Joel S. Perlmutter

Joel S. Perlmutter, MD serves as the Elliot H. Stein Family Chair in Neurology at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and holds professorships in Neurology, Radiology, Neuroscience, Physical Therapy, and Occupational Therapy at Washington University School of Medicine. He leads the Section of Movement Disorders within the Department of Neurology and is affiliated with the Roy and Diana Vagelos Division of Biology & Biomedical Sciences, Institute of Clinical and Translational Sciences, and Hope Center for Neurological Disorders.

Dr. Perlmutter's research focuses on the pathophysiology, etiology, and treatment of movement disorders including Parkinson disease, dystonia, Tourette's syndrome, essential tremor, and Huntington's disease. His laboratory investigates basal ganglia physiology and pharmacology through innovative approaches combining PET imaging of regional cerebral blood flow, cognitive testing, and quantified movement measures. Key research areas include mechanisms of deep brain stimulation, dementia in Parkinson disease, development of neuroprotective drugs, biomarker validation using nonhuman primate models, and creation of biorepositories for movement disorder research.

His extensive publication record (486 research outputs with 27,390 citations) demonstrates leadership in movement disorder research, particularly in Parkinson's disease (100% research focus), PET imaging (39%), Huntington's disease (32%), dystonia (31%), and deep brain stimulation (20%). Recent work emphasizes novel PET radiotracer development, gait analysis across Parkinson's subtypes, and psychiatric comorbidities in movement disorders.

Scientific Recognition

• Top Doctors® designation
• NIH-funded $3 million grant for tracking neuroinflammation in Parkinson's disease
• Jansky/Bander Family Fund ($1.1 million over five years) supporting movement disorders fellowships and research

Dr. Perlmutter actively mentors PhD/MSTP students and leads the NeuroClinical Research Unit, which supports patient-oriented studies through the Brain, Behavior and Performance Unit of the CTSA. His laboratory maintains active collaborations across multiple institutions and has developed critical resources including animal models of dystonia and advanced PET/MRI methodologies for objective disease measurement.