Richard Nowak, MD, MS
Associate 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
- Individual myasthenia gravis autoantibody clones can efficiently mediate multiple mechanisms of pathologyPham M, Masi G, Patzina R, Obaid A, Oxendine S, Oh S, Payne A, Nowak R, O’Connor K. Individual myasthenia gravis autoantibody clones can efficiently mediate multiple mechanisms of pathology. Acta Neuropathologica 2023, 146: 319-336. PMID: 37344701, DOI: 10.1007/s00401-023-02603-y.
- MOGAD patient autoantibodies induce complement, phagocytosis, and cellular cytotoxicityYandamuri S, Filipek B, Obaid A, Lele N, Thurman J, Makhani N, Nowak R, Guo Y, Lucchinetti C, Flanagan E, Longbrake E, O'Connor K. MOGAD patient autoantibodies induce complement, phagocytosis, and cellular cytotoxicity. JCI Insight 2023, 8: e165373. PMID: 37097758, PMCID: PMC10393237, DOI: 10.1172/jci.insight.165373.
- Investigating Autoantibody Profiles in Seronegative Myasthenia Gravis (P1-5.005)Masi G, Pham M, Dai Y, Li Y, Karatz T, Oxendine S, Juel V, Ring A, Nowak R, Guptill J, O’Connor K. Investigating Autoantibody Profiles in Seronegative Myasthenia Gravis (P1-5.005). 2023, 2562. DOI: 10.1212/wnl.0000000000202639.
- Clinical Implications of Specific Autoantibodies in Chronic Inflammatory Neuropathies (P11-8.013)Bushlyar V, Zubair A, Castillo Y, O’Connor K, DiCapua D, Desai K, Nowak R, Tseng B, Roy B. Clinical Implications of Specific Autoantibodies in Chronic Inflammatory Neuropathies (P11-8.013). 2023, 3525. DOI: 10.1212/wnl.0000000000203328.
- Clinicoserological insights into patients with immune checkpoint inhibitor‐induced myasthenia gravisMasi G, Pham M, Karatz T, Oh S, Payne A, Nowak R, Howard J, Guptill J, Juel V, O'Connor K. Clinicoserological insights into patients with immune checkpoint inhibitor‐induced myasthenia gravis. Annals Of Clinical And Translational Neurology 2023, 10: 825-831. PMID: 36924454, PMCID: PMC10187728, DOI: 10.1002/acn3.51761.
- Reemergence of pathogenic, autoantibody-producing B cell clones in myasthenia gravis following B cell depletion therapyFichtner ML, Hoehn KB, Ford EE, Mane-Damas M, Oh S, Waters P, Payne AS, Smith ML, Watson CT, Losen M, Martinez-Martinez P, Nowak RJ, Kleinstein SH, O’Connor K. Reemergence of pathogenic, autoantibody-producing B cell clones in myasthenia gravis following B cell depletion therapy. Acta Neuropathologica Communications 2022, 10: 154. PMID: 36307868, PMCID: PMC9617453, DOI: 10.1186/s40478-022-01454-0.
- 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 GravisHoward 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 M, 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 A, Mathew V, Mozaffar T, Hinton J, Hewitt W, Barnett D, Sullivan P, Ho D, Howard J, Traub R, Chopra M, Kaminski H, Aly R, Bayat E, Abu-Rub M, Khan S, Lange D, Holzberg S, Khatri B, Lindman E, Olapo T, Sershon L, Lisak R, Bernitsas E, Jia K, Malik R, Lewis-Collins T, Nicolle M, Nowak R, 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 G, Silvestri N, Patrick K, Zakalik K, Duda P, 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. JAMA Neurology 2020, 77: 582-592. PMID: 32065623, PMCID: PMC7042797, DOI: 10.1001/jamaneurol.2019.5125.
- Monovalent IgG4 autoantibodies require self-antigen driven affinity maturation to acquire pathogenic capacityFichtner M, Vieni C, Redler R, Jiang R, Suarez P, Nowak R, Burden S, Bhabha G, Ekiert D, O’Connor K. Monovalent IgG4 autoantibodies require self-antigen driven affinity maturation to acquire pathogenic capacity. The Journal Of Immunology 2020, 204: 224.39-224.39. DOI: 10.4049/jimmunol.204.supp.224.39.
- 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.
- Editorial by concerned physicians: Unintended effect of the orphan drug act on the potential cost of 3,4‐diaminopyridineBurns TM, Smith GA, Allen JA, Amato AA, Arnold WD, Barohn R, Benatar M, Bird SJ, Bromberg M, Chahin N, Ciafaloni E, Cohen JA, Corse A, Crum BA, David WS, Dimberg E, Sousa E, Donofrio PD, Dyck PJ, Engel AG, Ensrud ER, Ferrante M, Freimer M, Gable KL, Gibson S, Gilchrist JM, Goldstein JM, Gooch CL, Goodman BP, Gorelov D, Gospe SM, Goyal NA, Guidon AC, Guptill JT, Gutmann L, Gutmann L, Gwathmey K, Harati Y, Harper CM, Hehir MK, Hobson-Webb L, Howard JF, Jackson CE, Johnson N, Jones SM, Juel VC, Kaminski HJ, Karam C, Kennelly KD, Khella S, Khoury J, Kincaid JC, Kissel JT, Kolb N, Lacomis D, Ladha S, Larriviere D, Lewis RA, Li Y, Litchy WJ, Logigian E, Lou J, MacGowen DJ, Maselli R, Massey JM, Mauermann ML, Mathews KD, Meriggioli MN, Miller RG, Moon J, Mozaffar T, Nations SP, Nowak RJ, Ostrow LW, Pascuzzi RM, Peltier A, Ruzhansky K, Richman DP, Ross MA, Rubin DI, Russell JA, Sachs GM, Salajegheh MK, Saperstein DS, Scelsa S, Selcen D, Shaibani A, Shieh PB, Silvestri NJ, Singleton JR, Smith BE, So YT, Solorzano G, Sorenson EJ, Srinivasen J, Tavee J, Tawil R, Thaisetthawatkul P, Thornton C, Trivedi J, Vernino S, Wang AK, Webb TA, Weiss MD, Windebank AJ, Wolfe GI. Editorial by concerned physicians: Unintended effect of the orphan drug act on the potential cost of 3,4‐diaminopyridine. Muscle & Nerve 2015, 53: 165-168. PMID: 26662952, DOI: 10.1002/mus.25009.
- 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: 4899-4905. 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.
- α-Synuclein, Especially the Parkinson's Disease-associated Mutants, Forms Pore-like Annular and Tubular ProtofibrilsLashuel HA, Petre BM, Wall J, Simon M, Nowak RJ, Walz T, Lansbury PT. α-Synuclein, Especially the Parkinson's Disease-associated Mutants, Forms Pore-like Annular and Tubular Protofibrils. Journal Of Molecular Biology 2002, 322: 1089-1102. 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 |
Diseases of the Musculoskeletal System; Diseases of the Nervous System | Registry of Patients With Generalized Myasthenia Gravis Who Have Ever Been Treated With C5 Inhibition Therapies |
Diseases of the Musculoskeletal System; Diseases of the Nervous System | Exploring Outcomes and Characteristics of Myasthenia Gravis 2 (EXPLORE-MG2) |