Read Occupational Therapist Samar Muslemani’s Early Career Blog
Read the latest early career blog post, from NMD4C member Samar Muslemani, OT, M.Sc.
Excerpt:
“Occupational therapy is where science, creativity, and compassion collide”
This is a quote from Jessica Kensky, a survivor of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing and keynote speaker at the 2016 American Occupational Therapy Association welcome ceremony. To me, this quote represents exactly what I love about my profession. Pursuing a PhD allows me to develop these three elements even further.
Samar Muslemani holds a Master’s Degree in Occupational Therapy and has been practicing in Saguenay, Québec since 2018. She is a doctoral student with the University of Sherbrooke. She aims to better understand the functional impacts of cognitive impairments in people living with myotonic dystrophy type 1. She completed a research Master’s Degree in Health Sciences in August 2021. Her project aimed to document independence and social participation of adults living with childhood phenotype of DM1. She received a bursary of the Fonds de recherche du Québec – Santé (FRQS), and has assessed patients both in Canada and France as part of her research project. Native from Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean region, she is interested in offering more support to patients and families with neuromuscular diseases (NMD) in her native region and internationally. Both in her research and clinical practice, she has worked with various NMDs, such as recessive spastic ataxia of Charlevoix-Saguenay, oculopharyngeal muscular dystrophy and Charcot-Marie-Tooth diseases. She is the first author of a practical guideline to support occupational therapists in addressing sexuality with their NMD patients.
Within the NMD4C, Samar supports the Knowledge Translation team through developing knowledge and skills, defining barriers, and reducing the knowledge-to-action gap by developing various tools including clinical practice guidelines in the NMD field.
Read next...
Announcing the 2026 Neuromuscular Clinical Fellowship Award Recipients
We are excited to share that the 2026 Neuromuscular Clinical Fellowship Awards have been awarded! These fellowships strengthen clinical training in neuromuscular medicine and help prepare the next generation of specialists who will advance neuromuscular care across Canada.
NMD4C Launches Clinical Summer School
We are excited to announce our inaugural Clinical Summer School, happening in Ottawa, Ontario on September 10–11, 2025. The event will feature hands-on workshops designed to complement the NMD4C Royal College–accredited National Neuromuscular Lecture Series and foster engagement among fellows.
New BIND Study Highlights Financial Burden of Neuromuscular Disorders
Celebrating the Publication of the BIND Study.
We are delighted to share that the BIND study, “Financial Toxicity and Its Determinants in Individuals Living With Neuromuscular Diseases,” has been published in Neurology (2025). This is the first of its kind in Canada to document the true costs of living with neuromuscular diseases
National Training Standards Approved for AFC in Neuromuscular Medicine
We’re pleased to announce that the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada has granted final approval for the National Training Standards for the Area of Focused Competence (AFC) in Neuromuscular Medicine!
Expanding National Clinical Outcome Assessment Capacity with Train(e)d
NMD4C and MDC have launched Train(e)d. This initiative is part of NMD4C’s broader efforts to build national capacity in outcome measures and natural history research in support of consistent and high-quality clinical assessments across Canada.
Announcing the 2025 Collaborative Research Training Award Recipients!!!
We are excited to announce the recipients of the 2025 NMD4C Collaborative Research Training Awards which supports Canadian trainees in their efforts to advance neuromuscular disease research while strengthening national collaboration among neuromuscular research laboratories.