University of Lübeck, Lübeck

Department of Paediatric and Adult Movement Disorders and Neuropsychiatry Institute of Neurogenetics University of Lübeck Marie-Curie-Strasse 66 23560 Lübeck, Germany Website link
Principal Investigator Prof. Alexander Münchau Phone: +49 451/ 3101 8210 Email: alexander.muenchau@neuro.uni-luebeck.de
Study Coordinator Jenny Schmalfeld Phone: +49 451/ 3101 8214 / +49 451 5004 3499 Email: jenny.schmalfeld@neuro.uni-luebeck.de

 

Institute Description

The newly founded Department of Paediatric and Adult Movement Disorders and Neuropsychiatry is part of the Institute of Neurogenetics at the University of Lübeck. It is an interdisciplinary institution focusing on clinical care and systems neuroscience research of movement disorders and neuropsychiatric disorders of all ages with a particular focus on patients with spasticity, Huntington’s disease, Gilles de la Tourette syndrome, and rare neurological diseases including paroxysmal movement disorders. It closely cooperates with the Departments of Neurology, Neurosurgery, Psychiatry, the Paediatric Department and the Institutes of Genetics and Neuroradiology of Lübeck University and is part of the Lübeck Centre for Rare Diseases. It is generously supported by the Possehl-Stiftung.

The Department’s main research projects address motor physiology in health and disease, motor development, cognitive control of movements, imitation including echophenomena, genotype-phenotype relations and pathophysiology of various movement disorders, in particular dystonia, genetically determined Parkinsonian syndromes and Gilles de la Tourette syndrome.

Short profile of group

Prof. A. Münchau studied medicine in Hamburg and Berlin, Germany. After a formative final year clinical attachment with Dr. John Patten in Guildford, UK, he was trained in Clinical Neurology and Neurophysiology in the Neurology Department of St. Georg Hospital in Hamburg. With support from the Jung-Stiftung für Wissenschaft und Forschung (Hamburg) and the Tourette Syndrome Association (USA) he spent 3 years at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, Queen Square, London under the supervision of David Marsden, Niall Quinn, Kailash Bhatia, Mary Robertson and Michael Trimble, sub-specialising in movement disorders and neuropsychiatry. During that period he carried out neurophysiology research at the Institute of Neurology, predominantly in the Human Movement and Balance Unit, in the groups of John Rothwell, Adolfo Bronstein and Michael Gresty. From 2001 to 2013 A. Münchau was working in the Neurology Department of Hamburg University Hospital where he became Consultant in 2003 and Deputy Head of Department in 2005. Supported by the Volkswagenstiftung, the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG; German Research Council) and European research support he set up a Movement Disorders and Motor Systems Neuroscience group with a special focus on paediatric movement disorders and the pathophysiology of paediatric and adult movement disorders. In 2013, he became head of the newly founded Department of Paediatric and Adult Movement Disorders and Neuropsychiatry in the Institute of Neurogenetics at Lübeck University. A. Münchau is chairman of N.E.MO., a charity for the support of clinical care and research of paediatric movement disorders and founding member of the “Agentur für Überschüsse” (Agency of surplus), an interdisciplinary neuroscience / theatre science / philosophy group addressing the implications and repercussions of abnormal movements in science, society and the arts.

Jenny Schmalfeld works as a study coordinator and study nurse in our team for many years and cares for patients especially with movement disorders during studies, in the outpatient clinic for movement disorders and is involved in the consultation hours for spasticity and Botox injections. She is responsible especially for studies in the field of Huntington´s disease (REGISTRY study) and Tourette syndrome (TicGenetics, EMTICS).