Drew Kern, MD, MS

Associate Professor, Neurology


FacultyPhoto
Medical School
  • MD, University of Vermont College of Medicine (2009)
Graduate School
  • MS, University of Colorado - Boulder (2001)
Undergraduate School
  • BA, University of Colorado - Boulder (CO) (1999)
Internship
  • University of Colorado (University Hospital) Program (2010)
Residency
  • University of Colorado (University Hospital) Program, Neurology (2013)
Fellowships
  • University of Toronto, Neurology (2015)
Languages
English
Department
Neurology

Professional Titles

  • Associate Professor

Publications

  • Tekriwal A, Kern DS, Tsai J, Ince NF, Thompson J, Abosch A. REM Sleep Behavior Disorder: Prodromal and Mechanistic Insights for Parkinson's Disease. JNNP. 2016 (in press).
  • Visanji NP, Bhudhikanok GS, Mestre TA, Ghate T, Udupa KU, Kowgier M, Al Dakheel A, Connolly BS, Gasca-Salas C, Kern DS, Singerman J, Slow EJ, Socher A, Kim S, Valappil RA, Kausar F, Rogaeva E, Langston JW, Tanner CM, Schüle B, Lang AE, Goldman SM, Marras C. Heart rate variability in LRRK2-associated Parkinson’s Disease" for publication in the Movement Disorders. Mov Disord. 2016 (in press).
  • Picillo M, Vincos GB, Kern DS, Lang AE, Fasano A. Learning more from finger tapping in Parkinson's disease: up and down from dyskinesia to bradykinesia. Mov Disord Clin Pract. 2015 Oct 27.
  • American Academy of Neurology – April 16, 2016 Interleaving Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) in Parkinson's Disease (PD): A Retrospective Review on Rational, Management, and Outcomes; Vancouver, BC
  • Optimized Imaging at 3.0 T of the Rostral Zona Incerta (rZI) for Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) in Parkinson’s Disease (PD) (International Congress of Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders. 2018).
  • Novel targets in deep brain stimulation for movement disorders. (In: Schmidek and Sweet Operative Neurosurgical Techniques, 2018 In press)
  • Kern DS, Forbes E, Shah BB. Surgical Interventions for Parkinson’s Disease. Practical Neurology. 2018 May 2018
  • van den Heuvel L, Lim AS, Visanji NP, Huang J, Ghate T, Mestre TA, AlDakheel A, Connolly BS, Gasca-Salas C, Kern DS, Jain J, Slow EJ, Pondal M, Faust-Socher A, Rogaeva E, Tomlinson G, Lang AE, Marras C. Actigraphy Detects Greater Intra-Individual Variability During Gait in Non-Manifesting LRRK2 Mutation Carriers. J Parkinsons Dis. 2018;8(1):131-139.
  • Arora S, Visanji NP, Mestre TA, Tsanas A, AlDakheel A, Connolly BS, Gasca-Salas C, Kern DS, Jain J, Slow EJ, Faust-Socher A, Lang AE, Little MA, Marras C. Investigating Voice as a Biomarker for Leucine-Rich Repeat Kinase 2-Associated Parkinson's Disease. J Parkinsons Dis. 2018 In press.
  • Fullard ME, Thibault DP, Todaro V, Foster S, Katz L, Morgan R, Kern DS, Schwalb JM, Urrea Mendoza E, Dahodwala N, Shulman L, Willis AW. Sex disparities in health and health care utilization after Parkinson diagnosis: Rethinking PD associated disability. Parkinsonism Relat Disord. 2017 Dec 14. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 29273434
  • Mestre TA, Pont-Sunyer C, Kausar F, Visanji NP, Ghate T, Connolly BS, Gasca-Salas C, Kern DS, Jain J, Slow EJ, Faust-Socher A, Kasten M, Wadia PM, Zadikoff C, Kumar P, de Bie RM, Thomsen T, Lang AE, Schüle B, Klein C, Tolosa E, Marras C. Clustering of motor and nonmotor traits in leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 G2019S Parkinson's disease nonparkinsonian relatives: A multicenter family study. Mov Disord. 2018 Jul;33(6):960-965.
