Dr. Sneha Mantri, a nationally recognized Indian American clinician-educator, has become the first chief medical officer Parkinson’s Foundation dedicated to improving the lives of people with Parkinson’s disease (PD) through investments in research, care and education.
The first appointment of its kind for the organization, Mantri will provide medical and clinical care leadership to the Foundation, helping to set the strategic and tactical direction of the Foundation’s care portfolio and ensuring its initiatives remain impactful, scalable, sustainable and measurable, according to a media release.
“We are pleased to add the vital role of Chief Medical Officer to our executive leadership team and are very excited to welcome Dr. Mantri,” said Parkinson’s Foundation president and chief executive officer John L. Lehr. “Her proven dedication to improving the health and well-being of individuals with PD will be instrumental in advancing the Foundation’s mission supporting the one million people living in the U.S. with this disease.”
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Mantri is an associate professor of Neurology at Duke University whose work focuses on interprofessional care, the patient/family perspective and health humanities initiatives.
“Early in my neurology residency, I found myself drawn to the stories of people with Parkinson’s disease – recognizing the impact of PD is unique to each individual person,” Mantri stated. “I love getting to know my patients as people first and thinking about how to personalize their treatments to help them achieve what matters most to them. I’m excited to bring that philosophy of care to this role and address the needs of people with Parkinson’s.”
As a seasoned principal investigator of health equity studies and clinical trials, Mantri has successfully communicated detailed research findings to different members of the PD community throughout the years. She has developed courses for future medical health professionals and is currently facilitating narrative medicine workshops for patients. This innovative work has been recognized by the Josiah Macy Jr Foundation and the American Academy of Neurology.
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At Duke, Mantri developed collaborations with the Margolis Institute for Health Policy, the Duke Clinical Leadership Program and East Carolina University to strengthen outreach to rural communities. Since 2019, she has led THRIVE-PD, an early-intervention team-based care model for people with PD across the Carolinas.
Mantri was featured as part of a panel discussion on PBS-NC for her integrated, interprofessional care model. Mantri was recently selected as a Macy Faculty Scholar, where she will expand humanistic and community-engaged practice approaches in advanced practice nursing and physical and occupational therapy.
Mantri completed her medical education at Columbia University, followed by residency training in adult neurology at the University of Virginia and a movement disorders fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania and Philadelphia VA Medical Center. Since 2018, she has been on the faculty at Duke University. She will continue to see patients on a limited schedule at the Duke Movement Disorders Center.