Roles
Professor of Neurology
Chief, Movement Disorders Division
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Biography
Dr. Ihtsham Haq is the Division Chief of Movement Disorders at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Associate Director of the Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, and the Cornfeld-Hurowitz Endowed Chair in Movement Disorders. Since joining the university in 2020, he has overseen significant growth in the Movement Disorders Division, expanding the team to nine clinical faculty members and more than fifty affiliated staff, including social workers, psychologists, therapists, and dietitians, across six clinics in South Florida and nine centers of excellence. Under his leadership, the division now serves over 3,000 unique patients with Parkinson’s disease annually. He has also spearheaded the growth of the research enterprise to include over thirty active studies and a dedicated research team of nine full-time staff members, focusing on disease-modifying therapies, genetically targeted treatments, and stem cell implantation.
Dr. Haq’s academic and clinical career has centered on understanding and improving care for patients with movement disorders, with a particular emphasis on technology and brain circuitry. He has played a key role in pioneering deep brain stimulation (DBS) treatments since 2006, contributing to advances in targeting, device innovation, and expanding indications for its use beyond Parkinson’s disease, essential tremor, and dystonia to include medication-refractory Tourette syndrome and obsessive-compulsive disorder. His research has been funded by the National Institutes of Health, the Parkinson’s Foundation, and other industry and foundation partners, supporting work that spans common neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s as well as rare disorders such as ATP1A3-related dystonia syndromes. His efforts have led to the Movement Disorders Division at UM becoming a key site for pivotal clinical trials, including studies on DBS, genetic therapies, stem cell implantation, and neuroprotective treatments.
A graduate of Columbia University with degrees in Bioengineering and Philosophy, Dr. Haq obtained his medical degree from SUNY Downstate and completed his neurology residency at Georgetown University before pursuing a movement disorders fellowship at the University of Florida. Before joining the University of Miami, he spent over a decade at Wake Forest School of Medicine. Throughout his career, he has been committed to improving access to research and care for historically underrepresented populations, integrating advocacy and disparity research into the division’s mission.
Dr. Haq has authored over seventy peer-reviewed publications and multiple book chapters and has played an active role in the American Academy of Neurology and the Movement Disorders Society. He remains dedicated to mentoring the next generation of neurologists, fostering a culture of innovation, and ensuring that advancements in movement disorders research translate into tangible benefits for patients. He considers it a privilege to lead this dedicated, compassionate, and experienced team as it strives to redefine the standard for the understanding and care of movement disorders. -
Education & Training
Education
Post Graduate Training
Licensures and Certifications
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Honors & Awards
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Research Interests
His overall research interest has been in understanding and improving the care of patients with movement disorders, with a focus on technology and brain circuitry. He has been funded by the National Institute of Health, Parkinson’s Foundation, and Smallwood Foundation, as well as partnering with industry to bring better treatments to patients. His NIH funded research has included work on both common (Parkinson’s & Alzheimer’s disease) and rare disorders (A TP1A 3 post-infancy onset dystonia syndrome, or Rapid-onset Dystonia Parkinsonism). He has been performing Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) surgeries since 2006 and has been part of pioneering efforts to improve targeting, increase the types of devices available to patients, and expand the number of diseases that treated by the technique. In addition to using DBS to treat Parkinson’s disease, Essential Tremor, and Dystonia, he has used it to treat patients with medication-refractory Tourette’s syndrome and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. Dr. Haq has also worked to advance the success of clinical trials, and shortly after being selected to the NIH Clinical Trial Methodology Course in 2017, served as the CoPI of the Wake Forest site for the NIH Network for Excellence in Neuroscience Clinical Trials (NeuroNext).
The UM Movement Disorders Division is now participating in more than 30 industry, NIH, and foundation-funded studies. With respect to DBS, UM implanted more than 90 leads this past year and were part of the pivotal trials for both Boston Scientific and Abbott’s DBS devices. Dr. Haq and the Division have also made it a focus to take concrete steps to ensure historically underrepresented patients are provided that opportunity to participate in research at UM, including pipeline programs, advocacy, and disparity research. -
Publications
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