Movement Disorders Program

Dr. Ebrahimi-Fakhari directs the Movement Disorders Program at Boston Children’s Hospital. The team at the Movement Disorders Program provides specialty care for infants, children, and adolescents with genetic and acquired movement disorders. The team includes neurologists with special training in movement disorders, genetic counselors, physical and occupational therapists, and social workers. We work together to develop a treatment plan that meets every child’s unique needs and maximizes quality of life.

The treatment portfolio also includes specialized procedures, such as the treatment of spasticity and dystonia with botulinum toxin injections, and the treatment of dystonia and other hyperkinetic movement disorders with Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS). As part of our commitment to advancing DBS treatment globally, we have made DBSMatchMaker – a collaborative platform connecting clinicians to share expertise in treating pediatric movement disorder with DBS.

Specialists in the Movement Disorders Program lead several research programs and clinical trials that work synergistically with our clinical care. We collaborate closely with clinicians and researchers across North America and internationally.

Boston Children’s Hospital – Movement Disorders Program

Pediatric Movement Disorders & Neurogenetics Fellowship

The Movement Disorders Program at Boston Children’s Hospital offers a unique clinical fellowship in Pediatric Movement Disorders & Neurogenetics The goal of this clinical training program is to provide fellows with the skills to become experts in the diagnosis and treatment of pediatric movement disorders, with a particular focus on genetic movement disorders. The core component of the clinical education consists of evaluating patients in the Boston Children’s Hospital Movement Disorders Program and select clinics within the Movement Disorders Divisions at Massachusetts General Hospital and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Clinical activities are overseen by faculty with sub-specialty training in movement disorders. The program also includes training in neurogenetics, rare disease research, precision medicine approaches, and specialized techniques and procedures for movement disorders, such as deep brain stimulation and botulinum toxin injections.

We hope to train the next generation of physician-scientists in cutting edge clinical care, translational research and hope for our fellows to become leaders in the field of pediatric movement disorders.

Current Fellows

Monica Ferrer Socorro, M.D.

Clinical Fellow, Movement Disorders Program, Class of 2026

Residency
Child Neurology 2025
NYU Grossman School of Medicine

Rebecca Lindsay, M.D.

Clinical Fellow, Movement Disorders Program, Class of 2027 (incoming fellow)

Residency
Child Neurology 2026
Alberta Children’s Hospital, University of Calgary

Alumni

Vicente Quiroz, M.D.

Clinical Fellow, Movement Disorders Program, Class of 2024

Residency
Pediatric Neurology 2021
University of Valparaiso, Valparaiso, Chile

Kathryn Yang, MBChB, FRCPC

Clinical Fellow, Movement Disorders Program, Class of 2025

Residency
Pediatric Neurology 2023
The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, CA

Zainab Zaman, MBBS

Clinical Fellow, Movement Disorders Program, Class of 2026

Residency
Child Neurology and Neurodevelopmental Disabilities 2024
Boston Children’s Hospital

For more information on applying to our fellowship program, please visit BCH’s Clinical Fellowship in Pediatric Movement Disorders & Neurogenetics page.

Clinical Fellowship in Pediatric Movement Disorders & Neurogenetics

Educational Resources

Elective Rotations in Our Movement Disorders Program

Our program offers a limited number of short-term elective rotations to child neurology trainees, movement disorders fellows, and faculty from the United States and abroad. Rotations vary in duration and follow a structured didactic curriculum. Participants have the status of Observers and are registered with the Graduate Medical Education (GME) Office and the Department of Neurology at Boston Children’s Hospital.

All rotations are contingent upon securing sufficient self-funding and meeting the requirements for clinical observers at Boston Children’s Hospital, including completion of occupational health screening.

