The Stanford Neuromuscular Disorders Program Team
John W. Day, MD, PhD
Professor, Neurology & Neurological Sciences Director, Stanford Neuromuscular Disorders Program
Dr. Day has over 25 years of experience in diagnosing, treating and supporting patients with neuromuscular diseases. He is involved in ongoing research defining causes, diagnosis and novel treatments of genetic neuromuscular disorders. Prior to his arrival at Stanford in 2011, Dr. Day directed the Paul and Sheila Wellstone Muscular Dystrophy Center at University of Minnesota. Dr. Day graduated from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and completed his Residency and Fellowship at University of California Medical School in San Francisco. Dr. Day is Board Certified in Neurology by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology.
Dr. Day serves as an advisor to many scientific committees researching neuromuscular diseases, including NIH’s Advisory Committees on Muscular Dystrophy and Muscular Dystrophy research.
His areas of interest include most areas of nerve and muscle diseases, in particular, muscular dystrophies, motor neuron diseases, Ataxia and Myasthenia Gravis.
Yuen So, MD, PhD
Professor, Neurology & Neurological Sciences
Chief, Neurology Clinics
Dr. So has over 25 years of experience in the diagnosis and management of neuromuscular diseases. He received his Ph.D. From Rockefeller University, and his M.D. from Yale University School of Medicine. He completed his Neurology Residency and Electrophysiology Fellowship training at the University of California Medical School in San Francisco. Dr. So held faculty positions at University of California at San Francisco and Oregon Health Sciences University before joining Stanford in 1999, where he is currently Professor of Neurology and Chief of the Neurology Clinics.
Dr. So is board certified in Neurology with added Qualification in Neuromuscular Medicine by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, and in Electrodiagnostic Medicine by the American Board of Electrodiagnostic Medicine. His areas of interest include most areas of nerve and muscle diseases, in particular, myasthenia gravis, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and neuropathy. His research focuses on peripheral neuropathy, ALS and myasthenia gravis.
Dr. So is passionate about teaching. He directed the Neurology Residency Training at Stanford for 11 years. He won the L. Forno Award for Teaching Excellence in the Neurology Department in 1999. He was nominated by Stanford medical students in 2005 for the AAMC Humanism in Medicine Award. He has also been included in Best Doctors list for many years.
Safwan Jaradeh, MD
Professor, Neurology & Neurological Sciences
Director, Autonomic Disorders Program
Dr. Jaradeh's clinical interests include autonomic disorders, small fiber neuropathies and the development of effective methods of testing and treating these disorders. Prior work has focused on small fiber painful and autonomic neuropathies; syndromes of orthostatic intolerance and syncope; gastrointestinal motility dysfunction; cyclic vomiting; protected Gastroesophageal Reflux; non-allergic rhinitis syndromes; and the relationship between the autonomic nervous system and normal or abnormal sleep. Additional areas of interest include the neurology of phonation and swallowing disorders, and peripheral nerve injury and repair.
Dr. Jaradeh is board certified in Clinical Neurophysiology by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology and board certified in Electrodiagnostic Medicine by the American Association of Neuromuscular & Electrodiagnostic Medicine.
Prior to his arrival at Stanford Hospital and Clinics, Dr. Jaradeh was the Chair and a professor at Medical College of Wisconsin from 2000 to 2011.
Les Dorfman, MD
Professor Emeritus, Active, Neurology & Neurological Sciences
Dr. Les Dorman studies the clinical electrophysiology of the peripheral and central nervous systems, including nerve conduction velocity; electromyography (EMG); and visual, auditory and somatosensory evoked potentials. He also studies the application of digital signal processing techniques in clinical neurophysiology for diagnosis of neurological disorders and for neurological rehabilitation. Dr. Dorfman has been on staff at Stanford for more than thirty years.
Dr. Dorfman received his M.D. From Albert Einstein College of Medicine. He completed residencies at Greenwich Hospital and at Stanford Hospital. He did fellowships at the National Hospital in London and the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN.
Charles Cho, MD
Clinical Professor, Neurology & Neurological Sciences
Dr. Cho has over a decade of experience in diagnostic electrophysiological testing and treatment of neuromuscular and pain disorders. Dr. Cho, a Clinical Professor of Neurology, joined Stanford Hospital in 2001 after his fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School. He completed his Residency at Stanford University School of Medicine in 2000.
His interests are in muscle and motor neuron disease, the neurophysiology and electrical functions of the brain, spinal cord and peripheral nerves, and the neuroablative therapies available using anesthetics, steroids, and toxins. He specializes in emerging treatments for patients with neurological diseases.
Thomas A. Rando, MD, PhD
Professor, Neurology & Neurological Sciences
Director, Glenn Laboratories for the Biology of Aging
Dr. Rando has over 20 years of experience in research in muscle diseases and the diagnosis and management of neuromuscular diseases. He received his MD and PhD from Harvard University, after which he completed his neurology residency at UCSF and postdoctoral training at Stanford before joining the faculty in the Department of Neurology and Neurological Sciences as an Assistant Professor. He was a founding director of the Muscular Dystrophy Association Clinic at Stanford. Dr. Rando is Chief of Neurology at the VA Palo Alto Health Care System where he also is Director of the Rehabilitation Research & Development Center of Excellence whose focus is translational research and tissue engineering for neuromuscular and musculoskeletal disorders.
