The close, nearly three decades-long relationship between the Miller School of Medicine and the Miami-based National Parkinson Foundation (NPF) has been made even stronger.

The NPF recently branded the Miller School as a Center of Excellence, propelling the school into an elite group of medical programs—including those at Harvard, Johns Hopkins, University of Pennsylvania, Georgetown University, and King’s College London—that lead the field of Parkinson’s disease-related activities.

Conceptualized by NPF as the regional “hubs” for Parkinson’s disease research, patient care, and community outreach, Centers of Excellence are the place to which patients, physicians, and family members can turn for the most up-to-date research, specialized services, support, information, and referrals. As such, these centers define the “gold standard” for Parkinson’s-related work.

Under the leadership of Carlos Singer, M.D., professor of neurology and director of the Department of Neurology’s Center for Movement Disorders and Parkinson’s Disease, the center will continue its leading-edge Parkinson’s work and will look for increased opportunities for collaboration with the 37 other international NPF Centers of Excellence.

“This great honor marks a new chapter in the Miller School’s longstanding, extremely productive relationship with the National Parkinson Foundation,” says Miller School Dean Pascal J. Goldschmidt, M.D. “I applaud our first-class medical staff for their tireless ongoing efforts, which have earned us the distinction of Center of Excellence, and I thank NPF for recognizing our efforts in Parkinson’s disease research, clinical care, and community outreach.”