  • Kern DS, Picillo M, Thompson JA, Sammartino F, di Biase L, Munhoz RP, Fasano A. Interleaving stimulation in Parkinson’s disease, tremor and dystonia. Stereo Funct Neurosurg. In press.
  • Fullard ME, Thibault DP, Hill A, Fox J, Bhatti DE, Burack MA, Dahodwala N, Haberfeld E, Kern DS, Klepitskava OS, Urrea-Mendoza E, Myers P, Nutt J, Rafferty MR, Schwalb JM, Shulman LM, Willis AW. Utilization of rehabilitation therapy services in Parkinson disease in the United States. Neurology. 2017 Sep 12;89(11):1162-1169. PubMed PMID: 28835397
  • Visanji NP, Bhudhikanok GS, Mestre TA, Ghate T, Udupa K, AlDakheel A, Connolly BS, Gasca-Salas C, Kern DS, Jain J, Slow EJ, Faust-Socher A, Kim S, Azhu Valappil R, Kausar F, Rogaeva E, William Langston J, Tanner CM, Schüle B, Lang AE, Goldman SM, Marras C. Heart rate variability in leucine-rich repeat kinase 2-associated Parkinson's disease. Mov Disord. 2017 Apr;32(4):610-614. PubMed PMID: 28071824
  • Tekriwal A, Kern DS, Tsai J, Ince NF, Wu J, Thompson JA, Abosch A. REM sleep behaviour disorder: prodromal and mechanistic insights for Parkinson's disease. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 2017 May;88(5):445-451. PubMed PMID: 27965397
  • Kern DS, Fasano A, Thompson JA, Abosch A, Ojemann S, Munhoz RP. Constant Current versus Constant Voltage: Clinical Evidence Supporting a Fundamental Difference in the Modalities. Stereotact Funct Neurosurg. 2020 Nov 23;:1-5. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 33227781
  • Deuel L, Collins AE, Maa EH, Barr JP, Kern DS. Dravet syndrome and parkinsonism: A case report investigating the dopaminergic system. Neurology. 2019 Sep 24;93(13):595-596. PubMed PMID: 31444242
  • Bally JF, Camargos S, Oliveira Dos Santos C, Kern DS, Lee T, Pereira da Silva-Junior F, Puga RD, Cardoso F, Barbosa ER, Yadav R, Ozelius LJ, de Carvalho Aguiar P, Lang AE. DYT-TUBB4A (DYT4 dystonia): New clinical and genetic observations. Neurology. 2020 Sep 17. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 32943487
  • Kern DS, Uy D, Rhoades R, Ojemann S, Abosch A, Thompson JA. Discrete changes in brain volume after deep brain stimulation in patients with Parkinson's disease. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 2020 Sep;91(9):928-937. PubMed PMID: 32651244
  • Kern DS, Picillo M, Thompson JA, Sammartino F, di Biase L, Munhoz RP, Fasano A. Interleaving Stimulation in Parkinson's Disease, Tremor, and Dystonia. Stereotact Funct Neurosurg. 2018;96(6):379-391. PubMed PMID: 30654368
  • Tekriwal A, Afshar NM, Santiago-Moreno J, Kuijper FM, Kern DS, Halpern CH, Felsen G, Thompson JA. Neural Circuit and Clinical Insights from Intraoperative Recordings During Deep Brain Stimulation Surgery. Brain Sci. 2019 Jul 20;9(7). PubMed PMID: 31330813
  • Deuel L, Collins AE, Maa EH, Barr JP, Kern DS. Dravet syndrome and parkinsonism: A case report investigating the dopaminergic system. Neurology. 2019 Sep 24;93(13):595-596. PubMed PMID: 31444242
  • Tekriwal A, Afshar NM, Santiago-Moreno J, Kuijper FM, Kern DS, Halpern CH, Felsen G, Thompson JA. Neural Circuit and Clinical Insights from Intraoperative Recordings During Deep Brain Stimulation Surgery. Brain Sci. 2019 Jul 20;9(7). PubMed PMID: 31330813
  • Kern DS, Picillo M, Thompson JA, Sammartino F, di Biase L, Munhoz RP, Fasano A. Interleaving Stimulation in Parkinson's Disease, Tremor, and Dystonia. Stereotact Funct Neurosurg. 2018;96(6):379-391. PubMed PMID: 30654368
  • Arora S, Visanji NP, Mestre TA, Tsanas A, AlDakheel A, Connolly BS, Gasca-Salas C, Kern DS, Jain J, Slow EJ, Faust-Socher A, Lang AE, Little MA, Marras C. Investigating Voice as a Biomarker for Leucine-Rich Repeat Kinase 2-Associated Parkinson's Disease. J Parkinsons Dis. 2018;8(4):503-510. PubMed PMID: 30248062
