Amit Sachdev has joined Michigan State University to become the first director of the new Division of Neuromuscular Medicine within the Department of Neurology and Ophthalmology.
Sachdev, who earned his medical degree from the MSU College of Human Medicine, was most recently a neuromuscular medicine fellow with the Neuromuscular Diseases program within the Department of Neurology at the University of Michigan.
The new MSU division was established to enable the university to strengthen and align its neuromuscular research, teaching, outreach and clinical care.
“This is an area of neurology that addresses some of the most difficult of all diseases that afflict human kind,” said David Kaufman, chairperson of the department. “This includes all of the muscular dystrophies, peripheral neuropathy and Lou Gehrig’s disease.”
Sachdev will join the staff in the MSU HealthTeam’s muscular dystrophy clinic and will also establish additional specialized clinical services for peripheral neuropathy and myasthenia gravis.
Myasthenia gravis is an autoimmune disorder that often affects young women and older men. Symptoms include droopy eyelids, difficulty breathing and swallowing and leg weakness. According to the National Institutes of Health, it’s a condition that affects 20 in every 100,000 people.
“Dr. Sachdev has been involved in research from his early medical school years here at MSU,” Kaufman noted. “In addition, he trained with terrific leaders in this field at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia and the University of Michigan. He brings to our community skills and talents that are not available for 65 miles in any direction to assist our university and the people of this community.”
Neuromuscular diseases affect many body areas including the autonomic nervous system, spinal cord, nerve root, peripheral nerve, nerve-muscle junction and muscle. Diseases include ALS, radiculopathy, neuropathy and Guillain-Barré syndrome. Others include muscle dystrophy, fibromyalgia and myositis.
“These are the many different facets of neuromuscular medicine,” Sachdev said. “Ultimately, I’d love to have one provider for each of these whose research and clinical interest falls into one of these domains.”
Sachdev has published dozens of papers, posters and abstracts and has given numerous presentations at national and international conferences.
He completed his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in biomedical engineering at the University of Michigan and Wayne State University, respectively.