorders Clinic
Co-Director, Parkinson's Disease Research Laboratory
Click photo for Dr. Jankovic's faculty profile.
After receiving his MD degree at the University of Arizona, Dr. Jankovic completed medicine internship at Baylor College of Medicine, Houston in 1974. He subsequently completed residency in Neurology at the Neurological Institute, Columbia University, New York City, where he was selected as the Chief Resident. While there he obtained additional training in movement disorders with Stanley Fahn, M.D. In 1977 he joined the faculty of Baylor College of Medicine and established the Parkinson Disease Center and Movement Disorders Clinic. Dr. Jankovic was promoted to a full professor of neurology and a senior attending at The Methodist Hospital in 1988. The PDCMDC has been recognized as a "Center of Excellence" by the National Parkinson Foundation and the Huntington Disease Society of America.
Dr. Jankovic has conducted numerous clinical trials and directs active basic science research program. He has published over 700 original articles and chapters and has edited or co-edited 35 books and volumes. He has co-edited several standard textbooks such as “Neurology in Clinical Practice” and “Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders” (along with a video atlas), both now in 5th edition. In 2007, he and Dr. Fahn co-authored a book (and DVD) entitled “Principles and Practice of Movement Disorders”. In addition to Parkinson’s disease and other parkinsonian disorders, Dr. Jankovic’s publications have covered tremors, dystonia, Tourette syndrome, Huntington disease, myoclonus, tardive dyskinesia, restless legs syndrome, paroxysmal dyskinesias, various neurodegenerative disorders, and medical, surgical, and experimental therapeutics of movement disorders. He has also served on editorial boards of Neurology, Movement Disorders, Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery and Psychiatry, Acta Neurologica Scandinavica, Journal of Neurological Sciences, Neurology Medlink, Clinical Neuropharmacology, Expert Review of Neurotherapeutics, The Botulinum Journal, and other journals, and had served as the Chair of the Journal Oversight Committee, Movement Disorders Society. He also is the founder and served as a co-chair of the Neurotoxin Institute. He has trained over 50 fellows and other physicians and researchers many of whom have become leaders in the field of movement disorders.
Dr. Jankovic is past president of the international Movement Disorder Society. A recipient of the 2007 American Academy of Neurology Movement Disorders Research Award, sponsored by the Parkinson’s Disease Foundation, Dr. Jankovic has been elected as an honorary member of the Australian Association of Neurologists, Panamanian Neurosurgical and Neurological Society, and French Neurological Society. In 2004 Dr. Jankovic was selected by fellow scientists as Highly Cited Researcher. Certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, he has been an examiner for the ABPN and for the American Board of Neurological Surgeons. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Neurology, and active member of the American Neurological Association, Society for Neuroscience, Parkinson Study Group, Tourette Syndrome Study Group, Dystonia Study Group, Huntington Study Group, Tremor Research Group, and other professional and scientific organizations. Dr. Jankovic has organized and chaired numerous national and international scientific symposia. Since 1990, along with Drs. Fahn, Marsden, Hallett and Jenner, he has co-directed the annual course “A Comprehensive Review of Movement Disorders”, in Aspen, Colorado. He has also directed the annual AAN course on Movement Disorders and Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders Update, and has co-directed the annual seminar “Unusual Movement Disorders”. He is current or past member of scientific and medical advisory boards of many national foundations including the Dystonia Medical Research Foundation, International Tremor Foundation, Tourette Syndrome Association, Society for Progressive Supranuclear Palsy, The Bachmann-Strauss Dystonia and Parkinson Foundation, and the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research. He is the founder and past chair of the Medical Advisory Board for the Benign Essential Blepharospasm Research Foundation. Dr. Jankovic has received other prestigious honors and has been invited as a named lecturer and a visiting professor to many U.S. and foreign universities. He is listed in Best Doctors in America, America’s Top Doctors, and in Who's Who in America, World, Health and Medical Services, Medicine and Healthcare, Education, and in Who's Who in Science and Engineering.