People
Fang Ba, MD, PhD, FRCPC (Neurology)
Director, Parkinson and Movement Disorders Program
Dr. Ba received her MD from the University of Calgary in 2007. She also obtained her PhD in Physiology/Neuroscience from the ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥. Dr. Ba finished her neurology residency and CIHR fellowship in Movement Disorders at the ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥. She pursued further training in Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) from the University of Florida.
Dr. Ba is an Associate Professor in the Division of Neurology of the Department of Medicine at the ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥. Her research interest and practice are in DBS for movement disorders.
Richard Camicioli, MD, FRCPC (Neurology)
Co-Director, Parkinson and Movement Disorders Program - Research
Dr. Camicioli completed his undergraduate education at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, and his medical education at McGill University in Montreal. After completing a neurology residency at McGill, he obtained postgraduate research training in geriatric neurology and in movement disorders at Oregon Health Sciences University in Portland, Oregon. He then assumed a faculty position as Assistant Professor in the movement disorders group at Oregon Health Sciences University until 2000 when he moved to the ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥, initially as an Associate Professor in the Division of Neurology.
Dr. Camicioli is currently a Professor, the Director of the Cognitive Clinic, and the Co-Director of the Movement Disorders Program. His major research interests relate to neuroimaging and the brain changes associated with impaired cognition in patients with movement disorders, particularly in relation to cognition and gait.
Aakash Shetty, MBBS, MD, DM, DNB (Neurologist)
Co-Director, Parkinson and Movement Disorders Program - Clinical
Dr. Shetty obtained his medical training and Neurology residency in India. He did further training in movement disorders at the ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ and extended his training in Toronto Western Hospital, University of Toronto. He is trained in advanced and device-aided treatment in Parkinson’s disease, such as deep brain stimulation, Duodopa treatment.
Dr. Shetty joined the Parkinson and Movement Disorders Program in 2020 and currently is Clinical Assistant Professor in the Division of Neurology of the Department of Medicine at the ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥.
Stephen Joza, MD, PhD, FRCPC (Neurology)
Co-Director, Parkinson and Movement Disorders Program - Education
Dr. Joza earned his PhD in Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology from the University of Toronto (2012) and medical degree from Queen’s University (2016). He completed residency in adult neurology at the ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ (2016-2021), followed by a clinical and research fellowship in movement disorders as an Edmond J. Safra fellow at the Montreal Neurological Institute (2021-2023), and a clinical fellowship in sleep neurology at the University of Toronto (2023-2024).
Dr. Joza joined the Parkinson and Movement Disorders Program and the Sleep Medicine Program in 2024 and is currently assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Neurology at the ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥. His research interests focus upon the prodromal stages of Parkinson’s disease, including the progression of clinical and neuroimaging markers in REM sleep behavior disorder.
Janis Miyasaki, MD, MEd, FRCPC, FAAN (Neurology)
Dr. Miyasaki completed her medical school, residency and fellowship in Movement Disorders at the University of Toronto. She also completed a Masters in Education, Theory and Policy in Higher Education at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education and the University of Toronto. She joined the ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ in 2014.
Dr. Miyasaki is a Professor in Medicine. She also sits on the Board of Directors for the American Academy of Neurology (AAN), vice president of AAN and an officer of the Pan-American Section of the Movement Disorders Society. She is also the co-director of the complex neurological clinic. Her area of interests are clinical trials, evidence-based medicine and palliative care.
Oksana Suchowersky, MD, FRCPC (Neurology), FCCMG, FAAN
Dr. Suchowersky received her undergraduate education at the ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥, and graduate training at UBC, following which she trained in medicine at the University of Calgary. She completed a neurology residency and fellowships in movement disorders and neurogenetics at the University of British Columbia. In 1984, she joined the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Calgary where she developed their Movement Disorders Program and a Neurogenetics Clinic.
Dr. Suchowersky moved to the ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ in 2010 as a Professor of Medicine and Medical Genetics, assuming the Toupin Research Chair in Neurology. She has many research interests, including the diagnosis and treatment of Huntington’s disease (HD) and genetic basis for movement disorders. She lectures regularly nationally and internationally on PD, HD, and ataxia.
Dr Nowacki completed his medical school and neurology residency at the ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥. He has additional fellowship training in Epilepsy and EEG. He joined the Parkinson and Movement Disorder Program in 2015.
Kevin Yen, MD, FRCPC (Neurology)
Dr. Yen received his undergraduate education in NYU. He received his MD from UBC in 2016. He finished his Neurology training at the ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ in 2021. He then obtained a prestigious Parkinson Canada Clinical Fellowship award to pursue his Movement disorders training at the ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥. He joined the PMDP in 2023, with his clinical expertise in the diagnosis and treatment for PD, tremor, as well as botulinum injection for dystonia. He also has experience in DBS and Dupdopa.
Tejas Sankar, MD, PhD, FRCSC (Neurosurgery)
Dr. Sankar obtained his medical degree from McGill University in Montreal, and completed neurosurgery residency at the ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ in 2010. During his residency, he spent 2 years as a post-doctoral research fellow at the Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix, Arizona, developing research expertise in neuroimaging. Following residency, he completed a fellowship and PhD at the University of Toronto in Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery, before returning to the ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ as a clinician-scientist in the Division of Neurosurgery. He is now Associate professor in Neurosurgery, and carries out surgery for patients with movement disorders as the Surgical Co-Lead for the Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) program. He has a strong focus on research, and serves as Principal Investigator for the Functional Neurosurgery Research Laboratory which focuses on developing neurophyisological and neuroimaging biomarkers in Parkinson's Disease.
Joyce Lee, MD, CCFP, COE, BScPharm
Co-Director, Parkinson Foundation Center of Excellence; Lead, Geriatric Parkinson’s Assessment Program
Dr. Joyce Lee completed her degrees in Pharmacy and Doctor of Medicine at University of Toronto, and Care of the Elderly fellowship at McGill University. She trained in Parkinson care with Dr. Janis Miyasaki at the Movement Disorders Program at Toronto Western Hospital. She founded and led the first Geriatric Clinic for Parkinson’s and Geriatric Parkinson’s Program in Canada at North York General Hospital in Toronto.
Dr. Lee joined the Movement Disorders Program at ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ to bring her expertise to the new Geriatric Parkinson's Assessment Program, where she hopes to expand the delivery of Geriatric Parkinson’s Care through ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥. Her research interests include health outcomes, care delivery and medication management in older adults with Parkinson disease, and medical education.
Francis Cheung, BSc, CCRP
Francis joined the Movement Disorders Program in March 2016 as a Research Coordinator. He completed his Bachelor of Science in microbiology at the ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ and then obtained his CCRP in 2011. His clinical research background includes working for contract research organizations in fields such as cardiology, diabetes, and oncology.
Vanessa Anne Larida, MD, BScN, MSc
Vanessa joined the PMDP in 2017. Her clinical research involves a number of studies related to Huntington’s disease.
