Getting to Know You – Enrique Urrea-Mendoza, MD
April 7, 2025
By: Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare
Categories: Healthy Living, Neurology, TMH Physician Partners
Tags: Movement Disorders
Enrique Urrea-Mendoza, MD is a Neurologist specializing in movement disorders, such as Parkinson’s disease. He joined TMH Physician Partners – Neurology in 2023 where he diagnoses and treats patients with movement disorders - neurological conditions that affect the control and coordination of movements.
Dr. Urrea-Mendoza earned his medical degree from Colegio Mayor de Nuestra Senora del Rosario and completed his residency at Fundacion Universitaria de Ciência's de la Salud. To further specialize, he pursued a fellowship in movement disorders at the University of Cincinnati, gaining advanced expertise in diagnosing and managing complex neurological conditions.
We sat down with Dr. Urrea to learn more about why he pursued a career in medicine, his journey to Tallahassee and his approach to patient care in our Q&A below.
1. Can you share a bit about your background and what inspired you to pursue a medical career?
Dr. Urrea: I grew up around a lot of doctors in my family – my mom is a dentist – and have always had a passion to help people with pain. During medical school, I fell in love with Neurology. I wanted to understand the process of how the brain works. If you ask me, ‘what is the best organ in the body?’ I will say ‘the brain’ because it acts as ‘the boss’ for everything.
2. What was it like completing your residency in Columbia, and why did you end up moving to the US?
Dr. Urrea: My residency was very competitive since we don’t have many places that offer that program in Colombia, and I was accepted in one of the most important universities in my country. I loved learning about the brain and decided to do my fellowship in the U.S. so I could understand more about why there are different kinds of abnormal movements. Parkinson’s disease is one of the most intriguing diseases to me, which is part of the reason why I love to treat it and work with patients.
I originally thought I would move back to Columbia after my fellowship, but God had different plans. I had the opportunity to do a Master of Science in Translational Research after my fellowship and ended up moving to South Carolina before coming to TMH.
3. Why did you decide to focus on movement disorders?
Dr. Urrea: I had a professor that introduced me to the field in Colombia. I found it interesting knowing how a person is affected by different kinds of movement disorders. I love knowing how technology is progressing and the different treatments available to offer relief of the symptoms. Sometimes, patients will experience improvement of 95% of their symptoms, depending on their surgery or medication they’re using. Because of this, I realized I wanted to commit my life to this specialty. I want to offer treatment options to patients.
When my dad was later diagnosed with atypical Parkinson’s disease, I became even more committed to this field. I’m living as both a doctor and a caregiver. My dream is to research and work toward a cure for Parkinson’s.
4. When was your dad diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease?
Dr. Urrea: It was after I decided to focus on movement disorders. It was a hard thing because he came to visit me here in the U.S., and I saw some changes and thought, “Oh, something is happening.’
My colleague in Colombia that I asked to see my dad said he was fine, which was a relief. I thought I was just too close and had seen symptoms in him that weren’t there. But six months later, my dad was complaining of additional symptoms, and I realized something was off. I called my colleague again, and he agreed that he had atypical Parkinson’s disease.
5. How has your medical philosophy or approach to patient care evolved over the years?
Dr. Urrea: As soon as the patient comes to my clinic, I truly believe that I become part of their family. I want to know the patient, and not just the disease. Knowing what the patient wants and becoming friends with them and their family builds trust. Because Parkinson’s (and other movement disorders) is a chronic disease, I see my patients over the course of several years. I want them to think of me as family, so I treat all of them with love and passion and try to offer them the best care.
6. What is the most exciting medical advancement you've seen recently and how has it changed your clinical practice?
Dr. Urrea: The new deep brain stimulation device can read signals by itself in the brain and change the settings accordingly. This will allow patients to improve their mobility and control their tremors from Parkinson's and other diseases. I truly believe that this is a big step into the future.
We now also have sensors that can test the patient for information in real-time about how they are doing, how their mobility is and if the medication is working in their home setting.
7. What role will artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning play in your specialty over the next decade, and are there any AI tools that you currently use in your practice?
Dr. Urrea: In a recent meeting, we discussed if AI would ever replace a doctor. I don’t believe it will. We will always need a doctor with experience in movement disorders, but I think AI could be used as a tool to help us. Many conditions are still unknown and we’re learning. We’re in a “Parkinson’s pandemic” because the numbers keep growing and we don’t know why – it could be toxins, environment, genetics, etc. Having intelligence to help us reach conclusions might help us make better decisions.
Right now, we use a tool that videos patients’ movements to analyze and classify different movements using AI. With that precision, we can be more conscious about the reason behind the movements and differentiate whether they fall under Parkinson’s disease or atypical Parkinson’s.
8. What types of research would you like to do and see in the field over the next few years?
Dr. Urrea: I’m interested in doing clinical research and clinical trials with new medications, such as ones that can decrease the progression of the disease or potentially find a cure. Right now, the field is moving fast in that sense.
We have good development with medication devices, such as the recently approved infusion therapy for Parkinson’s. There has been some research on nanoparticles, which I believe is going to be the future of medications. These particles can move through the blood-brain barrier more easily than the current medications, allowing medicine to go to certain areas of the brain so it’s more precise. I believe that it's going to be the future and would like to do more research in that specifically.
9. What advice would you give young physicians or medical students starting in your specialty?
Dr. Urrea: Ask as many questions as you can. Every day, question yourself – ask yourself if you’re doing everything you’re supposed to do, revisit your diagnosis, and revisit the patient -- if there’s something new, see if that indicates a different condition. Keep asking the patient different questions and always think outside of the box. That’s how your knowledge progresses. By continually being curious, you will grow and become an outstanding physician.
10. What's your favorite thing about working at TMH?
Dr. Urrea: TMH is very interested in movement disorders and wants to continue growth in this specialty. I’ve felt great support from leadership at TMH to do so -- they’re very supportive and interested in providing a good service to this community.
11. What's your favorite restaurant in Tallahassee?
Dr. Urrea: Well, I have a few favorite restaurants, depending on my mood: either Café de Martin, Little Paris or The Monroe.
12. Do you have any hobbies?
Dr. Urrea: I am a marathon and long-distance runner. I recently did a half-marathon in Colombia! I run to be healthy and for fun. I encourage my patients to exercise because exercise, according to research, is the best way to prevent the progression of Parkinson’s disease, and I need to show my patients that I truly believe that.
I am also a ham radio amateur. I have my own radio station at home. I have my license and love connecting with people around the world to talk about all different things! I am also a photographer and taking pictures is the best way to relax and get in fresh air!
13. What is one thing you want your patients to know about you?
Dr. Urrea: I want patients to know that we want to grow into a bigger clinic that offers more services, technologies, treatments and activities that would benefit the community. We want to create a big community here for individuals with Parkinson’s, so they feel support. We are a family.
Dr. Urrea is accepting new patients at TMH Physician Partners – Neurology.
