NAPS Consortium Site Spotlight: Emory University

At Emory University, the NAPS2 Study is being conducted primarily out of the Movement Disorders Clinic, with recruitment assistance from the Emory Clinic Sleep Center. The Movement Disorders Clinic, which is renowned as one of the most bustling movement clinics worldwide, specializes in the treatment of various movement conditions such as Parkinson’s disease (PD), dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), Multiple System Atrophy (MSA), andProgressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP), as well as other rarer conditions. The Emory Clinic Sleep Center is among the country’s leading sleep diagnosis and treatment centers for a wide range of sleep disorders, including hypersomnia, sleep apnea, restless legs syndrome (RLS), narcolepsy, REM sleep behavior disorder, and a variety of other parasomnias.

Patients who have been diagnosed with RBD are at a higher risk of developing the neurological conditions mentioned above. Identifying these diseases in their earliest stages is a key goal of NAPS and may allow for the development of treatments to delay or prevent these diseases.

In pursuit of this goal, the Emory University Team, led by Dr. Daniel Huddleston, has been participating in NAPS since its first phase in 2017. In the second phase of the study, NAPS2, Dr. Huddleston is the Emory Site Principal Investigator, the Neuroimaging Core Co-Lead, and Project Core Co-Investigator.

Our Team

Daniel Huddleston, MD

Principal Investigator

Dr. Huddleston has been serving as an Assistant Professor of Neurology at Emory University School of Medicine since 2016. He obtained his medical degree from Columbia University's College of Physicians and Surgeons in 2006. Following that, he pursued further training, completing a residency in neurology at Columbia's Neurological Institute of New York. He then went on to undertake a fellowship in movement disorders neurology at the Emory University Movement Disorders Clinic.

Since joining Emory as a physician-scientist in 2010, Dr. Huddleston has been actively involved in both patient care at the Emory Movement Disorders Clinic and translational MRI research related to neurodegenerative diseases. Within his interdisciplinary MRI neuroscience laboratory, he and his team have made significant advancements, particularly in the development of innovative MRI techniques such as neuromelanin-sensitive MRI and multi-contrast MRI. These methods have been instrumental in accurately quantifying neurodegenerative changes in individuals affected by parkinsonian disorders.

Kelsey Tucker, CCRC

Lead Clinical Research Coordinator

In addition to her role as Lead Clinical Research Coordinator for the Emory NAPS site, Kelsey serves as the Manager of the Parkinsonism Neuroimaging Laboratory. Kelsey pursued her undergraduate degree at Georgia Tech and is currently pursuing a Master of Science in Biomedical Neuroscience at the University of Florida College of Medicine.

In her leisure time, Kelsey finds joy in engaging in various activities such as kayaking, practicing yoga, reading, and spending quality time snuggling with her two beloved cats.

Xiangchuan Chen, PhD

Research Scientist

Dr. Chen is a Research Scientist at the Emory NAPS site, with expertise in imaging processing and analyzes MRI images for the NAPS consortium.

Donald Bliwise, PhD

Co-Investigator

Dr. Bliwise holds a tenured position as a full Professor in the Department of Neurology at Emory University School of Medicine. In addition to his primary appointment, he also serves as a Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and Professor of Nursing. His association with Emory began in 1992 when he joined the faculty after completing his training in Sleep Disorders at Stanford University School of Medicine. Prior to that, he conducted research in sleep and obtained his PhD in Behavioral Science from the University of Chicago in 1982.

Dr. Bliwise is a distinguished Fellow of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and is licensed as a psychologist, enabling him to evaluate patients in the Emory Sleep Center's Sleep Clinic. His primary areas of research focus on the description, elucidation of pathophysiology, and treatment of sleep disorders in elderly individuals. He has a specific interest in studying sleep within the context of neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and Lewy Body Dementia. Additionally, his research also encompasses investigating sleep patterns in geriatric syndromes, including nocturia, wandering, frailty, and falls.

Being a part of the NAPS consortium, Dr. Bliwise finds great satisfaction in collaborating with a diverse team of researchers, each possessing unique skill sets. Together, they strive to understand how specific sleep disorders can offer insights into the development of future neurologic diseases, providing a valuable window for further exploration and understanding.

Amanda Goodwin Lansdell, MA

Clinical Research Coordinator

Amanda obtained her Bachelor's degree in Psychology from the University of Central Missouri and went on to earn a Master's degree in Psychology from Adelphi University, with a dual focus on neuroscience and neuroimaging. Throughout her career, Amanda has gained experience working with various neuroimaging modalities such as EEG and fMRI, as well as conducting neuropsychological evaluations. She has worked at esteemed institutions including the City College of New York and Vanderbilt University.

Originally from Kansas City, Amanda is an ardent supporter of the Chiefs football team. She describes herself as a self-proclaimed foodie and takes pride in her culinary skills as an excellent home cook. In addition to her professional and gastronomic pursuits, she is a loving mom to an Australian Shepherd named Meeko. Amanda's hobbies include indulging in true-crime podcasts, avidly cross-stitching, and being engrossed in her Kindle for endless reading adventures.

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Recent Highlights

At the Emory University site, Dr. Huddleston leads the Parkinsonism Neuroimaging Laboratory which is currently engaged in cutting-edge research focused on advancing MRI methods for the investigation of RBD, Parkinson’s disease, and related neurodegenerative disorders.

Dr. Huddleston’s team employs innovative neuromelanin-sensitive and multi-contrast MRI techniques to examine neurodegeneration in the substantia nigra and the locus coeruleus. Their objective is to integrate these groundbreaking imaging methods with clinical and molecular data, utilizing machine learning, to develop comprehensive multimodal disease signatures that can be applied in clinical and translational applications. Generous funding for this research has been provided by prestigious institutions such as the NIH-NINDS, the Michael J. Fox Foundation, the ADRC, as well as private foundations and individual donors who have wholeheartedly supported their work.

The Emory Team is actively seeking the participation of individuals who fall into three categories: healthy volunteers, individuals diagnosed with RBD, and patients affected by any of the aforementioned neurodegenerative conditions. We warmly welcome anyone who is interested in participating and encourage them to reach out to us.

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The Parkinson’s Disease MRI Lab and the NAPS team at Emory are driven by a mission to develop improved diagnostic tools and treatments for neurodegenerative diseases. We greatly appreciate all our patients and research participants for helping drive this mission.

⠀ Our team is committed to further the NAPS study's mission to support clinical care, advance discovery, promote education, and engage our community in order to improve the quality of life and care of individuals living with RBD. Learn more about our promise. ⠀