UC Neuroscience Institute Adds Neuromuscular as 10th Center

CINCINNATI—The University of Cincinnati Neuroscience Institute (UCNI) announced today that it has designated its neuromuscular program as a Center of Excellence, bringing the number of centers within UCNI to 10.

The announcement was made by UCNI Director Joseph Broderick, MD, a professor in the UC Department of Neurology and Rehabilitation Medicine and UC Health neurologist.

"Elevation to Center of Excellence status for the neuromuscular program recognizes that it is able to meet all three missions of the College of Medicine—education, research and clinical care—in a robust fashion,” Broderick said. "The program has demonstrated success in all three missions, and has a plan for sustained excellence.”

To be known as the UC Neuromuscular Center, the new center will be directed by John Quinlan, MD, also a professor in the Department of Neurology and Rehabilitation Medicine and UC Health neurologist. He has been at UC and UC Health since 1987 and was selected as the recipient of the Muscular Dystrophy Association’s Robert Ross National Personal Achievement Award in 2010. 

"Over the past two years our neuromuscular program has strengthened and expanded clinical services, research efforts and teaching,” Quinlan said. "We are pleased to receive designation as a center of excellence within UCNI and fully embrace the institute’s goals.”

UCNI, a partnership of the UC College of Medicine and UC Health based at UC Medical Center, is a leading treatment, research and teaching center for complex neurological conditions. In addition to 10 Centers of Excellence with the addition of the Neuromuscular Center, it includes three programs.

The Neuromuscular Center’s five board-certified physicians are experts in the diagnosis and treatment of neuromuscular disorders, which can encompass everything from common low back pain with lumbar nerve root compression (lumbar radiculopathy) to very specific disorders of muscle strength and deterioration such as muscular dystrophy and Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), often referred to as Lou Gehrig's Disease. They employ the most advanced technologies and therapies to diagnose and treat hundreds of adult patients from across Greater Cincinnati each year.

The neuromuscular team has made significant strides in developing neuromuscular research, including a myasthenia gravis treatment trial and a collaboration with Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center  in efforts to correct the primary molecular defect in myotonic dystrophy type 1. Under development are basic science studies of myasthenia gravis, clinical studies of autonomic dysfunction and symptomatic treatment investigations of ALS.

Teaching in the program is robust, with a dedicated neuromuscular fellowship program beginning July 15, 2015, under the direction of Hani Kushlaf, MD, and an annual ALS workshop directed by Rob Neel, MD.