For inquiries about elective rotations with our program, please contact: movement.disorders@childrens.harvard.edu.
Alumni from our elective rotation program are listed below:

Year	Name - Institution
2026	Ludmila Novotna, MD; 2nd Faculty of Medicine, Charles University and Motol University Hospital, Prague, Czech Republic
2026	Francesca Maria Agostina Papoff, MD; IRCCS Fondazione Stella Maris, Italy
2025	Giovana Ribeiro, MD; UNICAMP, Campinas, Brazil
2025	Nina Wilpert, MD, PhD; Berlin Charité, Germany
2025	Paulo Cataniag, MD; Makati Medical Center, Phillipines
2025	Veronica Altamiro, MD; University of Iowa, IA
2025	Asif Doja, MD; Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario, Canada
2025	Dimitrios I Zafeiriou, MD, PhD; Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece
2024	Lindsey Vogt, MD; The Hospital for Sick Children, University of Toronto, Canada
2024	Dakota Peacock, MD; University of British Columbia, Canada
2024	Rebecca Lindsay, MD; University of Alberta, Canada
2024	Alexandra Lewinsky DeArias, DO; Yale School of Medicine, CT

MDS-PAS Pediatric Movement Disorders Conference

The field of Pediatric Movement Disorders is advancing rapidly, driven by significant breakthroughs in genomics, gene therapy, and neuromodulation. These developments present unparalleled opportunities to enhance care for children affected by movement disorders. The first MDS-PAS Pediatric Movement Disorders Course will provide a state-of-the-art review of current practices, controversies, and active areas of research in pediatric movement disorders.

https://education.movementdisorders.org/Detail/909/MDS-PAS-Pediatric-Movement-Disorders-Conference

Multi-Institutional Pediatric Movement Seminar Series 2026-2027

This seminar series is organized between the Pediatric Movement Disorders Programs at Boston
Children’s Hospital in Boston, the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, Children’s National Medical Center
in Washington, D.C., Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and University of Rochester Medical Center.

Date	Speaker	Topic
9/24/26	Darius Ebrahimi-Fakhari, MD, PhD (BCH)	Introduction to the classification and phenomenology of childhood-onset movement disorders
10/1/26	Laura Tochen, MD (Children’s National)	Introduction to symptomatic management of childhood-onset movement disorders
10/22/26	Carolina Gorodetsky, MD (SickKids)	Introduction to deep brain stimulation
10/29/26	Angela Hewitt, MD (University of Rochester)	Approach to childhood-onset dystonia
11/5/26	Mohammed AlQahtani, MD (BCH Fellow)	Fellow case presentation
11/12/26	Asif Doja, MD (Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario)	Transient and developmental movement disorders
11/19/26	Alexander Munchau, MD (Universität zu Lübeck)	An overview of the paroxysmal dyskinesias
12/3/26	Ruba Alayed, MD (SickKids Fellow)	Fellow case presentation
12/10/26	Kinga Tomczak, MD (BCH)	Evaluation and treatment of tics and Tourette syndrome
12/17/26	Kathryn Yang, MD (BCH)	Movement disorder emergencies
1/7/27	Angela Hewitt, MD (University of Rochester)	Case presentation
1/14/27	Darius Ebrahimi-Fakhari, MD, PhD (BCH)	Neuroimaging in movement disorders
1/21/27	Katerina Bernardi, MD (BCH)	Overview of epilepsy-dyskinesia syndromes
1/28/27	Speaker TBD (CHOP)	Fellow case presentation
2/4/27	Alonso Zea Vera, MD (CHOP)	Approach to childhood-onset ataxia
2/11/27	Mark Edwards, MD, PhD (King’s College London)	Functional movement disorders
2/18/27	Steve Wu, MD / Don Gilbert, MD (Cincinnati Children’s)	Case presentation
2/25/27	Manju Kurian, MD, PhD (Great Ormond Street Hospital)	Overview of neurotransmitter disorders
3/4/27	Jenny Wilson, MD (Oregon Health & Science University)	Neurodegeneration with brain iron accumulation disorders
3/11/27	Laura Tochen (Children’s National)	Case presentation
3/25/27	Dan Lumsden, MRCPCH (Evelina London Children’s Hospital)	Palliative care in movement disorders
4/1/27	Zainab Zaman, MD (BCH)	Botox in pediatric movement disorder practice
4/22/27	Rebecca Lindsay, MD (BCH Fellow)	Fellow case presentation
4/29/27	Darius Ebrahimi-Fakhari, MD, PhD (BCH)	Hereditary spastic paraplegias
5/6/27	Wes Northam, MD (BCH)	An approach to surgical management of spasticity
5/13/27	Speaker TBD (SickKids Fellow)	Fellow case presentation
5/20/27	Leon Dure, MD (Children’s of Alabama)	Movement disorders in juvenile Huntington’s disease
5/27/27	Anne Koy, MD (Universitätsklinikum Köln)	DBS in cerebral palsy and acquired dystonias
6/3/27	Speaker TBD (CHOP)	Case presentation
6/10/27	Jennifer Vermillion, MD (University of Rochester)	Intersection of psychiatry and movement disorders
6/17/27	Haya Alfaris, MD (King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research)	Cases presentations from a tertiary centre in Saudi Arabia
6/24/27	Steve Wu, MD / Don Gilbert, MD (Cincinnati Children’s)	Case presentation

