San Francisco Staff

William J. Marks, Jr., MD
William J. Marks, Jr., MD is the Director of the San Francisco VA Parkinson’s Disease Research, Education, & Clinical Center (PADRECC) and Assistant Professor of Neurology at the University of California, San Francisco. A graduate of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Dr. Marks completed residency and fellowship training at the University of California, San Francisco. His clinical and research interests include the medical and surgical treatment of movement disorders, the neurophysiology of neurological disease, and neuromodulation strategies for the treatment of other neurological disorders, including epilepsy.

Philip A. Starr, MD, PhD
Philip A. Starr, MD, PhD is the PADRECC's Director of Surgery, an Assistant Professor of Neurological Surgery and Co-Director of the Functional Neurosurgery Program at the University of California, and a Principal Investigator in Movement Disorders Research. Dr. Starr has a BS from Princeton University, an MD from Harvard Medical School, and a PhD in Neuroscience also from Harvard Medical School. Dr. Starr's particular specialty interests lie in the area of movement disorders, including Parkinson's disease, tremor, and dystonia. He has fellowship training in microelectrode-guided surgery for movement disorders, which he completed at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. Dr. Starr's research interests include physiology of the basal ganglia in the human and subhuman primate, and fetal cell transplantation for degenerative disease. His primary focus is on research related to the neurophysiology and therapy of movement disorders.

Paul S. Larson, MD
Dr. Larson is the attending neurosurgeon at the SFVAMC and a Assistant Professor of Neurological Surgery at the University of California. Dr. Larson's clinical interests are in stereotactic and functional neurosurgery, particularly with regard to movement disorders. Dr. Larson earned is BS at Arizona State University and MD at the University of Arizona. He completed his surgical internship and residency at the University of Louisville.

Graham A. Glass, MD
Graham A. Glass, MD is a neurologist at the PADRECC who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of movement disorders. Dr. Glass received his medical degree from the University of Texas Health Sciences Center at San Antonio School of Medicine and completed his neurology residency at Tufts-New England Medical Center. He subsequently completed a fellowship in Movement Disorders at the Mayo Clinic. His clinical and research interests include the treatment and management of Parkinson's disease, dystonia, myoclonus and chorea. He has published on Multiple System Atrophy and has a particular interest in using electrophysiology for the diagnosis and treatment of movement disorders. In addition, while at the Mayo Clinic he received training in the administration of Botulinum toxin for the treatment of dystonia.

Gail A. Kang, MD
Gail A. Kang, MD is a neurologist at the PADRECC who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of movement disorders. Dr. Kang received her medical degree from Emory University School of Medicine and completed her neurology residency as well as fellowship training at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). She was an Assistant Clinical Professor in Neurology at UCLA prior to joining the San Francisco PADRECC in April 2005. Her clinical and research interests include the treatment and management of Parkinson’s disease, the role of genetic and environmental factors in Parkinson’s disease and neuroimaging in Parkinson’s disease and other parkinsonian syndromes.

Susan Heath, RN, MS
Susan Heath, RN, MS is the Associate Clinical Director of PADRECC. Susan has worked at the SFVAMC for over 15 years as a Clinical Nurse Specialist in Neurosurgery and most recently for the National Movement Disorder Program. Susan coordinates patient care for the PADRECC in collaboration with Drs. Philip Starr and William J. Marks, Jr. She helped develop a national surgical program for movement disorder patients. She is considered an expert in deep brain implant programming and is a national speaker on the topic of management of patients with deep brain implants. Susan earned her undergraduate degree in Nursing from California State University, Hayward then her Master of Science degree from the University of California, San Francisco, Department of Physiological Nursing.

Elaine M. Lanier, RN, MS
Elaine M. Lanier, RN, MS is the Clinical Research Manager for the PADRECC and an Assistant Clinical Professor in the School of Nursing at the University of California, San Francisco. Elaine has focused her nursing career in the areas of Clinical Research, Neurology, and Physical Rehabilitation. She has received a National Nursing Educational Initiative scholarship and a Special Contribution Award for her work at the Epilepsy Monitoring Unit.

Jill L. Ostrem, MD
Jill L. Ostrem, MD is a neurologist who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of movement disorders. She is a member of the San Francisco PADRECC and has been appointed as an Assistant Clinical Professor of Neurology at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). Dr. Ostrem received her Medical Degree from George Washington University School of Medicine and then completed neurology residency and fellowship training at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Her clinical interests include treatment and management of Parkinson’s disease, dystonia, tremor, and neurolysis with botulium toxin. Her research interests include medical and surgical treatments for movement disorders.