Aasef G. Shaikh

Dr. Aasef G. Shaikh is a Professor of Neurology and Biomedical Engineering at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, where he holds the Penni and Stephen Weinberg Chair in Brain Health. He serves as Vice Chairman for Research in the Department of Neurology at University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center and directs the National VA Parkinson Consortium Center at the Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center. With dual MD and PhD credentials, Dr. Shaikh is a physician-scientist whose career bridges clinical neurology, computational neuroscience, and neural engineering.

Dr. Shaikh earned his Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Science from Medical College Baroda in 2000, followed by a PhD from Wayne State University in 2003. His clinical training includes residencies and fellowships in neurology, movement disorders, neurotology, and eye movement research at prestigious institutions including Johns Hopkins Hospital, Emory University Hospital, and Cleveland Clinic. He is board-certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology.

Dr. Shaikh's research focuses on movement disorders, particularly Parkinson's disease, dystonia, and tremors, with special emphasis on deep brain stimulation, gait disorders, and neuro-ophthalmological aspects of movement disorders. His work integrates clinical observation with computational modeling to understand the neural mechanisms underlying movement disorders. He has made significant contributions to understanding saccadic oscillations, vestibular function in movement disorders, and the application of neuromodulation techniques. His research has been published in numerous high-impact journals, and he has edited several books in the field of movement disorders and neuro-ophthalmology.

Dr. Shaikh has received multiple prestigious awards recognizing his contributions to neurology and movement disorders research, including the American Academy of Neurology Alliance Founders Award, American Neurological Association Grass Foundation Award in Neuroscience, American Academy of Neurology Jon Stolk Award for movement disorders, American Academy of Neurology Career Development Award, and American Parkinson's Disease Association George C Cotzias Memorial scholarship.

As a dedicated mentor, Dr. Shaikh has trained numerous post-doctoral scholars, medical students, neurology residents, clinical fellows, and undergraduate and graduate students. His research is supported by multiple NIH and VA grants, including R01 funding from the National Institutes of Health and several Merit Review awards from the Department of Veterans Affairs. His current projects include research on deep brain stimulation for visuomotor function in Parkinson's disease, remote dynamic cycling for customized off-site rehabilitation in Parkinson's disease, and subthalamic deep brain stimulation to modulate vestibular heading perception.

Dr. Shaikh leads the Shaikh Lab, which operates within the Daroff-Dell'Osso Eye Movement Physiology Laboratory at the Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center. His interdisciplinary team includes biomedical engineers, physiologists, and clinicians working together to advance understanding of movement disorders and develop innovative treatments. He also collaborates extensively with researchers at Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland Clinic, and international institutions to expand the impact of his work.