Richard Nowak, MD, MS
Assistant Professor of Neurology; Director, Program in Clinical & Translational Neuromuscular Research; Director, Yale Myasthenia Gravis Clinic
Research & Publications
Biography
News
Locations
Research Summary
Dr. Nowak is focused on elucidating the immunopathologic mechanisms of myasthenia gravis, an autoimmune disorder targeting the neuromuscular junction in patients resulting in weakness. He is working toward identifying new drug targets as well as exploring the effectiveness of B cell directed therapies (e.g., rituximab).
Specialized Terms: Myasthenia Gravis; Guillian-Barre Syndrome (GBS); CIDP; Immune Therapies, Neuropathy; Charcot Marie Tooth Disease; ALS.
Extensive Research Description
https://medicine.yale.edu/neurology/divisions/neuromuscular/nmresearch.aspx
Coauthors
Research Interests
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis; Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease; Myasthenia Gravis; Neurology; Guillain-Barre Syndrome; Polyradiculoneuropathy, Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating
Selected Publications
- Myasthenia Gravis in the Setting of Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor Therapy: Practical Considerations and Opinion-Based Approach to Acute ManagementZubair A, Roy B, Baehring J, Nowak R. Myasthenia Gravis in the Setting of Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor Therapy: Practical Considerations and Opinion-Based Approach to Acute Management Cureus 2022, 14 PMCID: PMC9683636, DOI: 10.7759/cureus.30638.
- Myasthenia Gravis in the Setting of Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor Therapy: Practical Considerations and Opinion-Based Approach to Acute ManagementZubair A, Roy B, Baehring J, Nowak R. Myasthenia Gravis in the Setting of Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor Therapy: Practical Considerations and Opinion-Based Approach to Acute Management Cureus 2022, 14: e30638. PMID: 36439604, PMCID: PMC9683636, DOI: 10.7759/cureus.30638.
- Reply to: What is the pattern of the neuropathy associated with anti‐FGFR3 antibodies?Roy B, Kovvuru S, Castillo Y, Huttner A, Nowak R. Reply to: What is the pattern of the neuropathy associated with anti‐FGFR3 antibodies? European Journal Of Neurology 2020, 27: e59-e59. PMID: 32503081, DOI: 10.1111/ene.14381.
- Clinical Effects of the Self-administered Subcutaneous Complement Inhibitor Zilucoplan in Patients With Moderate to Severe Generalized Myasthenia Gravis: Results of a Phase 2 Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Multicenter Clinical Trial.Howard JF, Nowak RJ, Wolfe GI, Freimer ML, Vu TH, Hinton JL, Benatar M, Duda PW, MacDougall JE, Farzaneh-Far R, Kaminski HJ, Barohn R, Dimachkie M, Pasnoor M, Farmakidis C, Liu T, Colgan S, Benatar MG, Bertorini T, Pillai R, Henegar R, Bromberg M, Gibson S, Janecki T, Freimer M, Elsheikh B, Matisak P, Genge A, Guidon A, David W, Habib AA, Mathew V, Mozaffar T, Hinton JL, Hewitt W, Barnett D, Sullivan P, Ho D, Howard JF, Traub RE, Chopra M, Kaminski HJ, Aly R, Bayat E, Abu-Rub M, Khan S, Lange D, Holzberg S, Khatri B, Lindman E, Olapo T, Sershon LM, Lisak RP, Bernitsas E, Jia K, Malik R, Lewis-Collins TD, Nicolle M, Nowak RJ, Sharma A, Roy B, Nye J, Pulley M, Berger A, Shabbir Y, Sachdev A, Patterson K, Siddiqi Z, Sivak M, Bratton J, Small G, Kohli A, Fetter M, Vu T, Lam L, Harvey B, Wolfe GI, Silvestri N, Patrick K, Zakalik K, Duda PW, MacDougall J, Farzaneh-Far R, Pontius A, Hoarty M. Clinical Effects of the Self-administered Subcutaneous Complement Inhibitor Zilucoplan in Patients With Moderate to Severe Generalized Myasthenia Gravis: Results of a Phase 2 Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Multicenter Clinical Trial. JAMA Neurology 2020, 77: 582-592. PMID: 32065623, PMCID: PMC7042797, DOI: 10.1001/jamaneurol.2019.5125.
- Guidance for the management of myasthenia gravis (MG) and Lambert-Eaton myasthenic syndrome (LEMS) during the COVID-19 pandemicGroup I, Jacob S, Muppidi S, Guidon A, Guptill J, Hehir M, Howard J, Illa I, Mantegazza R, Murai H, Utsugisawa K, Vissing J, Wiendl H, Nowak R. Guidance for the management of myasthenia gravis (MG) and Lambert-Eaton myasthenic syndrome (LEMS) during the COVID-19 pandemic Journal Of The Neurological Sciences 2020, 412: 116803. PMID: 32247193, PMCID: PMC7105910, DOI: 10.1016/j.jns.2020.116803.
- Clinical characteristics of fibroblast growth factor receptor 3 antibody‐related polyneuropathy: a retrospective studyKovvuru S, Cardenas Y, Huttner A, Nowak R, Roy B. Clinical characteristics of fibroblast growth factor receptor 3 antibody‐related polyneuropathy: a retrospective study European Journal Of Neurology 2020, 27: 1310-1318. PMID: 32068339, DOI: 10.1111/ene.14180.