His primary research interests are in muscle stem cell biology and therapeutics from muscular dystrophies, stem cell aging, and musculoskeletal tissue engineering.
Hannes Vogel, MD
Associate Chair for Neuropathology, Department of Pathology
Dr. Vogel’s research interests include nerve and muscle pathology, mitochondrial diseases, pediatric neurooncology, and transgenic mouse pathology. Dr. Vogel is the Associate Chair for Neuropathology, Department of Pathology at Stanford from 2005 to the present.
Neelam Goyal, MD
Clinical Assistant Professor, Neurology & Neurological Sciences
Dr. Goyal received her medical degree from State University of New York Downstate Medical Center. She completed her Neurology residency and fellowship in Clinical Neurophysiology and Neuromuscular Diseases at Stanford University Hospital. She served as Chief Resident in her last year of Residency.
Dr. Goyal is Board Certified in Neurology by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology.
Her clinical research interests include ALS and sleep, hereditary neuropathies, and neuromuscular junction disorders. She also focuses her efforts on teaching the medical students and neurology residents about neurological and neuromuscular diseases, peripheral neuroanatomy, and the proper technique and interpretation of electromyography and nerve conduction studies.
Ana Carolina Tesi Rocha, MD
Clinical Assistant Professor, Pediatric Neurology & Neurological Sciences
After moving to the United States from Buenos Aires, Argentina, Dr. Tesi Rocha received her second medical degree from Children’s National Medical Center. She continued her work at Children’s National as an Assistant Professor of Neurology and Pediatrics, was the co-director of the MDA clinic, as well as the director of the neuromuscular program and electrodiagnostic lab. Dr. Tesi Rocha specializes in general child neurology with a focus on pediatric neuromuscular disorders. Her clinical research focuses on SMA, muscular dystrophies and congenital myopathies.
Joanna Dearlove, MD
Clinical Assistant Professor, Neurology & Neurological Sciences
Dr. Dearlove returns to Stanford Hospital and Clinics as a clinical assistant professor after first training here as a medical student. She specializes in the diagnosis, management, and electrodiagnostic testing of children and adult neuromuscular disorders and continues to develop her interest in diseases of muscle affecting both of these populations.
Dr. Dearlove’s clinical research interests include childhood muscular dystrophies, childhood and adult-onset motor neuron disease, and adult-onset myopathies.
Srikanth Muppidi, MD
Clinical Assistant Professor, Neurology & Neurological Sciences
Dr Muppidi is a clinical assistant professor in the autonomic and neuromuscular divisions. After finishing medical school in South India, he obtained MRCP (London) before moving to the US and completed neurology residency training at Thomas Jefferson University and neuromuscular fellowship at UT Southwestern Medical Center. He specializes in clinical care and diagnostic testing for various autonomic disorders and neuromuscular disorders. His clinical interests include various types of neuropathies, autonomic disorders and Myasthenia Gravis. His research interests include treatment and outcome measures in Myasthenia Gravis, methods to detect early autonomic impairment in diabetes and diagnosis and management of immune/neurodegenerative causes of autonomic failure.
Dr Muppidi is board certified in Neurology and in Neuromuscular disorders by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. He is also board certified in Autonomic Disorders by the UCNS Board of American Autonomic Society.
Prior to his arrival at Stanford Hospital and Clinics in November 2013, Dr. Muppidi was an Assistant Professor in Department of Neurology and Neurotherapeutics at UT Southwestern Medical Center since 2009.
Sarada Sakamuri, MD
Clinical Assistant Professor
Dr. Sakamuri received her medical degree from New Jersey Medical School in Newark, NJ, where she focused on community health education and was elected a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society. She completed her neurology residency at Stanford University and served as chief resident. She pursued her passion for neuromuscular disorders by completing fellowships in EMG/Clinical Neurophysiology and Neuromuscular Medicine at Stanford, and a concurrent research fellowship at Forbes Norris MDA/ALS Research Center.
Dr. Sakamuri is board-certified in Neurology and in Neuromuscular disorders by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. Her interests and research include respiratory dysfunction in neuromuscular disease, Lambert Eaton myasthenic syndrome, nemaline myopathies, and myotonic dystrophy.
Dr. Sakamuri also enjoys medical education. She is the Associate Director of the Neuromuscular Medicine Fellowship. She previously served as a teaching fellow for medical students at Stanford School of Medicine, and as a clinical instructor at Jagiellonian University Medical College in Poland.
Jacinda Sampson, MD, PhD
Clinical Associate Professor
Dr. Jacinda Sampson received her MD and a PhD in biochemistry from University of Alabama at Birmingham, and completed her neurology residency and neurogenetics fellowship at the University of Utah. She served at Columbia University Medical Center prior to joining Stanford University Medical Center in 2015. Her areas of interest include myotonic dystrophies, Duchenne muscular dystrophy, and neurogenetic disorders such as neurofibromatosis, hereditary spastic paraparesis, spinocerebellar ataxia, among others. She is interested in clinical trials for treatment of neurogenetic disorders, and is the clinical application of next-generation genomic sequencing to genetic testing.
