Elan Louis, M.D., M.S. Titles and Appointments Department of Neurology, Chair Professor & Chair Endowed Title Linda and Mitch Hart Distinguished Chair in Neurology School Medical School Department Neurology | Public Health You have reached the Academic Profile. For more information on the doctor and patient care, please visit the clinical profile. Biography Joined UT Southwestern: 2020 Elan Louis, M.D., is Professor and Chair of the Department of Neurology at UT Southwestern Medical Center. He specializes in disorders of involuntary movement and is considered the world’s leading scholar in essential tremor (ET). Dr. Louis earned his medical degree at Yale University and a master’s degree in epidemiology at Columbia University. He completed a residency in neurology at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center and then received advanced training in movement disorders and neuroepidemiology through fellowships at Columbia University. Dr. Louis served in Yale University’s Department of Neurology from 2015 to 2020 as a tenured Professor of Neurology and Epidemiology, Chief of the Movement Disorders Division, Associate Chair of Outpatient Clinical Research, and Co-Director of the Center for Neuroepidemiology and Clinical Neurological Research. Prior to that, he was a tenured Professor of Neurology and Epidemiology at Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons, where he was also the Associate Chairman for Academic Affairs and Faculty Development. Certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, Dr. Louis joined the UT Southwestern faculty in 2020. Dr. Louis’s research focuses on the genetics, epidemiology, and pathophysiology of tremor disorders. His work on essential tremors has been cited in the New York Times as “pioneering,” and, in fact, his research has challenged many of the prevailing notions about ET and has substantially recreated the dialogue in the ET field. He collaborates with investigators in Spain, Turkey, Mexico, and other countries, examining the epidemiology of ET in these populations. Dr. Louis established the Essential Tremor Centralized Brain Repository – a national centralized brain bank for the study of ET. He has received continuous funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) since 1995 and continuous R01 funding since 2000, as well as funding from the International Essential Tremor Foundation, the Charles A. Dana Foundation, the Parkinson's Disease Foundation, and a Paul Beeson Physician Faculty Scholars Award from the American Federation for Aging Research. He has authored more than 700 peer-reviewed scientific articles and book chapters and written invited editorials and reviews for Annals of Neurology, New England Journal of Medicine, and Lancet Neurology. He is the founding Editor-in-Chief of Tremor and Other Hyperkinetic Movements, and he serves on the editorial board of more than 10 other scholarly journals He is also the editor of Merritt’s Textbook of Neurology, one of the premier general neurology textbooks in the country. Dr. Louis has served on multiple medical advisory boards, including the boards of the International Essential Tremor Foundation, the Tremor Action Network, and HopeNET, and he is a member of the American Academy of Neurology, the American Neurological Association, and the International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society. He is committed to the care of patients with involuntary movements and has been listed by Castle Connolly as one of the Top Doctors in the field of Neurology. Education Medical School Yale University School of Medicine (1989) Internship Yale University School of Medicine (1990), Internal Medicine Residency Columbia University, New York Presbyterian Hospital (1993), Neurology Fellowship Columbia University, New York Presbyterian Hospital (1995), Movement Disorders Other Post Graduate Training Harlem Hospital Center (1995), Epidemiology Fellowship Columbia University, New York Presbyterian Hospital (1995), Neuro-epidemiology Research Interest Disorders of involuntary movement History of Science Neurodegenerative diseases Tremor disorders - associated comorbidities Tremor disorders - clinical features Tremor disorders - cohort studies Tremor disorders - environmental determinants Tremor disorders - epidemiology Tremor disorders - genetic determinants Tremor disorders - neuropathological and molecular basis Tremor disorders - rating scales Publications Essential tremor with tau pathology