WszolekCV

Zbigniew K. Wszolek, M.D.
Professor of Neurology

Zbigniew K. Wszolek, M.D., is a consultant in the Department of Neurology at Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida. Dr. Wszolek joined the staff of Mayo Clinic in 1998 and holds the academic rank of professor of neurology, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science. He is recognized with the distinction of the Haworth Family Professorship in Neurodegenerative Diseases.

Dr. Wszolek earned his M.D. at the Medical University of Silesia in Katowice, Poland. His postgraduate training includes a neurology residency and fellowships in clinical neurophysiology, movement disorders and PET imaging in Poland, the U.S. and Canada.

Dr. Wszolek’s scientific interests are in the field of clinical genetics of neurodegenerative conditions. He has been instrumental in the discovery of the several genes in which the mutations produce the clinical signs of parkinsonism, dementia, dystonia, ataxia and others. He holds several patents for discoveries related to the genetics of parkinsonism. He served as a clinical core leader on the NIH-sponsored Mayo Clinic Florida Morris K. Udall Parkinson’s Disease Research Center of Excellence from 1999 to 2018.

Dr. Wszolek has published extensively in peer-reviewed journals. He is a former co-editor-in-chief of Parkinsonism and Related Disorders and associate editor of European Journal of Neurology. He currently serves as co-editor-in-chief of Polish Journal of Neurology and Neurosurgery.

In recognition of his work, Dr. Wszolek has received many national and international awards and honors, including Canadian, Indian, Japanese, Polish, and Swiss awards. He is on the Thomson Reuters 2015 and 2016 lists of “The World’s Most Influential Scientific Minds” and on the Clarivate Analytics list of “2017 Highly Cited Researchers.” Dr. Wszolek also received an Honoris Causa Doctorate from the Medical University of Silesian and was recognized with the Distinguished Investigator Award and Team Science Award at Mayo Clinic. He is a Honorary Member of the Japanese and Polish Neurological Societies.

In addition to his clinical and research activities, Dr. Wszolek is active in education and has provided mentorship to multiple visiting scientists and fellows from US and many foreign countries among them Germany, Israel, Japan, Norway, Poland, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, and others.

Dr. Wszolek is a fellow of the American Academy of Neurology and the American Neurological Association, and he is a founding officer of the International Association of Parkinsonism and Related Disorders. He has served on committees for numerous professional organizations including the Scientific Advisory Board of the Translational and Clinical Research Flagship Programme of the National Medical Research Council of Singapore.