Nationwide Children’s Hospital CEO Steve Allen, MD, will serve as co-chair of the first Transforming Duchenne Care workshop to be held June 27 and 28, 2012, in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. The national symposium, held by Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy, will gather leadership from top medical institutions, neuromuscular experts and patient representatives with the ultimate goal of establishing a network of centers of excellence for the care and treatment of children with Duchenne muscular dystrophy.
In addition to Dr. Allen, Nationwide Children’s will be represented by Jerry Mendell, MD; Kevin Flanigan, MD; and Linda H. Cripe, MD—three prominent pediatric specialists in the Neuromuscular Disorders program.
Dr. Mendell is an attending neurologist, Director of the Center for Gene Therapy at The Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s and Director of the Paul D. Wellstone Muscular Dystrophy Cooperative Research Center. He is also Co-director of the Muscular Dystrophy Association Clinic at Nationwide Children’s and serves as Professor of Pediatrics, Neurology, Pathology, and Physiology and Cell Biology at The Ohio State University College of Medicine.
Dr. Flanigan, also a neurologist at Nationwide Children’s, is a principal investigator in the Center for Gene Therapy in The Research Institute and Professor of Pediatrics at The Ohio State University College of Medicine. He also hosts This Month in Muscular Dystrophy, the monthly podcast where experts discuss the latest muscular dystrophy research.
Dr. Cripe, a pediatric cardiologist who recently joined Nationwide Children’s, is well-known for her continuing work in studying the care and treatment of cardiomyopathy associated with neuromuscular disease, specifically Duchenne muscular dystrophy.
Drs. Mendell, Flanigan and Cripe have also been asked to lecture and participate in panel discussions at the Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy Annual Connect Conference, immediately following the June 27-28 workshop.
At Nationwide Children's, the Neuromuscular Disorders Program comprises a multi-disciplinary staff with expertise in diagnosing and treating disorders affecting peripheral nerves and muscles in children, such as muscular dystrophy, myositis and congenital myopathy. In 2012, U.S.News & World Report ranked Neurosciences, Cardiology and other services among the top 10 pediatric programs in the country. Nationwide Children’s was also named to the distinguished U.S.News Honor Roll of Best Children’s Hospitals, one of only 12 in the United States.