Parkinson's Foundation Announces New Chief Medical Officer Leadership Role

Sneha Mantri, MD, named as Chief Medical Officer (CMO)

NEW YORK and MIAMI, July 8, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The Parkinson's Foundation announced today the appointment of Sneha Mantri, MD, MS, as chief medical officer of the nation's leading organization 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, Dr. 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.

"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." 

A nationally recognized clinician-educator, Dr. Mantri is an associate professor of Neurology at Duke University whose work focuses on interprofessional care, the patient/family perspective and health humanities initiatives. 

Dr. Mantri stated: "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. 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, Dr. 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.

At Duke, Dr. 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. Dr. Mantri was featured as part of a panel discussion on PBS-NC for her integrated, interprofessional care model. Dr. 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.

Dr. 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. 

About the Parkinson's Foundation

The Parkinson's Foundation makes life better for people with Parkinson's disease by improving care and advancing research toward a cure. In everything we do, we build on the energy, experience and passion of our global Parkinson's community. Since 1957, the Parkinson's Foundation has invested more than $474 million in Parkinson's research and clinical care. Connect with us on Parkinson.org, Facebook, X, Instagram or call 1-800-4PD-INFO (1-800-473-4636).

About Parkinson's Disease

Affecting an estimated one million Americans, Parkinson's disease is the second-most common neurodegenerative disease after Alzheimer's and is the 14th-leading cause of death in the U.S. It is associated with a progressive loss of motor control (e.g., shaking or tremor at rest and lack of facial expression), as well as non-motor symptoms (e.g., depression and anxiety). There is no cure for Parkinson's and nearly 90,000 new cases are diagnosed each year in the U.S.

MEDIA CONTACT:
Melissa Nobles Gonzalez
Parkinson's Foundation
[email protected]
305.537.9134

SOURCE Parkinson's Foundation