Advocacy

Donate to Advance Research and Education

With your help, the American Neuromuscular Foundation can fund research that will improve the lives of patients with neuromuscular diseases.

State Liaison Listing

Select State:

Interested in serving as a State Liaison? Let us know by applying.

Members, login to view contact information for State Liaisons.

Laura Danielson

State:

Sasha Zivkovic

State:

Shawn Hadley

State: AK

Dr. Shawn Hadley is a physiatrist working at Alaska Neurodiagnostic and Rehabilitation in Anchorage, Alaska.

Aravindhan Veerapandiyan

State: AR

Dr. Aravindhan Veerapandiyan is a Child Neurologist and Assistant Professor with specialized interest and training in neuromuscular disorders in children. He is the Director of the Comprehensive Neuromuscular Program and Co-Director of the Muscular Dystrophy Association Care Center at Arkansas Children’s Hospital / University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. Dr. Veerapandiyan has a passion for clinical research and education. He is extensively published and has presented his work at national meetings.

Todd Levine

State: AZ

Dr. Todd Levine is a neurologist working in Paradise Vally, Arizona.

Gregory Sahagian

State: CA

Dr. Gregory Sahagian is a neurologist working in San Diego, California. He is the CEO of The Neurology Center of Southern California and is frequently involved with payor contracting and medical management. He has been a member of the AANEM since 1999. He is disappointed when he sees patients who have had inferior testing by untrained providers and strives to see improved quality and value for these patients.

Stacy Dixon

State: CO

Afzal Choudhry

State: FL

Dr. Choudhry is neurologist in private practice from Neurological Institute of Central Florida and Clinical Assistant Professor at University of Central Florida Orlando. He has been member of AANEM for about 20 years and have been on Marketing and Quality Improvement Committees. He has been appointed by Florida Governor and served on Florida Rehabilitation Council and Advisory Council to Florida Department of Elder Affairs. He served on Florida Medical Association PAC Board of Directors and Florida Lake&Sumter counties Medical Society Board of Directors

Raghav Govindarajan

State: IL

John Kincaid

State: IN

Dr. John Kincaid is a neurologist working at the Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis, Indiana. Dr. Kincaid has been a member of the AANEM for 31 years serving as the association’s delegate to the AMA House of Delegates. In addition, he is a CAC member for the Indiana Medicare carrier and has been consultant to several health insurance companies for reviewing coverage polices, technologies and billing practices.

Syeda Alqadri

State: MA

Dr. Laila Alqadri is a Neurologist, a multi national award-winning clinical research scientist, a well published author, and currently the Medical Director of Clinical Affairs of KabaFusion, LLC, which is one of the largest home infusion providers in the country, with branches that service all 50 states. The home base of Dr. Alqadri’s company is in Lexington, MA. As a Neurologist and being part of a family of Neuromuscular specialists, Dr. Alqadri early on realized the underrepresentation of our patient population and the struggle her colleagues and our patients go through for medications they so direly need. In her unique position as Medical Director and having multiple roles in the company related to payors, has given her experience and knowledge about the detailed nuances of where these issues truly are. It also gave her the perspective and the experience to know where changes must truly be made. Being a state liaison for MA, Dr. Alqadri hopes to utilize her background experience and knowledge related to the state specific payor related issues that exist, not only from her company's perspective but also from the perspective of the Statewide and country wide provider network that she deals with.

Peter Warinner

State: MA

John Wilson

State: MD

Dr. John E. Wilson is a Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation fellow at the NeuroDiagnostic Associates of Maryland in Bel Air, Maryland. Dr. Wilson has been a member of the AANEM for 14 years as well as being a member of the Professional Practice Committee, also serving as chair. He received the AANEM Outstanding Advocate Award in 2007 for his efforts in advocating for quality EDX medicine.

Mary Kneiser

State: MI

Dr. Mary Kneiser is a Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation physician at Ability Assessments in St. Claire Shores, Michigan. Dr. Kneiser has been a member of the AANEM for 17 years and was one of the first physicians to take the ABEM MOC exam in 2002. She has served as an oral examiner for the ABPMR for the past four years and brings a unique perspective on the technical side of testing with her engineering degree. Dr. Kneiser has been educating claims adjusters since 2003. While the sources of fraudulent studies may change over the years, Kneiser’s message hasn’t: “It is important that we as physicians have open lines of communication with adjusters,” she explained. “Adjusters have a variety of experience levels and backgrounds, and when we are dealing with them we have to recognize that.” Kneiser hopes her audiences learn a sense of how to tell a quality study from a poor one. “We have to take the time to educate adjusters so they continue to value EDX studies in diagnosing patients,” she said. “ Kneiser has served as a State Liaison since 2009, when the program began.

