Neuromuscular Specialists
Michael Weiss, M.D.
Director of the Neuromuscular Diseases Division
Professor of Neurology
Adjunct Professor of Rehabilitation Medicine
mdweiss@uw.edu
Phone: 206.598.7688 Fax: 206.598.7698
Dr. Michael Weiss is founding Director of the Division of Neuromuscular Diseases and Professor of Neurology at University of Washington Medical Center. He completed neurology residency training at Georgetown University and fellowship training in neuromuscular disorders at the University of Maryland and in neurochemistry and neuroimmunology at the National Institutes of Health. He is the co-Director of the UW muscular dystrophy association (MDA) Clinic, co-Director of the Charcot-Marie Tooth disease (CMT) Center of Excellence, and co-Director of the Guillain-Barre syndrome/ Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy (CIDP) Center of Excellence. He is also co-Director of the MDA certified amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) Center of Excellence.
Dr. Weiss is a fellow of the American Academy of Neurology and American Neurological Association. He has been on the editorial board of Muscle and Nerve and is an ad hoc reviewer for the Annals of Neurology, Neurology, and Journal of Clinical Neuromuscular Disorders. He has authored or co-authored over 100 journal articles, reviews, and book chapters, primarily focused on neuromuscular diseases.
Dr. Weiss sees patients at the University of Washington-Montlake campus. His clinical interests include the diagnosis and treatment of neuromuscular diseases including ALS, myasthenia gravis, Guillain-Barre syndrome and CIDP, inflammatory myopathies, myotonic disorders, and muscular dystrophies. In addition to treatment trials of ALS, his current research interests include biomarker studies in ALS, and treatment trials for inflammatory myopathies, CMT, and myasthenia gravis.
Jane Distad, M.D.
Professor of Neurology
jdistad@uw.edu
Dr. Distad is a UW Associate Professor of Neurology. She sees patients at the University of Washington Medical Center (UWMC), and performs electrodiagnostic studies at both UWMC and Harborview Medical Center. Her clinical interests include the diagnosis and treatment of neuromuscular diseases including myasthenia gravis, inflammatory myopathies, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig’s disease), peripheral neuropathies especially inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (eg, CIDP), muscular dystrophies, myotonic disorders, and general neurology. Her clinical research interests include therapeutic studies in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, inflammatory myopathies, multifocal motor neuropathy, and CIDP. She is also involved with Medical Student teaching and management.
Alicia Fernanda Henriquez, M.D.
Clinical Assistant Professor of Neurology
Alicia.henriquez@seattlechildrens.org
Dr. Henriquez is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Neurology at the University of Washington. She sees patients at Seattle Children’s Hospital (SCH) and performs electrodiagnostic studies at both SCH and the University of Washington Medical Center. She also travels to Eastern Washington and sees pediatric patients at Yakima Children’s Village and SCH tri-cities clinic. She specializes in pediatric neuromuscular disorders and helps patients with the diagnosis and treatment Duchene Muscular Dystrophy (DMD), Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA), myasthenia gravis, peripheral neuropathies (such as Guillain-Barre syndrome and Charcot Marie Tooth), other inherited neuropathies, myopathies, myotonic disorders, and muscular dystrophies. She is bilingual and speaks Spanish and English fluently and has a special interest in working with underserved communities.
Eric Kraus, M.D.
Associate Professor of Neurology
ekraus@uw.edu
Phone: 206.598.0216 Fax: 206.598.7698
Dr. Kraus is a UW associate professor of Neurology. He sees clinic patients at the University of Washington Medical Center and attends on the hospital wards at UW Hospital and Harborview Medical Center. His clinical focus is general neurology and his academic focus is neurology education. Dr. Kraus dedicates 50% of his time to medical student education and is the student required neurology clerkship director. He finds great pleasure in making complicated neurology topics understandable to students and patients alike.
Maxwell Ma, M.D.
Assistant Professor of Neurology
mamax@uw.edu
Dr. Ma is Assistant Professor of Neurology at UW. He primarily sees patients and performs electrodiagnostic studies at the Seattle Veterans Affairs hospital. His clinical interests include the diagnosis and treatment of neuromuscular diseases including myasthenia gravis, inflammatory myopathies, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig’s disease), peripheral neuropathies especially small fiber neuropathy. His research interest is in the genetic basis behind idiopathic neuropathies.
Priyank Patel, MD
Clinical Assistant Professor of Neurology
Priyank M. Patel, MD, is a board-certified adult neurologist who specializes in neuromuscular disorders. Dr. Patel believes in providing compassionate, patient centered care that is high quality to improve clinical outcomes. Dr. Patel’s interest involves clinical trials research with a particular focus on Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS).
Seth Perlman, M.D.
Associate Professor of Neurology
seth.perlman@seattlechildrens.org
Dr. Perlman joined the faculty of the Neurology Department at UW and Seattle Children’s Hospital in 2019. Prior to coming to the Pacific Northwest, he attended medical school at Rush Medical College in Chicago, did his Child Neurology and Neuromuscular training at Washington University in St Louis, and was on the faculty at the University of Iowa. He currently serves as Medical Director for the Neuromuscular Program at Seattle Children’s, as PI for several Children’s-based clinical trials and registries in pediatric neuromuscular disease, and as Program Director for the UW Neuromuscular Medicine Fellowship Program.
Matthew Preston M.D.
Clinical Assistant Professor of Neurology
preston4@uw.edu
Dr. Preston is originally from St. Louis, Missouri and obtained his bachelor’s degree from the University of Missouri in Columbia and his medical degree from Saint Louis University. He went on to join the University of Washington as a neurology resident and neuromuscular medicine fellow. Since joining faculty, Dr. Preston has been involved in research in therapeutics for amyloid neuropathy, myasthenia gravis, and muscular dystrophies and sees patients in both general neurology and neuromuscular clinics at the University of Washington, Harborview, and the American Lake VA clinic. His clinical interests include the diagnosis and treatment of neuromuscular diseases including peripheral neuropathies (including amyloid neuropathy, CIDP, GBS and many others), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig’s disease), myasthenia gravis, and both acquired and hereditary myopathies.
Nassim Rad M.D.
Assistant Professor of Rehabilitation Medicine
nasrad@uw.edu
Dr. Rad is an assistant professor with the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine. She serves as the Rehab Director of the Electrodiagnostic Laboratory and co-Director of the Muscular Dystrophy Association Care Center at UW Medical Center – Montlake. She completed fellowship in neuromuscular medicine at the University of Michigan and is board certified in neuromuscular medicine and has her AANEM certification in electrodiagnostic medicine. Her clinical interests include amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, spinal muscular atrophy, peripheral neuropathies, and muscular dystrophies. Her research interests include therapeutic studies of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, spinal muscular atrophy and Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease.
Leo Wang, M.D., Ph.D.
Professor of Neurology
leowang@uw.edu
Phone: 206.598.7688
Dr. Wang earned his M.D. Ph.D. from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri. His Ph.D. was in cellular neurobiology–understanding the mechanism of neuronal cell death and has given him a perspective on the molecular biology underpinning of the diseases he studies. Understanding the basic science informs his ability to assess translational research opportunities from the molecular level to the patient. His clinical interests focus on neuromuscular disorders, such as motor neuron disease (ALS), myasthenia gravis, peripheral neuropathies and muscular dystrophies including facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy, inclusion body myositis, and limb-girdle muscular dystrophy. He has conducted multiple clinical trials and natural history studies and published on finding molecular and imaging biomarkers of progression in muscle diseases.