Jeffrey Waugh

Jeffrey Waugh, M.D., Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at UT Southwestern Medical Center, where he also serves as the Director of the Pediatric Movement Disorders Program. He joined the faculty in 2017 and is a physician-scientist leading the Waugh Lab, which focuses on understanding the structural brain abnormalities underlying dystonia and other movement disorders.

Education:

• M.D. from UT Southwestern Medical School (2007)
• Internship at UT Southwestern
• Residency in Pediatrics at UT Southwestern/Children’s Medical Center
• Residency in Pediatric Neurology at Harvard Medical School/Boston Children’s Hospital
• Fellowship in Pediatric Movement Disorders at Massachusetts General Hospital (2014)

Research Interests:

Dr. Waugh’s research is centered on pediatric and adult movement disorders, with a particular emphasis on brain imaging in inherited neurological diseases. His lab is actively developing advanced neuroimaging tools to identify striosome and matrix compartments in the living human brain. His work bridges clinical neurology and neuroscience, aiming to uncover the neuroanatomical basis of dystonia and related disorders.

Key research areas include:

• Neuroimaging of movement disorders
• Structural brain abnormalities in dystonia
• Genetic and neurodevelopmental movement disorders
• Deep brain stimulation in pediatric populations
• Histological and in vivo characterization of the human striatum

Publications Overview:

Dr. Waugh has authored over 27 peer-reviewed publications, with a strong focus on neuroimaging techniques, movement disorder phenotyping, and genetic underpinnings of dystonia. His recent work includes novel MRI methods for striatal parcellation, volume normalization in neurodegeneration, and multicenter studies on deep brain stimulation in monogenic dystonia. His research spans from basic neuroanatomy to translational applications in pediatric neurology.

Scientific Awards:

No specific awards were listed in the provided text.

Lab and Team:

Dr. Waugh leads the Waugh Lab, which is dedicated to discovering the neuroanatomy of movement disorders. The lab focuses on developing new neuroimaging methods and histological characterization of the human striatum. Opportunities for joining the lab are available, and interested researchers are encouraged to reach out.