Each year, the University of Kansas Medical Center neuromuscular fellows prepare a mentored research project. In this project, the fellow drives the process from concept development to Institutional Review Board submission to data acquisition to writing the abstract and finally preparing and delivering the presentation.

As Haddad’s mentor, Mazen Dimachkie, M.D., can attest to her excellence and dedication in research. This outstanding performance culminated in Haddad’s work titled “Inclusion Body Myositis (IBM): Phenotypes and Antibody Sensitivity” being awarded Best Poster Presentation at the Carrell-Krusen Neuromuscular Symposium this year. IBM is a rare muscle disease that causes muscle weakness leading to loss of independence.

Dimachkie said, “Kudos to Haddad for this prestigious award and for demonstrating unequivocally the national research excellence of the KU Medical Center’s Neuromuscular Medicine Fellowship program.”

This symposium is a clinical education experience for members of multidisciplinary teams who care for patients with rare, complex neuromuscular diseases including hereditary muscular dystrophies, motor neuron diseases, neuroimmunologic neuropathies and rare genetic disorders of muscle and nerve.