2025-2026 season talks:

Below is the schedule for the previous season:

DBSMatchmaker

An Innovative Platform for Global Collaboration in Pediatric Movement Disorders

The Challenge

Rare genetic movement disorders are complex and often affect children, presenting significant clinical challenges. Many conditions are ultra-rare, affecting fewer than 100 individuals worldwide. While DBS has shown promising results across an expanding range of monogenic conditions, clinicians often lack comprehensive insights due to limited experience with these rare disorders.

How DBSMatchMaker Works

Submit Cases: Clinicians submit DBS cases through our secure REDCap platform, including genetic and treatment details.
Find Matches: Our team reviews submissions and connects centers treating similar genetic conditions.
Collaborate: Connected centers share experiences and insights to optimize treatment approaches.

Join Our Network

Are you a clinician treating rare diseases with DBS? Join our network now:
Access DBSMatchMaker Portal

Contact

For more information about DBSMatchMaker, please contact:
movementdisorders@childrens.harvard.edu

Supporting the Rare Disease Community

We believe that the work of our laboratory should not only be confined to advancing science, but that we should also strive to engage the broader community. Through a variety of outreach efforts, we believe that we can help make our scientific communities more inclusive and learn from the diverse perspectives these experiences provide.

6/27/2024	Samuel Frank, MD Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston	Approach to Huntington's Disease, including juvenile-onset forms
	Speaker	Topic
9/14/2023	Course Directors: Carolina Gorodetsky, MD (SickKids) Laura Tochen, MD (Children’s National) Darius Ebrahimi-Fakhari, MD, PhD (BCH	Introduction to the classification, phenomenology, andsymptomatic management of childhood-onset movement disorders
9/28/2023	Carolina Gorodetsky, MD The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto	Introduction to deep brain stimulation
10/12/2023	Daniel Lumsden, MB/BChir, PhD, FRCPCH Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Trust, London	Management of dystonia including status dystonicus
10/26/2023	Movement Disorders Fellows/Faculty	Case Conference 1
11/09/2023	Jonathan Mink, MD, PhD University of Rochester, Rochester	Transient or developmental movement disorders and stereotypies
12/14/2023	Emmanuel Roze, MD, PhD Pierre et Marie Curie University, Paris	The paroxysmal dyskinesias with a focus on ADCY5-related disorder
1/11/2024	Movement Disorders Fellows/Faculty	Case Conference 2
1/18/2024	Mohamad A. Mikati, MD Duke University, Durham	The movement disorder spectrum of ATP1A3-related disorder
1/25/2024	Donald L. Gilbert, MD, MS Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, Cincinnati	Tics & Tourette's syndrome
2/1/2024	Bhooma Aravamuthan, MD, DPhil Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis	Movement disorders in cerebral palsy
2/15/2024	Darius Ebrahimi-Fakhari, MD, PhD Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston	Epilepsy-dyskinesia syndromes
2/22/2024	Movement Disorders Fellows/Faculty	Case Conference 4
3/14/2024	Movement Disorders Fellows/Faculty	Case Conference 5
3/21/2024	Manju Kurian, MBBChir, PhD, MRCPCH Great Ormond Street Hospital, London	Neurotransmitter Disorders
3/28/2024	Miryam Carecchio, MD, PhD University of Padova, Padova	KMT2B-related disorder
4/11/2024	Anne Koy, MD University Hospital Cologne, Cologne	GNAO1-related disorder
4/18/2024	Movement Disorders Fellows/Faculty	Case Conference 6
4/25/2024	Toni Pearson, MBBS Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus	Principles of gene therapy for movement disorders
5/16/2024	Thomas Klopstock, MD Ludwig-Maximilians-University of Munich, Munich	Neurodegeneration with brain iron accumulation (NBIA) - Novel therapeutic approaches
5/30/2024	Movement Disorders Fellows/Faculty	Case Conference 7
6/13/2024	Movement Disorders Fellows/Faculty	Case Conference 8
6/20/2024	Juan Darío Ortigoza-Escobar, MD, PhD Sant Joan de Déu Hospital, Barcelona	Movement disorders in inborn errors of metabolism

