Neuromuscular Specialists
Michael Weiss, M.D.
Director of the Neuromuscular Diseases Division, University of Washington
Professor of Neurology, University of Washington
Adjunct Professor of Rehabilitation Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine
Professor and Chief of Service, UW-Montlake and Northwest
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, University of Washington
Attending Physician, University of Washington Medical Center
Attending Physician, Harborview Medical Center
Director of EMG, UW Neurology
jdistad@uw.edu
Barbara Jane Distad, M.D., is board-certified in Neurology by the American Board of Electrodiagnostic Medicine. She works at the Neurology Clinic Montlake, Rehabilitation Medicine Clinic Montlake, and the Electrodiagnostic Lab at UW Medical Center. Dr. Distad participates in clinical research trials and strives to provide excellent, individualized care by emphasizing education and ensuring patients understand their treatment options. Dr. Distad earned her M.D. at the Medical College of Ohio. Her clinical focus is neuromuscular disease. She is also a Professor of Neurology at UW Medicine. Dr. Distad enjoys hiking, skiing, scuba diving, and photography in her spare time.
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.
Maxwell Ma, M.D.
Assistant Professor of Neurology
mamax@uw.edu
Dr. Ma is an Assistant Professor of Neurology at UW. He primarily sees patients and performs electrodiagnostic studies at the Veterans Affairs hospital. His clinical interests include diagnosing and treating neuromuscular diseases including myasthenia gravis, inflammatory myopathy, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig’s disease), and peripheral neuropathy, especially small fiber neuropathy.
His research interest is in the genetic basis behind idiopathic neuropathies. Dr. Ma’s other passion is medical education and he was the recipient of the faculty teaching award in 2018.
Priyank Patel, MD
Clinical Assistant Professor of Neurology
Priyank M. Patel, MD, is a neurologist who specializes in neuromuscular disorders. Dr. Patel’s clinical interest is neuromuscular disorders.
Dr. Patel is an Acting Assistant Professor in the Department of Neurology at the UW School of Medicine.
Dr. Patel enjoys reading books, hiking, and spending time with his family.
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
Nassim Rad, MD, is a board-certified physician and assistant professor with the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine. She is the Director of the Electrodiagnostic Laboratory and co-director of the Muscular Dystrophy Association Care Center at UW Medical Center—Montlake.
Dr. Rad earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Southern California and her MD from Boston University School of Medicine. She completed an internship in internal medicine at Loyola University Hospital and a residency in physical medicine and rehabilitation at Northwestern University/Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago. She completed a fellowship in neuromuscular medicine at the University of Michigan. Clinical interests include electromyography (EMG); amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS); spinal muscular atrophy (SMA); neuropathies, and muscular dystrophies.
Dr. Rad enjoys cooking, reading, and traveling.
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.