features seeds indistinguishable in conformation from Alzheimer’s disease and primary age-related tauopathy Saez-Calveras N, Vaquer-Alicea J, White CL, Tak Y, Cosentino S, Faust PL, Louis ED, Diamond MI Acta Neuropathologica 2025 Jun 149 Serum Neurofilament Light-Chain Levels in Essential Tremor: A Replication Study Louis ED, Sharma VD, Hajjar I, Hernandez N Neurodegenerative Diseases 2025 Mar 24 141-147 Audible tremor: Analysis of the validity of audible information in assessing tremor severity Grill N, Wainman E, Sharma VD, O'Suilleabhain P, Louis ED Parkinsonism and Related Disorders 2025 Mar 132 Cranial Tremors in Essential Tremor: Prevalence, Anatomic Distribution and Predictors of Occurrence Louis ED Movement Disorders Clinical Practice 2025 Jan 12 57-65 Purkinje Cell Dendritic Swellings: A Postmortem Study of Essential Tremor and Other Cerebellar Degenerative Disorders Louis ED, Kuo SH, Faust PL Cerebellum 2024 Dec 23 2383-2396 Synaptic loss and its association with symptom severity in Parkinson’s disease Holmes SE, Honhar P, Tinaz S, Naganawa M, Hilmer AT, Gallezot JD, Dias M, Yang Y, Toyonaga T, Esterlis I, Mecca A, Van Dyck C, Henry S, Ropchan J, Nabulsi N, Louis E, Comley R, Finnema SJ, Carson RE, Matuskey D npj Parkinson's Disease 2024 Dec 10 Author Correction: Synaptic loss and its association with symptom severity in Parkinson’s disease (npj Parkinson's Disease, (2024), 10, 1, (42), 10.1038/s41531-024-00655-9) Holmes SE, Honhar P, Tinaz S, Naganawa M, Hilmer AT, Gallezot JD, Dias M, Yang Y, Toyonaga T, Esterlis I, Mecca A, Van Dyck C, Henry S, Ropchan J, Nabulsi N, Louis ED, Comley R, Finnema SJ, Carson RE, Matuskey D npj Parkinson's Disease 2024 Dec 10 Prescription Drug Utilization among Patients with Essential Tremor: A Cross-Sectional Study of More Than 36,000 Patients Kapinos KA, Louis ED Movement Disorders Clinical Practice 2024 Oct 11 1203-1211 Baseline Depressive Symptoms as a Predictor of Incident Dementia in a Prospectively Followed Cohort of Elders with Essential Tremor Berry DS, Ghanem A, Mcgurn MM, Huey ED, Cosentino S, Louis ED Neurodegenerative Diseases 2024 Sep 24 80-90 Subjective Sleep Disturbance and Lewy Pathology: Data from a Cohort of Essential Tremor Brain Donors Ghanem A, Berry DS, Cosentino S, Faust PL, Louis ED Neurodegenerative Diseases 2024 Jul 24 6-15 Results 1-10 of 776 1 2 3 4 5 Next Last Books Featured Books Merritt's Textbook of Neurology (Ed.) (2013). Philadelphia, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins Honors & Awards H. Richard Tyler Award historical researchAmerican Academy of Neurology (2010) Lawrence C. McHenry Award for excellence in research in neurological historyAmerican Academy of Neurology (2010) Dorothy Dillon Eweson Lectureship on Advances in Aging ResearchAmerican Federation for Aging Research (2000-2005) Paul Beeson Physician Faculty ScholarAmerican Federation for Aging Research (1997-2000) Lawrence C. McHenry Award for excellence in research in neurological historyAmerican Academy of Neurology (1994) Outstanding Houseofficer and TeacherCollege of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University (1992) Cum LaudeYale University School of Medicine (1989) Harold Lamport Biomedical Research PrizeYale University School of Medicine (1989) Merck Research AwardYale University School of Medicine (1989) Magna Cum LaudeUniversity of Pennsylvania (1984) Phi Beta KappaUniversity of Pennsylvania (1984) Professional Associations/Affiliations American Academy of Neurology (Scientific Program Subcomittee) (2002-2005) Basal Ganglia (editorial board) (2017-2019) Cerebellum and Ataxias (editorial board) (2014-2020) Dystonia Medical Research Foundation (Medical Advisory Board) (2004-2006) Frontiers in Movement Disorders (editorial board) (2010-2020) HopeNET (Medical Advisory Board) (2014-2020) Institute of Medicine (Committee to Review the Health Effects in Vietnam Veterans Exposed to Herbicides - Tenth Biennial Update) (2014-2015) International Essential Tremor Foundation (Advisor) (2005-2020) Journal of Clinical Movement Disorders (editorial board) (2013-2020) Journal of the History of the Neurosciences (editorial board) (2001-2020) Movement Disorders (editorial board) (2000-2005) National Institutes of Health (Clinical Neuroscience and Disease Study Section Member) (2003-2008) Neuroepidemiology (editorial board) (2008-2020) Parkinson's Disease (editorial board) (2009-2020) Tremor and Other Hyperkinetic Movements (Editor in Chief) (2010-2020)
