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Hae-Young Hawong, DO, PhD

Assistant Professor
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About

Titles

Assistant Professor

Biography

Dr. Hawong is a Movement Disorders Neurologist. She treats patients with various movement disorders including Parkinson’s Disease, essential tremor, tic disorders/ Tourette’s syndrome, dystonia, ataxia, chorea, etc. Dr. Hawong also has a strong background the areas of Deep brain stimulation (DBS), MRI-guided focused ultrasound, and botulism toxin injection administration. Dr. Hawong is closely involved in the Yale Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders Multidisciplinary Deep Brain Stimulation Clinic. She is very proficient in programming the various platforms of DBS such as Abbot, Boston Scientific, and Medtronic. Dr. Hawong also engages in researching the role of deep brain stimulation in patients with levodopa induced dyskinesia in the setting of Parkinson’s Disease. She is currently involved in AAV-GAD gene therapy for advanced Parkinson’s Disease as well.

Dr. Hawong’s interest in Neurology became apparent at a young age when her beloved

grandmother, who raised her, developed Alzheimer’s Disease. She admired her grandmother who taught her about the value of helping others. Dr. Hawong also recants that “During the Korean War, my city was the only one that survived from the North Korean attack and my grandmother cooked for hundreds of people. “She always said that helping others was a noble thing.”. The memory of her grandmother’s gift of helping others shaped her path to enter the physician scientist program in medical school. Dr. Hawong was able to garner the clinical skills to treat patients and research the genetic therapy in Parkinson’s Disease using AAV-parkin.

As an osteopathic physician Dr. Hawong strongly believes in the whole body and mind approach to care. “I treat the patient rather disease process and try to learn about them as much as I can. I also try to understand their lifestyle, support systems, and adversities,” she says.

Dr. Hawong speaks Korean and English fluently. Her hobbies include ballet, yoga, and hiking.

Appointments

Other Departments & Organizations

Education & Training

DO
Michigan State University, College of Osteopathic Medicine/ Biochemistry and Molecular biology
BS
Michigan State University, Mathematics
BS
Michigan State University, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

Research

Overview

Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)

Deep Brain Stimulation; Movement Disorders

Clinical Care

Overview

Hae-Young Hawong, DO (doctor of osteopathic medicine), PhD, is a neurologist who specializes in movement disorders.

Dr. Hawong says she became interested in neurology at a young age because her grandmother, who raised her, had Alzheimer’s disease, and made a strong impression on her about the value of helping people.

“During the Korean War, my city was the only one that survived from the North Korean attack and my grandmother cooked for hundreds of people,” Dr. Hawong says. “She always said that helping others was a noble thing.”

Practicing ballet throughout her childhood also factored into her interest in movement, and her knack for math played a role in specializing in neurology. “I feel like I was born to be a neurologist. Neurology is all about logic and I also love talking to patients and getting to know them,” she says.

As an osteopath, Dr. Hawong says she believes in the whole body and mind approach to care. “I don’t treat the disease. I treat the patient and I try to learn about them as much as I can and understand their lifestyle, their supports at home, and what is causing them discomfort,” she says.

Dr. Hawong speaks Korean fluently and was also trained in neuro-ophthalmology. Her research is focused on deep brain stimulation for Parkinson’s disease and tardive dyskinesia, a movement disorder affecting the central nervous system.

Clinical Specialties

Neurology

Board Certifications

  • Neurology

    Certification Organization
    AB of Psychiatry & Neurology
    Original Certification Date
    2021

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