Umer Akbar, MD

Umer Akbar, M.D., is a neurologist who specializes in the care of people with movement disorders, including Parkinson’s disease, dystonia and essential tremor. He is the director of the Movement Disorder Center at the department of Neurology and Hackensack Meridian Neuroscience Institute at Hackensack University Medical Center. He is also a professor of Neurology at the Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine.

He joins the team from Rhode Island Hospital/Brown University and the University of Florida, where he directed the Movement Disorder Center was awarded the Dystonia Medical Research Foundation fellowship grant to study diffusion tensor imaging in dystonia patients undergoing deep brain stimulation (DBS).

Dr. Akbar is trained in the diagnosis and management of movement disorders, and is proficient in botulinum toxin injections, DBS patient evaluation and selection, intraoperative microelectrode recording, and post-operative DBS programming.

Following his undergraduate education at Rutgers University, Dr. Akbar attended the Medical School of the Americas, St. Kitts & Nevis, and subsequently completed neurology training at Rutgers University/Cooper University Hospital and a movement disorder fellowship at University of Florida, Gainesville. He became involved with research early in his training and remains enthusiastic and engaged with scientific exploration as it pertains to clinical management of people with movement disorders. His research areas of interest are Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS), Parkinson's disease and dystonia.

He has published multiple articles, book chapters and abstracts in peer-reviewed journals and industry publications, and is frequently invited to present at national and international conferences. Dr. Akbar is a member of the American Academy of Neurology, Movement Disorders Society, Society of Neuroscience and the International Neuropalliative Care Society.