Faculty & Staff

Dr. Nowacek earned his medical degree from the Michigan State University College of Human Medicine, and completed his neurology residency and Fellowship in Neuromuscular disease from the University of Michigan. His clinical and research interests focus on the risk factors of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and delivery of medical services to ALS patients in rural areas.

Dr. Goutman completed his medical degree from the University of Chicago’s Pritzker School of Medicine, and completed his neurology residency and a Fellowship in Neuromuscular Disease at the Cleveland Clinic Hospital in Cleveland, Ohio. His clinical and research interests focus on amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

Dr. Feldman completed her medical degree at the University of Michigan Medical School and her neurology residency at the Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Md.
Dr. Feldman is on the forefront of applying stem cell research to human disease. Most notably she is the Principal Investigator of the first human clinical trial of intraspinal transplantation of stem cells in patients with ALS, which completed Phase II in Summer 2014.

In addition to her clinical practice, Dr. Feldman directs a team of 30 scientists who collaborate to understand and find new treatments for a wide variety of neurological diseases, including ALS, diabetic neuropathy, Alzheimer’s disease, and muscular dystrophies. In 2008, Dr. Feldman was named the first Director of the A. Alfred Taubman Medical Research Institute, which was created to support fundamental research into a wide range of human diseases.

Brian consults with patients and provides them with complex rehabilitation equipment, including custom power wheelchairs and seating. He identifies patient need for modifications, adjustments and repairs to their mobility equipment in the clinic and in their homes. He has been in the seating and mobility industry for 34 years, and has spent the last three working with the University of Michigan.

In clinic, Brigit helps patients remain as functional and independent as possible through task modification/positioning and equipment recommendations. She educates patients on stretching and range of motion exercises as well as integrating energy-conserving techniques for participating in daily living activities. She assists with edema management through education and provision of compression garments as appropriate. Brigit is part of the Mobile Comprehensive Oncology Rehabilitation (MCORE) and Cognitive Leaders Teams as part of her acute care position. She earned her Dementia Certified Practitioner certification in January of 2018. She joined the University of Michigan acute care occupational therapy team in 2013 and the ALS Multidisciplinary Clinic in 2015.

Caitlyn provides nutrition recommendations, education, and counseling for patients to help keep them strong, healthy, and feeling their best. She can also assist in providing information regarding insurance coverage for oral supplements and enteral nutrition. She has been a dietitian at Michigan Medicine since 2017 and became part of the ALS Clinic team in early 2018.

Darla provides supportive counseling, crisis intervention and education regarding community resources, benefits and advocacy. Darla has a professional background in hospice and palliative care, dementia care, long-term care and working with older adults through the Medicaid Waiver program. Darla enjoys traveling and spending time with her husband and their five children.

Dana provides evaluations of speech, language communication skills and swallowing, and also provides recommendations to assist communication and swallowing. She has been an American Speech-Language Hearing Association (ASHA) certified Speech-Language Pathologist for 17 years, and joined the ALS Clinic in 2001.

Karen provides evaluations of speech, language communication skills and swallowing, and also provides recommendations to assist communication and swallowing. She has been an American Speech-Language Hearing Association (ASHA) certified Speech-Language Pathologist for 34 years – more than 32 of that at the University of Michigan. She has been a member of the ALS Clinic since it started at U-M.

Karen provides evaluations of speech, language communication skills and swallowing, and also provides recommendations to assist communication and swallowing. She has been an American Speech-Language Hearing Association (ASHA) certified Speech-Language Pathologist for 30 years, and joined the ALS Clinic in 1994.

Sandy fields and returns patient calls, assists with patient medical orders, educates patients, directs and assists with clinic flow, and serves as the clinic’s liaison with other departments within the University of Michigan Health System. She has been at U-M for 17 years and joined the ALS Clinic in 2016.

Mike received his undergraduate and medical school school degrees from the University of Michigan. Following a surgery internship, he completed an anesthesiology residency at the University of North Carolina. He finished a fellowship in liver transplantation and critical care at the Mayo Clinic, and was on faculty at Emory University and St. Louis University as assistant professor. He was then on staff at Mercy Medical Center in St. Louis, and developed and served as medical director of the Preoperative Assessment clinic there, one of the largest in the country.