Anthony A. Amato, M.D.

I came to BWH and Harvard Medical School (HMS) in 1999, when I was recruited to be the Chief of the Neuromuscular Division and Director of Clinical Neurophysiology Laboratory. Shortly thereafter, I was appointed the Vice-Chairman of the Department of Neurology. I am a Professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical.

I started and directed the ACGME-approved Clinical Neurophysiology Fellowship at Harvard Partners (BWH/MGH) from 2000 until 2005. In 2005, Neuromuscular Medicine became a recognized fellowship, so I started and continue to serve as the director of the Harvard Partners (BWH/MGH) ACGME-approved Neuromuscular Medicine Fellowship program. This is the largest such training program in the country.

I have taught and directed numerous CME courses through Harvard Medical School as well as courses at the American Academy of Neurology (AAN), American Neurological Association (ANA), American Association of Neuromuscular and Electrodiagnostic Medicine (AANEM), and the American College of Rheumatology (ACR). I have served on the Education Subcommittees for the AAN and AANEM was the Program Chair in charge of planning the AANEM annual meeting in 2016. Recently, I have served on the planning committees for the International Congress of Neuromuscular Disease in Vienna in July 2018 and the 3^rd Global Conference on Myositis to be held in Berlin 2019.

I was honored to be elected by my peers to be the Vice-chair and then the Chair of the Neuromuscular Section of the AAN 2009 to 2013.  As Chair of the Section, I reviewed and approved several practice guidelines and metrics for several neuromuscular disorders (e.g., Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, peripheral neuropathy, ALS). In addition, I led the AAN’s first medical mission trip to Ecuador in 2012. I was also elected by my colleagues to represent them on the Board of the United Council for Neurologic Subspecialties (UCNS) from 2011 to 2013. During this period, I guided through the board-certification examination and recognition of Clinical Neuromuscular Pathology as a subspecialty. Recently, I led the AAN practice guideline committee on limb-girdle and distal muscular dystrophies that was published in Neurology. Currently, I am currently working with cardiologists in the Heart Rhythm Society to develop a consensus statement regarding Arrhythmia Risks in Hereditary Myopathies; I am chairing the section on End of Life Decisions.

I was a founding member and have served on the Executive Committee of the Muscle Study Group (MSG), which has now grown to over 150 scientific investigators around the world. I have been a primary investigator in many clinical research trials involving patients with a variety of neuromuscular disorders sponsored by the NIH, FDA, and industry. I am a Co-PI on Partners Neurology (BWH/MGH) NIH NeuroNext grant. We were one of 25 sites selected across the USA to be selected to participate in phase 2 neurology clinical trials sponsored by the NeuroNext program (NIH/NINDS). Our site was selected recently to be renewed. I am responsible for overseeing all the clinical NIH NeuroNext trials conducted at BWH and serve on the NeuroNext Executive Committee. In addition, I am a co-PI on the most recently awarded NIH NeuroNext grant (direct cost of approximately $6 million), large multicenter NIH grant through the NeuroNext network (1U01AR070498-01), the aim of which is to assess the efficacy of a therapeutic drug (ManNAc) in a rare form of muscular dystrophy. I have mentored fellows and junior colleagues on how to design clinical trials and serve as investigators in clinical trials. Also, I have been a member of the Partners IRB since 2001 and have served as the medical monitor or member of over 8 DSMBs.

I am an author or co-author on over 300 published articles, chapters, and books. I co-wrote 5 chapters on Muscle Disorders, Inflammatory Myopathies, Neuromuscular Junction Disorders, and on Peripheral Neuropathies in the most recent editions of Harrison’s Principles of Internal Medicine and have written one the leading textbooks in the field, Neuromuscular Disorders, in it’s 2^nd edition. I have been the Associate Editor of Neurology in charge of neuromuscular submissions since June 2013. Previously, I served as an Associate Editor of Muscle & Nerve and a reviewer for most of the leading neurology journals.