- P.026 Response to eculizumab in patients with myasthenia gravis recently treated with chronic intravenous immunoglobulinGenge A, Jacob S, Murai H, Utsugisawa K, Nowak R, Wiendl H, Fujita K, O’Brien F, Howard J. P.026 Response to eculizumab in patients with myasthenia gravis recently treated with chronic intravenous immunoglobulin Canadian Journal Of Neurological Sciences / Journal Canadien Des Sciences Neurologiques 2019, 46: s20-s21. DOI: 10.1017/cjn.2019.126.
- A.01 Relieving the burden of myasthenia gravis: eculizumab reduces exacerbation, hospitalization and rescue therapy ratesSiddiqi Z, Howard J, Jacob S, Guptill J, Meisel A, Wiendl H, Murai H, Utsugisawa K, Nowak R, Fujita K, O’Brien F, Patra K, Muppidi S. A.01 Relieving the burden of myasthenia gravis: eculizumab reduces exacerbation, hospitalization and rescue therapy rates Canadian Journal Of Neurological Sciences / Journal Canadien Des Sciences Neurologiques 2019, 46: s8-s8. DOI: 10.1017/cjn.2019.83.
- Optimizing the Use of Outcome Measures in Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating PolyneuropathyAllen J, Gelinas D, Lewis R, Nowak R, Wolfe G. Optimizing the Use of Outcome Measures in Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy US Neurology 2017, 13: 26. DOI: 10.17925/usn.2017.13.01.26.
- Long Term Efficacy of Rituximab in Patients with MuSK Auto-Antibody Myasthenia Gravis (PD6.007)Nowak R, Keung B, Robeson K, DiCapua D, Goldstein J. Long Term Efficacy of Rituximab in Patients with MuSK Auto-Antibody Myasthenia Gravis (PD6.007) Neurology 2012, 78: pd6.007-pd6.007. DOI: 10.1212/wnl.78.1_meetingabstracts.pd6.007.
- Response of patients with refractory myasthenia gravis to rituximab: a retrospective studyNowak RJ, DiCapua DB, Zebardast N, Goldstein JM. Response of patients with refractory myasthenia gravis to rituximab: a retrospective study Therapeutic Advances In Neurological Disorders 2011, 4: 259-266. PMID: 22010039, PMCID: PMC3187675, DOI: 10.1177/1756285611411503.
- Improving binding specificity of pharmacological chaperones that target mutant superoxide dismutase-1 linked to familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis using computational methods.Nowak RJ, Cuny GD, Choi S, Lansbury PT, Ray SS. Improving binding specificity of pharmacological chaperones that target mutant superoxide dismutase-1 linked to familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis using computational methods. Journal Of Medicinal Chemistry 2010, 53: 2709-18. PMID: 20232802, PMCID: PMC2881568, DOI: 10.1021/jm901062p.
- Small-molecule-mediated stabilization of familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis-linked superoxide dismutase mutants against unfolding and aggregation.Ray SS, Nowak RJ, Brown RH, Lansbury PT. Small-molecule-mediated stabilization of familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis-linked superoxide dismutase mutants against unfolding and aggregation. Proceedings Of The National Academy Of Sciences Of The United States Of America 2005, 102: 3639-44. PMID: 15738401, PMCID: PMC553303, DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0408277102.
- An intersubunit disulfide bond prevents in vitro aggregation of a superoxide dismutase-1 mutant linked to familial amytrophic lateral sclerosis.Ray SS, Nowak RJ, Strokovich K, Brown RH, Walz T, Lansbury PT. An intersubunit disulfide bond prevents in vitro aggregation of a superoxide dismutase-1 mutant linked to familial amytrophic lateral sclerosis. Biochemistry 2004, 43: 4899-905. PMID: 15109247, DOI: 10.1021/bi030246r.
- Self-assembly of Abeta(1-42) into globular neurotoxins.Chromy BA, Nowak RJ, Lambert MP, Viola KL, Chang L, Velasco PT, Jones BW, Fernandez SJ, Lacor PN, Horowitz P, Finch CE, Krafft GA, Klein WL. Self-assembly of Abeta(1-42) into globular neurotoxins. Biochemistry 2003, 42: 12749-60. PMID: 14596589, DOI: 10.1021/bi030029q.
- Alpha-synuclein, especially the Parkinson's disease-associated mutants, forms pore-like annular and tubular protofibrils.Lashuel HA, Petre BM, Wall J, Simon M, Nowak RJ, Walz T, Lansbury PT. Alpha-synuclein, especially the Parkinson's disease-associated mutants, forms pore-like annular and tubular protofibrils. Journal Of Molecular Biology 2002, 322: 1089-102. PMID: 12367530, DOI: 10.1016/s0022-2836(02)00735-0.
- Protofibrillar islet amyloid polypeptide permeabilizes synthetic vesicles by a pore-like mechanism that may be relevant to type II diabetes.Anguiano M, Nowak RJ, Lansbury PT. Protofibrillar islet amyloid polypeptide permeabilizes synthetic vesicles by a pore-like mechanism that may be relevant to type II diabetes. Biochemistry 2002, 41: 11338-43. PMID: 12234175, DOI: 10.1021/bi020314u.
Clinical Trials
Conditions | Study Title |
---|---|
Diseases of the Nervous System | A Study of Nipocalimab Administered to Adults With Generalized Myasthenia Gravis |
Diseases of the Nervous System | Long-Term Tolerability and Safety of HYQVIA/HyQvia in CIDP |
Diseases of the Nervous System | Myasthenia Gravis Inebilizumab Trial (MINT) |
Diseases of the Musculoskeletal System | Open-Label Extension of Zilucoplan in Subjects With Generalized Myasthenia Gravis (RAISE-XT) |
Diseases of the Nervous System | Immunologic Mechanisms in Neurological Diseases |