Date	Speaker	Topic
9/4/25	Carolina Gorodetsky, MD (SickKids); Laura Tochen, MD (Children’s National); Darius Ebrahimi-Fakhari, MD, PhD (BCH)	Introduction to the classification and phenomenology of childhood-onset movement disorders
9/11/25	Carolina Gorodetsky, MD; Laura Tochen, MD; Darius Ebrahimi-Fakhari, MD, PhD	Introduction to symptomatic management of childhood-onset movement disorders
9/18/25	Lindsey Vogt, MD (The Hospital for Sick Children)	Management of status dystonicus
9/25/25	Carolina Gorodetsky, MD (The Hospital for Sick Children)	Introduction to deep brain stimulation
10/2/25	Angela Hewitt, MD (University of Rochester Medical Center)	Childhood onset dystonia
10/16/25	Boston Children’s Hospital Fellow	Fellow case presentation
10/23/25	Kinga Tomczak, MD (Boston Children’s Hospital)	Approach to Tics and Tourette Syndrome
10/30/25	Tamara Pringsheim, MD, FRCPC (University of Calgary)	Pharmacotherapy in Tics and Tourette Syndrome
11/06/25	Alexander Münchau, MD (University of Lübeck)	An overview on the paroxysmal dyskinesias
11/13/25	Kathryn Yang, MBChB, FRCPC (Boston Children’s Hospital)	Overview of ADCY5-related disorder
11/20/25	Dario Ortigoza-Escobar, MD, PhD (Hospital Sant Joan de Déu)	Overview of GNAO1-related disorder and current relevant research
12/4/25	Darius Ebrahimi-Fakhari, MD, PhD (Boston Children’s Hospital)	Epilepsy-dyskinesia syndromes
1/15/26	Alonso Zea Vera, MD (Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia)	Case presentation
1/22/26	LiFang Dai, MD (Beijing Children’s Hospital)	Overview of KMT2B and current relevant research
1/29/26	Hospital for Sick Children Fellow	Fellow case presentation
2/12/26	Belén Pérez Dueñas, MD (Hospital Vall d’Hebrón)	Overview of myoclonus-dystonia syndrome
2/19/26	University of Rochester Fellow	Fellow case presentation
2/26/26	Jennifer Friedman, MD (University of California San Diego)	Overview of neurotransmitter disorders
3/5/26	Boston Children’s Hospital Fellow	Fellow case presentation
3/19/26	Laura Tochen, MD (Children’s National Hospital)	Case presentation
3/26/26	Jean-Pierre Lin, MD, PhD (Evelina London Children’s Hospital)	DBS in cerebral palsy and secondary dystonia
4/2/26	Hospital for Sick Children Fellow	Fellow case presentation
4/9/26	Wes Northam, MD (Boston Children’s Hospital)	An approach to surgical management of spasticity
4/30/26	Leon Dure, MD (Children’s Hospital of Alabama)	Movement disorders in juvenile Huntington’s disease
5/7/26	Jenny Wilson, MD (Oregon Health & Science University)	Palliative care in movement disorders (4 pm EST)
5/14/26	Alonso Zea Vera, MD (Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia)	Case presentation
5/21/26	Ludy Shih, MD (Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center)	Approach to tremor
6/4/26	Maria-Roser Pons, MD (Agia Sofia Hospital, University of Athens)	Overview of juvenile Parkinsonism
6/11/26	University of Rochester Fellow	Fellow case presentation
6/18/26	Lisette Koens, MD (University Medical Center Groningen)	Myoclonus in pediatric movement disorders
6/25/26	Shekeeb Mohammad, MD (University of Sydney)	Autoimmune-Mediated Movement Disorders (4 pm EST)

