VMG Innovation Integration Center

David Charles, MD

Dr. David Charles is Chief Medical Officer of the Vanderbilt Neuroscience Institute, Professor and Vice-Chairman of Neurology, and Medical Director of Telemedicine Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee.

His research interests include the treatment of Parkinson’s disease, spasticity and cervical dystonia. Dr. Charles is currently leading the only clinical trial approved by the US Food and Drug Administration to test Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) in patients with early-stage Parkinson’s disease. He is a Fellow of the American Neurological Association and the American Academy of Neurology, Chair of the Alliance for Patient Access, and Past-President of the Tennessee Academy of Neurology.

Dr. Charles received his medical degree from Vanderbilt University School of Medicine where he also completed his internship in medicine and residency in neurology. He served as Chief Resident in Neurology and then completed a fellowship in Movement Disorders and Clinical Neurophysiology. After joining the faculty at Vanderbilt, he was named a Fulbright Senior Scholar at the Universitaire de Grenoble in Grenoble, France, to study DBS for the treatment of movement disorders.