PMDC 3rd Annual Research Symposium: Opportunity to learn, network, and collaborate

By Sean Gorman

The VCU Parkinson's and Movement Disorders Center’s (PMDC) 2025 Annual Research Symposium offered the VCU community a window into some of the center’s latest efforts to find better treatments and cures for people living with movement disorders.

The June 13 gathering brought together faculty, fellows, residents and students among others to the VCU College of Health Professions building in downtown Richmond, where researchers presented a half-dozen “TED-style” talks featuring 10-minute presentations followed by question-and-answer sessions.

“It was a chance for everyone who’s interested in movement disorders research from any angle to bring their studies to all of us and for folks with other areas of expertise to weigh in, to workshop,” says Chandler Moore, the PMDC’s research program manager. “We structured it to get people talking and get people together who may not otherwise collaborate.”

PMDC Director Brian Berman, M.D., started the event with a presentation that highlighted the need for further research in the field. Berman noted how an estimated 42 million people are living with a movement disorder in the U.S. He added that the fastest growing neurodegenerative disorder is Parkinson’s disease, which has been increasing in prevalence overall and among younger patients who are 30 to 50 years old.

Most of the presenters at the event — the center’s third annual symposium — have received pilot grants that the PMDC awards each year for studies that generate findings that can be used to unlock additional funding for further research.

Among those who presented was Eyuphan Bulut, Ph.D., with the VCU Department of Computer Science, who discussed a PMDC Pilot Grant project he’s working on to develop a Wi-Fi system that tracks the progression of movement-related symptoms in Parkinson’s patients.

Dean Krusienski, Ph.D., with VCU’s Department of Biomedical Engineering briefed attendees about his PMDC Pilot Grant project that seeks insights on how to better predict freezing of gait in Parkinson’s patients — a particularly disruptive symptom where a patient is unable to walk forward.

Other researchers who presented included Rohil Hameed, Ph.D., and Santiago Lima, Ph.D., from the VCU Department of Biology; Michelle M. Taylor, a neuroscience Ph.D. candidate with the VCU Department of Surgery; and Ahmed Negida, Ph.D., a postdoctoral fellow at the PMDC.

Following the presentations, attendees stopped by 13 posters set up in the building’s lobby for more informal discussions with researchers who took part in those additional studies.

Berman says that in addition to delving into a wide range of research studies, the symposium also provided an opportunity for networking and future collaborations.

“It really was a success in terms of showcasing the research that’s going on in the field of movement disorders all across the VCU campus,” Berman says. “And it helped bring researchers together to formulate new ideas and grant proposals.”