Farwa Ali

Farwa Ali, M.B.B.S., serves as a Consultant in the Section of Movement Disorders within the Department of Neurology at Mayo Clinic's Rochester campus. She holds the academic rank of Associate Professor of Neurology through the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine. Her clinical expertise centers on movement disorders including Parkinson's disease, tremor, dystonia, and atypical parkinsonian syndromes with particular focus on progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP).

Dr. Ali's research program investigates PSP through multiple complementary approaches: advanced neuroimaging (tau-PET, amyloid-PET, FDG-PET, quantitative susceptibility mapping), detailed gait and motion analysis, speech and swallowing evaluations, and oculomotor studies. Her work examines disease heterogeneity across PSP variants, longitudinal progression patterns, and the relationship between clinical manifestations and underlying neuropathology. Current research emphasizes identifying imaging biomarkers for early diagnosis and developing quantitative methods to track disease progression.

Analysis of her recent publications reveals a strong focus on multimodal imaging techniques to differentiate PSP variants, validate diagnostic criteria, and understand pathophysiological mechanisms. Her work increasingly incorporates machine learning approaches to neuroimaging data and emphasizes quantitative gait analysis as both a diagnostic tool and outcome measure. The research demonstrates consistent collaboration with Mayo's neuroimaging, neuropathology, and movement disorders teams.

• Jon Stolk Award in Movement Disorders for Young Investigators (2023)
• AAN A.B Baker Award in Neurologic Education (2020)
• Teacher of the Year, Neurology Residency Program (2019)
• Teacher of the Year, Mayo Clinic Rochester (2019)
• Adult Neurology Residency Chief Resident Award (2017)

Dr. Ali actively contributes to clinical education as evidenced by multiple teaching awards and serves on the Executive Steering Committee of the CurePSP Foundation. Her research program receives support through Mayo Clinic's infrastructure and collaborates with national consortia studying neurodegenerative disorders. She participates in multidisciplinary clinics for complex movement disorder cases and contributes to consensus statements on PSP management.