Anandeep Kumar

State: MI

Dr. Anandeep Kumar is a Physiatrist and Medical Director of Inpatient Physiatry & Allegiance Rehabilitation Services in Jackson, MI and Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine. He served as the State Advocacy Liaison program for Iowa, and has been member of the AANEM and the State Liaison Program for over 10 years. Dr. Kumar is a strong advocate of physician leadership in legislative advocacy, clinical and fiscal reimbursement matters.

David Rippe

State: MN

Dr. David Rippe is a physiatrist with Allina Health working at Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Dr. Rippe is board certified by the ABEM and the ABPMR and has served as an oral board examiner for the ABPMR numerous years. He has been a member of the AANEM since 2005. Dr. Rippe has served on multiple committees at his hospital, within Minnesota, and with the AANEM focusing on improving quality and decreasing fraud and abuse in electrodiagnostic medicine. He has given lectures to orthopedic surgeons and fellows, worker’s compensation managers, and insurance companies on electrodiagnostic testing and how to differentiate high vs low quality studies.

Chrissa McClellan

State: MO

Varun Sreenivasan

State: MS

Dr. Sreevinasan is a neurologist, specializing in neuromuscular medicine, working at the Mississippi Center for Advanced Medicine. His clinical interests lie in muscular dystrophies and demyelinating neuropathies. Concurrently, he is also focused on advocating for patient access to quality electrodiagnostics, especially in under served areas of the country.

Robert Yapundich

State: NC

Dr Robert Yapundich is a neurologist in private practice with Neurology Associates in Hickory, NC. He has been a member of the AANEM since 1997. In addition to overseeing the first AANEM certified EDX lab in North Carolina, Dr Yapundich maintains an active interest in advocacy for all aspects of neurology, especially those pertaining to electrodiagnostic medicine. He has a particular interest in advocating for patient safety through continued efforts to improve the regulatory landscape pertaining to quality control of electrodiagnostic studies.

Tom Noff

State: NJ

Dr Tom Noff is a neurologist at Cooper University Hospital in Camden, NJ. He completed his residency training at Indiana University. He believes that physicians represent the needs of their patients and should advocate for their care, especially in the ever shifting landscape of neuromuscular medicine and neurodiagnostics. While many changes are occurring, he believes it is vital to ensure the state and federal levels hear the needs of neuromuscular patients. He is particularly interested in advocacy for improved high quality EMG for all patients.

Leo Germin

State: NV

Dr. Leo Germin is a neurologist working at Clinical Neurology Specialists in Henderson, Nevada. Dr. Germin has been a member of the AANEM for 14 years. As a strong advocate for both patient education regarding their health and compliance with AANEM policy “Who Is Qualified to Practice Electrodiagnostic Medicine” he is concerned about the increase in the number of mobile diagnostic technicians performing EDX studies without EMG or physician supervision in the PMD offices. Dr. Germin helped to defeat a Nevada Senate bill that would have allowed Chiropractors to perform EMG studies in their or other practitioners’ offices. Dr. Germin believes that payers require education regarding the indications that EDX studies should be only performed by neurologists or PMR physicians under direct EDX trained physician supervision and for the future in the accredited EMG labs only.

Joseph Carcione

State: NY

Dr. Joseph Carcione is a neurologist in Yonkers, New York. Dr. Carcione has been a member of the AANEM for 20 years and in his single-specialty practice for over 16 years. He has been involved with the special investigations unit of a major national healthcare company, assisting in the adjudication and prosecution of over 30 million dollars worth of fraudulent claims.

Timothy Pettingell

State: OK

Dr. Timothy Pettingell is a Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation physician in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Dr. Pettingell has been a member of the AANEM for 12 years and has done chart review and worked to educate nurse reviewers on proper performance of EDX studies. He is board certified by ABPMR, ABPMR subspecialty pain management and ABIME. Pettingell’s greatest concern in Oklahoma is “fraud and overutilization.” Pettingell, a physiatrist in Broken Arrow, kicked off a speaking tour that will end later this summer, educating case managers and adjusters about the value of quality EDX medicine. Pettingell reviews EDX medicine, the types of providers that should be performing and interpreting these studies, requirements of good quality studies, and parameters to identify fraudulent studies. He is targeting multiple insurers with the series, including the Case Management Society of America -- both the Tulsa and Oklahoma City chapters -- CompChoice, CompSource, WorkNET, Gemani, and AIG. His first engagement was with case managers at CBR Insurance, an Oklahoma workers’ compensation insurer. 06/10 In addition to Pettingell’s work educating case managers, he also has focused his efforts on the US Department of Labor. Initially, he was approached to provide a permanent impairment rating, and he conducted a full review of the injured workers’ records. Over the course of the review, Pettingell was frustrated by the degree of overutilization and the lack of scrutiny by the Department.