  • Mestre TA, Pont-Sunyer C, Kausar F, Visanji NP, Ghate T, Connolly BS, Gasca-Salas C, Kern DS, Jain J, Slow EJ, Faust-Socher A, Kasten M, Wadia PM, Zadikoff C, Kumar P, de Bie RM, Thomsen T, Lang AE, Schüle B, Klein C, Tolosa E, Marras C. Clustering of motor and nonmotor traits in leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 G2019S Parkinson's disease nonparkinsonian relatives: A multicenter family study. Mov Disord. 2018 Jul;33(6):960-965. PubMed PMID: 29665080
  • Hirt L, Grassia F, Feuerstein J, Thompson JA, Ojemann S, Kern DS. Deep Brain Stimulation of the Ventral Intermediate Nucleus of the Thalamus in Writer's Cramp: A Case Report. Tremor Other Hyperkinet Mov (N Y). 2021;11:46. PubMed PMID: 34824889
  • van den Heuvel L, Lim AS, Visanji NP, Huang J, Ghate T, Mestre TA, AlDakheel A, Connolly BS, Gasca-Salas C, Kern DS, Jain J, Slow EJ, Pondal M, Faust-Socher A, Rogaeva E, Tomlinson G, Lang AE, Marras C. Actigraphy Detects Greater Intra-Individual Variability During Gait in Non-Manifesting LRRK2 Mutation Carriers. J Parkinsons Dis. 2018;8(1):131-139. PubMed PMID: 29480219
  • Baumgartner AJ, Kushida CA, Summers MO, Kern DS, Abosch A, Thompson JA. Basal Ganglia Local Field Potentials as a Potential Biomarker for Sleep Disturbance in Parkinson's Disease. Front Neurol. 2021;12:765203. PubMed PMID: 34777232
  • Thaker AA, Reddy KM, Thompson JA, Gerecht PD, Brown MS, Abosch A, Ojemann SG, Kern DS. Coronal Gradient Echo MRI to Visualize the Zona Incerta for Deep Brain Stimulation Targeting in Parkinson's Disease. Stereotact Funct Neurosurg. 2021;99(5):443-450. PubMed PMID: 33902054
  • Fullard ME, Thibault DP, Todaro V, Foster S, Katz L, Morgan R, Kern DS, Schwalb JM, Urrea Mendoza E, Dahodwala N, Shulman L, Willis AW. Sex disparities in health and health care utilization after Parkinson diagnosis: Rethinking PD associated disability. Parkinsonism Relat Disord. 2018 Mar;48:45-50. PubMed PMID: 29273434
  • Davis RA, Winston H, Gault JM, Kern DS, Mikulich-Gilbertson SK, Abosch A. Deep Brain Stimulation for OCD in a Patient With Comorbidities: Epilepsy, Tics, Autism, and Major Depressive Disorder. J Neuropsychiatry Clin Neurosci. Spring 2021;33(2):167-171. PubMed PMID: 33535803
  • Kern DS, Fasano A, Thompson JA, Abosch A, Ojemann S, Munhoz RP. Constant Current versus Constant Voltage: Clinical Evidence Supporting a Fundamental Difference in the Modalities. Stereotact Funct Neurosurg. 2021;99(2):171-175. PubMed PMID: 33227781
  • Bally JF, Camargos S, Oliveira Dos Santos C, Kern DS, Lee T, Pereira da Silva-Junior F, Puga RD, Cardoso F, Barbosa ER, Yadav R, Ozelius LJ, de Carvalho Aguiar P, Lang AE. DYT-TUBB4A (DYT4 Dystonia): New Clinical and Genetic Observations. Neurology. 2021 Apr 6;96(14):e1887-e1897. PubMed PMID: 32943487
  • Kern DS, Uy D, Rhoades R, Ojemann S, Abosch A, Thompson JA. Discrete changes in brain volume after deep brain stimulation in patients with Parkinson's disease. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 2020 Sep;91(9):928-937. PubMed PMID: 32651244
  • Tekriwal A, Baker S, Christensen E, Petersen-Jones H, Tien RN, Ojemann SG, Kern DS, Kramer DR, Felsen G, Thompson JA. Quantifying neuro-motor correlations during awake deep brain stimulation surgery using markerless tracking. Sci Rep. 2022 Oct 27;12(1):18120. PubMed PMID: 36302865
  • Baker S, Tekriwal A, Felsen G, Christensen E, Hirt L, Ojemann SG, Kramer DR, Kern DS, Thompson JA. Automatic extraction of upper-limb kinematic activity using deep learning-based markerless tracking during deep brain stimulation implantation for Parkinson's disease: A proof of concept study. PLoS One. 2022;17(10):e0275490. PubMed PMID: 36264986
