Academic Appointments
- Assistant Professor of Neurology at CUMC

Dr. Vanegas is a fellowship trained neurologist who specializes in Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) and the treatment of movement disorders including Parkinson's Disease, dystonia and essential tremor. She is commited to provide the best quality of care to her patients and counts with the support of a world-class multi-disciplinary team at Columbia University.
Dr. Vanegas is also a clinical investigator whose research involves clinical and translational areas of movement disorders, specifically the use of diffusion tensor imaging for the understanding of deep brain stimulation, patterns of visual exploration in patients with Parkinson disease and physiology of the basal ganglia. In addition, she has successfully mentored students from diverse levels and backgrounds in the development and execution of research projects.
Departmental Appointments
- Department of Neurology
Division of Movement Disorders
Languages Spoken
(in addition to English)
- Spanish
Education and Training
- MD, University Antioquia Faculty of Medicine (Colombia)
- 2005 University of Antioquia
- Internship: Forest Hills Hospital
- Residency: North Shore Long Island Jewish Health System
- Residency: 2013 North Shore University Hospital
- Fellowship: National Institutes of Health, MD
- Fellowship: 2015 National Institute Of Neurological Disorders And S
Lab Locations
CUMC/Neurological Institute of New York
710 West 168th Street
New York, NY 10032
Research Interests
- Novel targets for Neuromodulation
- Parkinson's Disease biomarkers
- Physiology of the basal ganglia
- The use of tractography for the understanding of neuromodulation
NIH Grants
CLINICAL RESEARCH SITES FOR THE NETWORK OF EXCELLENCE IN NEUROSCIENCE CLINICAL TRIALS (NEURONEXT SITES) (U24) (Federal Gov)
Jul 1 2018 - Jun 30 2023
EFFICACY,SAFETY, AND TOLERABILITY OF FOSMETPANTOTENATE (RE-024), A PHOSPHOPANTOTHENATE REPLACEMENT THERAPY, IN PATIENTS WITH PANTOTHENATE KINASE-ASSOCIATED NEURODEGENERATION (PKAN): (P&S Industry Clinical Trial)
Dec 12 2017 - Dec 12 2022
TARGETING DOPAMINERGIC MECHANISMS OF SLOWING TO IMPROVELATE LIFE DEPRESSION (R33 PHASE) (Federal Gov)
Dec 13 2018 - Nov 30 2021
CLINICAL AND TRANSLATIONAL SCIENCE AWARD (Federal Gov)
Jul 1 2016 - May 31 2021
NOVEL MANAGEMENT OF AIRWAY PROTECTION IN PARKINSON S DISEASE: A CLINICAL TRIAL (Private)
Jul 1 2016 - Jun 30 2019
PARKINSON S DISEASE FOUNDATION (PDF) RESEARCH CENTER GRANT (Private)
Jul 1 2016 - Jun 30 2017
TARGETING DOPAMINERGIC MECHANISMS OF SLOWING TO IMPROVE LATE LIFE DEPRESSION (Federal Gov)
Aug 1 2016 - May 31 2017
Publications
Vanegas N, Lauro P, Huang L, Hallett M, Horovitz SG, Zaghloul KA, Lungu C. Tractography patterns of STN DBS. Brain, April 2016. In press.
Vanegas N, Panyakaew P, Lamichhane P, Shulman L, Hallett M. Possible Functional Moving Toes Syndrome. TOHM 2016. In press
Vanegas N, Zaghloul, Hallett M, Lungu C. Periodic leg movements during general anesthesia. Movement Disorders Clinical Practice 2016. In press.
Vanegas N, Park JE, Hallett M, Lungu C. A Woman with a Novel Mutation of THAP1 with a Prominent Response to Deep Brain Stimulation of the Globus Pallidus Internus. JAMA Neurology 2015, 72(11):1369.
Lauro P, Vanegas N, Lungu C, Taylor PA, Zaghloul KA, Saad ZS and Horovitz SG. DBSproc: An Open Source Process for DBS Electrode Localization and Tractographic Analysis. Human Brain Mapping 2016 Jan;37(1):422-33.
Vanegas N, Zaghloul KA. Deep Brain Stimulation for Substance Abuse. Review. Current Behavioral Neuroscience Reports. 2015;2:72-79.
Yang, I, Vanegas N, Lungu CI, Zaghloul KA. Beta-Coupled High Frequency Activity and Beta-Locked Neuronal Spiking in the Subthalamic Nucleus of Parkinson's Disease. J Neuroscience. Sept 17, 2014;34(38):12816 -12827