Collin Grant

State: OR

Peter Grant

State: OR

Dr. Peter Grant is a Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation physician in Medford, Oregon. Dr. Grant has been a member of the AANEM for over 25 years and is a Past President of the AANEM. He has served on many committees of the AANEM and has served on the Board of Directors. He was the founding Chairman of the EDX Laboratory Accreditation Committee. Dr. Grant's EDX laboratory was the first accredited laboratory in Oregon. Dr. Grant has lectured extensively in the area of fraudulent and abusive EDX practices and how to identify and combat them.

William Jens

State: PA

Dr. William Jens is a neurologist specializing in Clinical Neurophysiology working at Penn State Health as an Assistant Clinical Professor and Director of the Access clinic. He enjoys teaching students, residents, and fellows about neurology and neurophysiology. He has been a member of the AANEM for 5 years. He is striving for improvements in electrodiagnostic testing standards to increase quality studies and reduce unneeded surgeries.

Benjamin Warfel

State: PA

Swee Lim

State: RI

Mary Herring

State: SC

Dr. Herring is a physiatrist at the Medical University of South Carolina and the Ralph H. Johnson VA Hospital in Charleston, S.C. She is an associate professor in the Neurology Department and works in a AANEM certified EDX lab. She has been a member of the AANEM since 1998. She is interesting in advocating for quality control and insurance reimbursement issues in EMG.

Joshua Alpers

State: TN

Dr. Joshua Alpers is a neurologist working at UT Erlanger in neuromuscular medicine in Signal Mountain, Tennessee.

Kyle Mahoney

State: UT

Dr. Mahoney is originally from Michigan where he obtained his undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan in Cellular and Molecular Biology. He subsequently attended the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. After graduation, he continued on at Johns Hopkins Hospital for his internship in the Osler Internal Medicine Program. He then joined completed residency in neurology and a fellowship in neuromuscular medicine at Johns Hopkins prior to moving to the University of Utah where he works in the neuromuscular division. Clinical interests include a range of conditions affecting the peripheral nervous system with a particular focus on autoimmune neuromuscular conditions such as myasthenia gravis, Guillain–Barré syndrome (GBS), and chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathies. Additionally, he has interests in neuromuscular pathology and electrodiagnostics.

Yasir Al Khalili

State: VA

Dr Yasir Al Khalili is a neurologist specializing in Clinical Neurophysiology at Virginia Commonwealth University VCU in Richmond, VA. He is an Assistant Professor of Neurology for VCU School of Medicine. He has been a member of the AANEM for 2 years. He is a graduate of Drexel University Neurology and Neurophysiology program in 2013-2018. He is particularly interested in advocacy for improved high quality EMG for all patients.

Mohammad Saeed

State: WA

Dr. Mohammad Saeed is a Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation physician in Tacoma, Washington. Dr. Saeed has been a member of the AANEM for 33 years and has served on six committees. He is currently a senior partner in the Electrodiagnosis & Rehabilitation Associates of Tacoma. He serves on the Utilization and Quality Assurance Committee at Northwest Physicians Network as well as consultant for the State of WA.

David Del Toro

State: WI

Dominic Fee

State: WI

Dominic Fee, MD is a Neurologist practicing neuromuscular and electrodiagnostic medicine, currently at the Medical College of Wisconsin. He is active in the AANEM, serving on many committees over the past 10 years. Dr Fee is passionate on informing government on issues facing the practice of medicine.

Dominika Lozowska

State: WV

Dr. Dominika Lozowska is a neurologist practicing at Marshall Neuroscience in Huntington, WV. Dr. Lozowska desires to be involved in the committee in order to communicate concerns to state and federal legislators and payers regarding neuromuscular and electrodiagnostic medicine and quality patient care, with a special interest in the Appalachian region. Dr. Lozowska, declined to work on the committee due to her move to California, however she worked it out with Millie to stay on the committee. 6/2019

David Wheeler

State: WY

Dr. David Wheeler is a neurologist in private practice at Wyoming Neurologic Associates in Casper. He joined AANEM in 2019 specifically to participate in national efforts to ensure unfettered access to high quality EDX for patients especially in rural and undeserved parts of the country. Dr. Wheeler is engaged in organized medicine at many levels currently serving as the president of the Wyoming Medical Society and President-elect of the American Heart Association SouthWest Regional board. He is the 2019 American Heart Association Physician of the Year.