  • Serva SN, Bernstein J, Thompson JA, Kern DS, Ojemann SG. An update on advanced therapies for Parkinson's disease: From gene therapy to neuromodulation. Front Surg. 2022;9:863921. PubMed PMID: 36211256
  • Bally JF, Kern DS, Fearon C, Camargos S, Pereira da Silva-Junior F, Barbosa ER, Ozelius LJ, de Carvalho Aguiar P, Lang AE. DYT-TUBB4A (DYT4 Dystonia): Clinical Anthology of 11 Cases and Systematized Review. Mov Disord Clin Pract. 2022 Jul;9(5):659-675. PubMed PMID: 35844288
  • Baumgartner AJ, Thompson JA, Kern DS, Ojemann SG. Novel targets in deep brain stimulation for movement disorders. Neurosurg Rev. 2022 Aug;45(4):2593-2613. PubMed PMID: 35511309
  • Fearon C, Rawal S, Olszewska D, Alcaide-Leon P, Kern DS, Sharma S, Jaiswal SK, Murthy JMK, Ha AD, Schwartz RS, Fung VSC, Spears C, Tholanikunnel T, Almeida L, Hatano T, Oji Y, Hattori N, Shubham S, Kumar H, Bhidayasiri R, Laohathai C, Lang AE. Neuroimaging Pearls from the MDS Congress Video Challenge. Part 2: Acquired Disorders. Mov Disord Clin Pract. 2022 Apr;9(3):311-325. PubMed PMID: 35402651
  • Hirt L, Kern DS, Ojemann S, Grassia F, Kramer D, Thompson JA. Use of Three-Dimensional Printed Brain Models During Deep Brain Stimulation Surgery Consultation for Patient Health Literacy: A Randomized Controlled Investigation. World Neurosurg. 2022 Jun;162:e526-e533. PubMed PMID: 35306197
  • Hirt L, Grassia F, Feuerstein J, Thompson JA, Ojemann S, Kern DS. Deep Brain Stimulation of the Ventral Intermediate Nucleus of the Thalamus in Writer's Cramp: A Case Report. Tremor Other Hyperkinet Mov (N Y). 2021;11:46. PubMed PMID: 34824889
  • Baumgartner AJ, Kushida CA, Summers MO, Kern DS, Abosch A, Thompson JA. Basal Ganglia Local Field Potentials as a Potential Biomarker for Sleep Disturbance in Parkinson's Disease. Front Neurol. 2021;12:765203. PubMed PMID: 34777232
  • Thaker AA, Reddy KM, Thompson JA, Gerecht PD, Brown MS, Abosch A, Ojemann SG, Kern DS. Coronal Gradient Echo MRI to Visualize the Zona Incerta for Deep Brain Stimulation Targeting in Parkinson's Disease. Stereotact Funct Neurosurg. 2021;99(5):443-450. PubMed PMID: 33902054
  • Davis RA, Winston H, Gault JM, Kern DS, Mikulich-Gilbertson SK, Abosch A. Deep Brain Stimulation for OCD in a Patient With Comorbidities: Epilepsy, Tics, Autism, and Major Depressive Disorder. J Neuropsychiatry Clin Neurosci. Spring 2021;33(2):167-171. PubMed PMID: 33535803
  • Kern DS, Fasano A, Thompson JA, Abosch A, Ojemann S, Munhoz RP. Constant Current versus Constant Voltage: Clinical Evidence Supporting a Fundamental Difference in the Modalities. Stereotact Funct Neurosurg. 2021;99(2):171-175. PubMed PMID: 33227781
  • Bally JF, Camargos S, Oliveira Dos Santos C, Kern DS, Lee T, Pereira da Silva-Junior F, Puga RD, Cardoso F, Barbosa ER, Yadav R, Ozelius LJ, de Carvalho Aguiar P, Lang AE. DYT-TUBB4A (DYT4 Dystonia): New Clinical and Genetic Observations. Neurology. 2021 Apr 6;96(14):e1887-e1897. PubMed PMID: 32943487
  • Frassica M, Kern DS, Afshari M, Connolly AT, Wu C, Rowland N, Ramirez-Castaneda J, Ushe M, Salazar C, Mason X. Racial disparities in access to DBS: results of a real-world U.S. claims data analysis. Front Neurol. 2023;14:1233684. PubMed PMID: 37602243
  • Thompson JA, Hirt L, David-Gerecht P, Fasano A, Kramer DR, Ojemann SG, Kern DS. Comparison of Monopolar Review to Fixed Parameter Fractionation in Deep Brain Stimulation. Mov Disord Clin Pract. 2023 Jun;10(6):987-991. PubMed PMID: 37332654
