Melissa Armstrong, MD, MSc, FAAN
Dr. Melissa J. Armstrong, MD, MSc is the Director of the Mangurian Clinical-Research Headquarters for Lewy Body Dementia at the University of Florida. She joined the UF Department of Neurology in 2015.
Dr. Armstrong graduated from Illinois Wesleyan University in 1995 with a major in chemistry and a minor in philosophy. She completed medical school at the Stritch School of Medicine (Loyola University Chicago), where she subsequently completed a preliminary residency year in internal medicine and her neurology residency. Following her residency, she worked as a general neurologist at Loyola University Medical Center before pursuing fellowship training in movement disorders. Dr. Armstrong was a clinical and research fellow at the highly respected Morton & Gloria Shulman Movement Disorders Centre in Toronto, Ontario (Canada) from 2008 through 2011 where she was an Edmond J. Safra Fellow in Movement Disorders. She also completed an MSc in clinical epidemiology and health care research at the University of Toronto Institute for Health Policy Management and Evaluation. Dr. Armstrong worked as an assistant professor in the Division of Movement Disorders at the University of Maryland from 2012 until moving to the University of Florida in 2015. During this time, she co-authored the book, “Parkinson’s Disease: Improving Patient Care” (Oxford American Neurology Library 2014). She was also recognized as part of the American Academy of Neurology’s Emerging Leaders Forum (2013-2014). In addition to her work in the field of movement disorders, she serves as an evidence-based medicine methodology consultant for the American Academy of Neurology, working on their clinical practice guideline development program.
At the University of Florida, Dr. Armstrong directs the Mangurian Clinical-Research Headquarters for Lewy Body Dementia, one of 25 centers in the United States recognized as a Lewy Body Dementia Association Research Center of Excellence (2017 to current). She also serves on the Lewy Body Dementia Association Scientific Advisory Council. Dr. Armstrong’s Lewy body dementia research focuses on the lived experience of disease for individuals with Lewy body dementia and their families, ranging from patient and caregiver priorities for care to hospital outcomes to end-of-life experiences.