Date	Speaker	Topic
9/5/24	Course Directors: Carolina Gorodetsky, MD (SickKids) Laura Tochen, MD (Children's National) Darius Ebrahimi-Fakhari, MD, PhD (BCH)	Introduction to the classification and phenomenology of childhood-onset movement disorders
9/12/24	Carolina Gorodetsky, MD (SickKids) Laura Tochen, MD (Children's National) Darius Ebrahimi-Fakhari, MD, PhD (BCH)	Introduction to symptomatic management of childhood-onset movement disorders
9/19/24	Carolina Gorodetsky, MD The Hospital for Sick Children	Introduction to deep brain stimulation
10/10/24	Jonathan Mink, MD, PhD University of Rochester Medical Center	Transient or developmental Movement Disorders and Stereotypies
10/24/24	Travis Larsh, MD Cincinnati Children's Hospital	Functional Movement Disorders
10/31/24	Tamara Pringsheim, MD Alberta Children's Hospital	Tics & Tourette Syndrome (3 pm EST)
11/07/24	Rebecca Lindsay, MD Alberta Children's Hospital	Resident Case Presentation
12/05/24	Kathryn Yang, MBChB Boston Children's Hospital	Management of Status Dystonicus
12/12/24	Jennifer O'Malley, MD Stanford Medicine Children's Health	Deep Brain Stimulation in the Treatment of Dystonia (3pm EST)
12/19/24	Carolina Gorodetsky, MD The Hospital for Sick Children	Deep Brain Stimulation for Status Dystonicus
1/16/25	Todd Herrington, MD Massachusetts General Hospital	Research and Clinical Trials in Deep Brain Stimulation
1/23/25	Fellow from Boston Children's Hospital	Fellow Case Presentation
1/30/25	Terence Sanger, MD Children's Hospital of Orange County	Deep Brain Stimulation in Cerebral Palsy (3 pm EST)
2/6/25	Angela Hewitt, MD University of Rochester Medical Center	Childhood-Onset Dystonia
2/13/25	Weston Northam, MD Boston Children's Hospital	An Approach to Surgical Management of Spasticity
2/20/25	Fellow from The Hospital for Sick Children	Fellow Case Presentation
2/27/25	Maria-Roser Pons, MD Agia Sofia Hospital, University of Athens	Infantile and Early Childhood Parkinsonism
3/6/25	Lisette Koens, MD University Medical Center Groningen	Myoclonus in Pediatric Movement Disorders
3/20/25	Fellow from Boston Children's Hospital	Fellow Case Presentation
3/27/25	Vicente Quiroz, MD University of Valparaiso	The Spectrum of Epilepsy-Dyskinesia Syndromes
4/3/25	Amy Viehoever, MD Washington University in St. Louis	Overview of GNAO1 and Current Research Developments
4/24/25	Shekeeb Mohammad, MD University of Sydney	Autoimmune-Mediated Movement Disorders (4 pm EST)
5/1/25	David Lynch, MD Children's Hospital of Philadelphia	Overview of Friedreich's Ataxia
5/8/25	Fellow from The Hospital for Sick Children	Fellow Case Presentation
5/15/25	Laura Tochen, MD Children's National Hospital	Movement Disorders in Pediatric Leukodystrophies
5/29/25	Lifang Dai, MD Beijing Children's Hospital	Pediatric Movement Disorders from a Single Center in China
6/5/25	Penny Hogarth, MD Oregon Health & Science University	Overview of Pantothenate Kinase-Associated Neurodegeneration (PKAN) (3 pm EST)
6/12/25	Joshua Burns, PhD St. Jude Children's Research Hospital	Digital Outcome Measures in Movement Disorders