  • Radcliffe EM, Baumgartner AJ, Kern DS, Al Borno M, Ojemann S, Kramer DR, Thompson JA. Oscillatory beta dynamics inform biomarker-driven treatment optimization for Parkinson's disease. J Neurophysiol. 2023 Jun 1;129(6):1492-1504. PubMed PMID: 37198135
  • Lewis S, Radcliffe E, Ojemann S, Kramer DR, Hirt L, Case M, Holt-Becker AB, Raike R, Kern DS, Thompson JA. Pilot Study to Investigate the Use of In-Clinic Sensing to Identify Optimal Stimulation Parameters for Deep Brain Stimulation Therapy in Parkinson's Disease. Neuromodulation. 2023 Feb 14. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 36797194
  • Tekriwal A, Baker S, Christensen E, Petersen-Jones H, Tien RN, Ojemann SG, Kern DS, Kramer DR, Felsen G, Thompson JA. Quantifying neuro-motor correlations during awake deep brain stimulation surgery using markerless tracking. Sci Rep. 2022 Oct 27;12(1):18120. PubMed PMID: 36302865
  • Baker S, Tekriwal A, Felsen G, Christensen E, Hirt L, Ojemann SG, Kramer DR, Kern DS, Thompson JA. Automatic extraction of upper-limb kinematic activity using deep learning-based markerless tracking during deep brain stimulation implantation for Parkinson's disease: A proof of concept study. PLoS One. 2022;17(10):e0275490. PubMed PMID: 36264986
  • Serva SN, Bernstein J, Thompson JA, Kern DS, Ojemann SG. An update on advanced therapies for Parkinson's disease: From gene therapy to neuromodulation. Front Surg. 2022;9:863921. PubMed PMID: 36211256
  • Bally JF, Kern DS, Fearon C, Camargos S, Pereira da Silva-Junior F, Barbosa ER, Ozelius LJ, de Carvalho Aguiar P, Lang AE. DYT-TUBB4A (DYT4 Dystonia): Clinical Anthology of 11 Cases and Systematized Review. Mov Disord Clin Pract. 2022 Jul;9(5):659-675. PubMed PMID: 35844288
  • Baumgartner AJ, Thompson JA, Kern DS, Ojemann SG. Novel targets in deep brain stimulation for movement disorders. Neurosurg Rev. 2022 Aug;45(4):2593-2613. PubMed PMID: 35511309
  • Fearon C, Rawal S, Olszewska D, Alcaide-Leon P, Kern DS, Sharma S, Jaiswal SK, Murthy JMK, Ha AD, Schwartz RS, Fung VSC, Spears C, Tholanikunnel T, Almeida L, Hatano T, Oji Y, Hattori N, Shubham S, Kumar H, Bhidayasiri R, Laohathai C, Lang AE. Neuroimaging Pearls from the MDS Congress Video Challenge. Part 2: Acquired Disorders. Mov Disord Clin Pract. 2022 Apr;9(3):311-325. PubMed PMID: 35402651
  • Hirt L, Kern DS, Ojemann S, Grassia F, Kramer D, Thompson JA. Use of Three-Dimensional Printed Brain Models During Deep Brain Stimulation Surgery Consultation for Patient Health Literacy: A Randomized Controlled Investigation. World Neurosurg. 2022 Jun;162:e526-e533. PubMed PMID: 35306197

Professional Memberships

  • MDS, member
  • AAN, member
  • DBS Society, member

Practice Locations

UCHealth Neurosciences Center - Anschutz Medical Campus
1635 Aurora Ct
4th Floor
Aurora, CO 80045
720-848-2080

UCHealth Boulder Health Center
5495 Arapahoe Avenue
Second Floor
Boulder, CO 80303
303-544-3900

UCHealth Anschutz Outpatient Pavilion - Anschutz Medical Campus
1635 Aurora Ct
Aurora, CO 80045
720-848-0000

Hospital Affiliation
  • University of Colorado Hospital

Center Affiliations

Specialty Information

Specialties
  • Neurology, Board Certification (2013)
Conditions & Treatments
  • Brain and Nervous System
  • Brain and Nervous System - Deep Brain Stimulation
  • Brain and Nervous System - Movement Disorders
  • Brain and Nervous System - Parkinson's Disease
Clinical Interests
I specialize in advanced stages of movement disorders that necessitate surgical treatment options.

Care Philosophy
I strive to provide the same level of care I expect when I am a patient.