Meet the WMS Communications Committee

Following a discussion among the WMS Executive Board in February 2026, we have a new Communications Committee. The new Committee combines the roles of the previous Social Media and Website Committees and has the aim of strengthening connections across our global neuromuscular community, encouraging knowledge sharing, and creating opportunities for engagement among members.

The Communications Committee is chaired by Giorgia Coratti and Michelle Lorentzos and combines members from the previous committees as well as enthusiastic new participants. If you are interested in joining the Committee, please email [email protected].

Each month, two members of the committee will be taking over on LinkedIn, so make sure you are following us to see what they have to say.

Let’s meet the committee members:

Giorgia Coratti is a neuro and psychomotor therapist of developmental age specialising in paediatric neuromuscular disorders, combining clinical care and research to advance rehabilitation and improve outcomes for children with complex neurological conditions at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Rome, Italy.

Giorgia joined the Communications Committee to help connect people, expand the WMS Community, and share knowledge more effectively. She says: “I hope to strengthen engagement within the network and support the dissemination of valuable information and opportunities.”

Outside of work, Giorgia is a big fan of historical documentaries and dystopian films and novels. She enjoys learning about the past and exploring fictional worlds that challenge the way we think about society and the future.

Michelle Lorentzos is a paediatric neurologist specialising in neuromuscular conditions and lead of the Kids Advanced Therapeutics Programme at the Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network in Sydney, Australia.

She joined the Communications Committee to bring her longstanding interest in communication to the WMS. Michelle says: “I value the human stories that sit alongside scientific and professional collaboration. I have met fabulous people through WMS and I hope this committee will facilitate the sharing of diverse voices, and contribute to a sustainable and welcoming society that celebrates expertise and experience, as well as curiosity and innovation.”

When she’s not busy working, Michelle pursues her passion for history by burying herself in books about Roman emperors and enjoying playing five or six chords on the guitar, which she says she plays “terribly”.

Matthew Alexander runs a laboratory focused on identifying the genetic/epigenetic regulators of neuromuscular disorders, based at the University of Alabama in Birmingham, USA. His lab also characterises new animal and cell models and performs high-throughput drug screens in these models.

He joined the Communications Committee to highlight the exciting and wonderful research going on in the neuromuscular disorder and muscle fields and says: “I think this is the most exciting time for new treatments and better care for patients and families with rare NMDs. I want to convey this enthusiasm to the general public while trying my best to promote more funding for science and medicine in general. I hope that we as a committee can use this platform to attract new members while also highlighting the outstanding work of our current WMS members.”

Outside of work, Matthew enjoys movies and trivia and particularly loves sci-fi, dark fantasy and suspense/mystery genres. He’d be very happy to join your quiz team! He also has two small dogs, Emmie and Ellie, who have become famous in the family for wearing funny costumes.

Joshua Back is a paediatric neurologist and neurogenetics fellow, with a particular interest in neuromuscular medicine, rare disease diagnosis and emerging genetic therapies at the Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network / The Children’s Hospital at Westmead in Australia. His work involves caring for children and families affected by complex neurological and neuromuscular conditions, helping translate clinical findings, genetic results and evolving research into practical diagnoses, management plans and clearer conversations with families.

Joshua joined the WMS in order to participate in the Communications Committee because he thinks communication is central to the future of neuromuscular medicine. He says: “Our field is moving incredibly quickly, particularly in genetics, diagnostics and emerging therapies, but that progress only matters if it can be shared clearly with clinicians, researchers, trainees, patients and families.

“I hope to help make the work of the World Muscle Society feel accessible, engaging and connected to the people behind the science. I am especially interested in supporting communication with early-career clinicians and researchers, highlighting international perspectives, and helping translate complex neuromuscular developments into stories and resources that are clear, clinically useful and human.”

Away from work, Joshua is kept happily busy by his young family. He particularly enjoys making up new daily bedtime stories, which usually involve some combination of Pokémon, whales, dinosaurs, superheroes and medical mysteries that only children can solve.

Teerin Liewluck is an adult neurologist specialising in neuromuscular disorders at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota in the USA. His work, which includes electromyography and muscle pathology, focuses on diagnosing and treating patients with a wide range of inherited and acquired muscle disorders.

Teerin joined the Communications Committee to share both the science and the human side of our field, highlighting diverse voices and fostering meaningful connections within the neuromuscular community and helping to connect WMS members across the globe. He says: “When I discovered social media a few years ago, I realised it could be much more than a way to connect with people. It became a valuable tool for learning, sharing knowledge, and raising awareness of muscle diseases. What I enjoy most is the opportunity to learn from the people I connect with. Their experiences, perspectives, and stories often teach me as much as the scientific content itself.”

Teerin is a keen traveller and loves exploring local food wherever he goes. He says: “Some of my favorite memories from international meetings come not only from the science, but also from discovering new cultures, meeting people from around the world, and sharing meals with colleagues who often become friends. If I were not a neurologist, I think I would probably be a food and travel blogger, or perhaps a TV host who gets paid to travel the world and eat local cuisine.”

Nicoletta Madia works as a communications and project manager in the field of paediatrics at Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli IRCCS in Rome, Italy. Her work focuses on informing the public, fostering networking opportunities and developing projects that bridge clinical practice and research with social and educational initiatives.

Nicoletta joined the Communications Committee to contribute to expanding the dissemination of knowledge on a global scale. She says: “Being part of the Communications Committee is a great honour. I hope to help strengthen our network and promote education and awareness through effective communication and collaboration.

Away from work, Nicoletta is a passionate backpacker and has almost achieved her goal of setting foot on every continent before turning 45. she loves writing, learning foreign languages and making homemade pasta with her mother. I am also a big fan of documentaries, Latin music and football, which she follows with great enthusiasm.

Ruchee Patel is a paediatric neurologist specialising in neuromuscular disorders based in Nashville, Tennessee in the USA. She trained with Carsten Bönnemann at the National Institute for Health and is about to start her first faculty position at Vanderbilt University, where she will be providing clinical care to patients with neuromuscular diseases, co-directing the Gene Therapy Clinic with her colleague Dr. Jon Soslow, and working to further build Vanderbilt’s neuromuscular clinical research and trials infrastructure.

Ruchee joined the Communications Committee to engage with the WMS family outside of the annual Congress. She says: “I hope to be able to contribute to regular updates on what our community members are up to with their scientific work, but learn more about what they are passionate about outside their labs and clinics.”

Ruchee loves to travel and whether she’s heading to a WMS Congress or on holiday, she’ll always seek out the quintessentially touristy things she can do in her destination city.