Our professionals
Dr. Mari Cruz Rodríguez
Director of the Department of Neurology.
Specialist in Neurology.
Primary focus on Parkinson’s disease, tremor, and other movement disorders.
Professional career
Medical degree from the University of Navarra in 1991.
Specialist in Neurology at Clínica Universidad de Navarra in 1995.
PhD in Medicine from the University of La Laguna in 1999.
Research stay at the Brain Bank (Prof. Jenner), National Parkinson Foundation, Miami (USA), 1996.
Research stay at the animal neurophysiology laboratory at Emory University, Atlanta (USA), 1997.
Research stay at the Institute of Neurology in London, in the Animal Neurophysiology Unit, 2004.
Consultant, Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Clínica Universitaria de la Universidad de Navarra, 2000-2011.
Senior Ikerbasque Researcher (2011-2017), Director of Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases at the BioDonostia Health Research Institute (2014-2017), Director of the Parkinson’s Disease and Neurodegeneration Group at the BCBL-Basque Center on Cognition (2015-2019), and Adjunct Neurologist at Hospital Universitario Donostia, San Sebastián (2011-2017).
RESEARCH AREAS
- Parkinson’s disease and movement disorders. Clinical practice, neurophysiology, and neuroimaging.
- Advanced therapies: deep brain stimulation and HIFU-Focused Ultrasound in the subthalamic nucleus and thalamus in Parkinson’s disease and essential tremor.
- Pathophysiology of the basal ganglia in Parkinson’s disease.
- Dementia and cognitive impairment in Parkinson’s disease.
- Impulse control disorder (ICD) in Parkinson’s disease.
- Detection of early diagnostic and progression biomarkers in Parkinson’s disease.
- Synaptic dysfunction and dopaminergic degeneration
AREAS OF INTEREST
- Treatment with deep brain stimulation and HIFU in movement disorders.
- Parkinson’s disease.
- Tremor.
- Tics.
- Myoclonus.
- Chorea.
- Dystonia.
- Gait disorders
Activity
In teaching
- Full Professor accredited by the Agència per a la Qualitat del Sistema Universitari de Catalunya (AQU) 2020.
- Tenured Professor of Neurology accredited by ANECA since 2013.
- Full Professor at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Navarra 2023.
- She has supervised 14 doctoral theses, all of them awarded the highest grade, two with an extraordinary award and 2 with an international mention.
In research
- She has contributed to the publication of more than 190 scientific articles in high-impact international journals and more than 200 conference presentations at national/international meetings.
- She has contributed to more than 30 books and more than 30 research projects, national and international.
Awards
- Federico Oloriz Neurosciences Institute Award for the best young researcher of the year, Royal Academy of Medicine of Granada, 2001.
- Member of the Royal Academy of Medicine of Granada since January 2002.
- Second prize, Parkinson's disease. Foundation of the Spanish Society of Neurology, November 2002.
- Award for the best poster on Movement disorders. Spanish Society of Neurology 2007.
- Scientific Award Movement Disorders-2017. Spanish Society of Neurology, 2018.
- Zambon Scientific Research Award in the field of Parkinson's Disease 2019, to the project "Neurosciences-Parkinson's Disease Program" granted by the Cure Parkinson's Foundation (Spanish Foundation for Parkinson's Research Support) .
Scientific organizations
- Associate editor of Movement Disorders Journal.
- Member of the editorial committee of Movement Disorders clinical practice.
- Member of the Scientific Issues Committee of the Movement Disorders Society.
- Member of the international guideline development committee for deep brain stimulation treatment in Parkinson's disease.
- Member of the Movement Disorders Society Task Force on Mild Cognitive Impairment in Parkinson's Disease.
- Member of the Movement Disorders Society Task force on neuroimaging in Parkinson's disease.
- Member of the Task force of the Movement Disorders Society in rare diseases with movement disorders.