Vishva Natarajan, MS, Receives ANF's 2024 Pediatric Research Award

Vishva Natarajan, MS, has been recognized with a Pediatric Research Award for his abstract, “Orbicularis Oculi Muscle Stimulated Jitter Analysis Revised Reference Values in Children.”

His abstract presents a study of the performance of a retrospective chart review of children over 2 years of age who received orbicularis oculi stimulated jitter analysis (stim-JA) study between January 2014 and December 2021. Using bootstrapping on a dataset of 19 seropositive children with definite NMJ disorder and 8 normal controls, they discovered that revised mean consecutive difference (MCD) upper limits of 39 µs for individual and 24 µs for mean MCD led to statistically significant improved specificity while maintaining sensitivity for diagnosing NMJ disorders in children over 2 years old.

Highlighting the importance of submitting his team’s work to AANEM, Mr. Natarajan says, “Submitting our work to AANEM allows us to contribute to the ongoing discourse on improving NM diagnostic techniques and to receive valuable feedback from fellow researchers and clinicians.” Mr. Natarajan says receiving the Pediatric Research Award from AANEM is a significant honor, “validating the hard work and dedication put into this research over several years. It serves as a strong source of encouragement for me to continue pursuing advancements in clinical neurophysiology in my medical career."

In the future, Mr. Natarajan is interested in further refining diagnostic techniques for NMDs and exploring the integration of omics data, artificial intelligence, and neurophysiological methods to improve diagnostics, discover improved disease biomarkers, and develop more personalized treatments to advance clinical practice and healthcare delivery directly. He also notes his gratitude for his mentors, Drs. Sumit Verma and Matthew Torres. Mr. Natarajan says their guidance helped him be excited about NM research, think creatively, and communicate his research to broad audiences. 

Mr. Natarajan's abstract will be presented at the 2024 AANEM Annual Meeting in Savannah, Georgia, Oct. 15-18 among all abstracts, including the Best Abstract Award, Best Abstract Runner-Up Award, Residency and Fellowship Member Award, Medical Student Award, and President's Research Award abstracts. “I am excited to learn about the latest advancements in NM medicine and discuss potential collaborations. The opportunity to attend presentations and workshops will be invaluable for expanding my knowledge and skills in this field,” he says of attending the annual meeting.