Dr. R. James Cotton Receives Clinical Research Fellowship From the American Neuromuscular Foundation

R. James Cotton, MD, PhD, has been selected as the recipient of the American Neuromuscular Foundation’s (ANF) Clinical Research Fellowship to provide insights and answers about the safety and effectiveness of the neurological application of neurotoxins. The ANF is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement of neuromuscular, musculoskeletal, and electrodiagnostic research and medicine. When you donate to the ANF, 100% of your gift is exclusively used to fund researchers like Dr. Cotton, or their education. This is made possible by the American Association of Neuromuscular and Electrodiagnostic Medicine (AANEM), which covers all of the ANF’s administrative costs.

Dr. Cotton’s research project is focused on spasticity, a common clinical problem that impacts people with some neurologic conditions, including stroke, spinal cord injury, and traumatic brain injury. Not only can spasticity be painful, but it can also reduce a person’s range of motion, making it more difficult for them to do many activities. It can also make it harder for caregivers to help the patient with tasks like putting on a shirt or jacket. The goal of Dr. Cotton’s research project is to develop an easy-to-use bedside tool to measure spasticity using wearable sensors.

“I will then use this to quantitatively track changes in spasticity as a result of neurotoxin treatment, and hopefully develop a predictive model for how well a muscle will respond to those injections,” said Dr. Cotton.

The ANF Clinical Research Fellowship includes $60,000 for 1 year fellowship salary, $10,000 for tuition to support formal education in clinical research methodology, complimentary AANEM Annual Meeting registration to present completed research, and $1,500 to attend the AANEM Annual Meeting when the research is presented.

“The ANF grant will support me in extending this platform for the quantification of spasticity and how it responds to the neurotoxin injections,” Dr. Cotton said.

Dr. Cotton recently completed his residency in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and is now an Assistant Professor in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Northwestern University and the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab. He is a graduate of Baylor College of Medicine.

About the American Association of Neuromuscular & Electrodiagnostic Medicine (AANEM)

Based in Rochester, Minnesota, the American Association of Neuromuscular & Electrodiagnostic Medicine (AANEM) is the premier nonprofit membership association dedicated to the advancement of neuromuscular (NM), musculoskeletal and electrodiagnostic (EDX) medicine. The organization and its members work to improve the quality of patient care and advance the science of NM diseases and EDX medicine by serving physicians and allied health professionals who care for those with muscle and nerve disorders.

About the American Neuromuscular Foundation (ANF)

Based in Rochester, Minnesota, the American Neuromuscular Foundation is a nonprofit association that provides funds to help develop the next generation of researchers to advance the science and practice of neuromuscular (NM) and electrodiagnostic (EDX) medicine. The ultimate goal is promoting and advancing NM and EDX scientific research and education is to improve the lives of patients with NM diseases. The foundation funds important research and helps support education through awards and fellowship funding. Donate today and 100% of your donation will be used to support these initiatives.  Administrative costs of the foundation are paid for by the AANEM.