Amanda Naguiat Fernandez

Biography

Amanda Naguiat Fernandez, M.D., is Health Sciences Associate Clinical Professor Step IV without salary in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of California Irvine School of Medicine and a staff physician at CHOC Children's Specialists Neurology in Orange, California. She serves as Interim Neuromuscular Program Director and Medical Director of the Muscular Dystrophy Association Clinic, as well as director of the SMA Newborn Screening program. Fernandez received her M.D. from the University of the East, Ramon Magsaysay Memorial Medical Center in the Philippines, completed her pediatric residency at State University of New York Health Science Center in Brooklyn, and her pediatric neurology fellowship at the University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Medical Center.

Fernandez is board certified by the American Board of Pediatrics and holds special qualification in Child Neurology from the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, as well as Epilepsy Certification. Her career has included faculty positions at the University of Miami, where she served as Assistant Professor of Clinical Neurology and Clinical Pediatrics, and Louisiana State University Health Science Center in Shreveport, where she was Associate Professor with tenure. She has also held positions at Children's Hospital Central California and served as Associate Clinical Professor at the University of California San Francisco, Fresno Medical Education Program.

Throughout her career, Fernandez has maintained an active teaching and clinical practice focused on pediatric neurology, with particular emphasis on neuromuscular disorders, epilepsy, and developmental neurology. She has supervised child neurology fellows and residents, developed clinical care guidelines for conditions including autoimmune encephalitis and Guillain-Barre syndrome, and created educational curricula in neuromuscular disorders. Fernandez has served as principal investigator on multiple clinical trials, including studies on spinal muscular atrophy treatment and registries, and has contributed to research on pediatric epilepsy, HIV-related neurologic development, and complex febrile seizures.

Education

• BS in Biology, Ateneo de Manila University, 1979
• MD, University of the East, Ramon Magsaysay Memorial Medical Center, 1983

Distinctions

• Diplomate, American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, Epilepsy Certification, 2018
• Associate Professor with tenure, Louisiana State University Health Science Center in Shreveport, 1996-2000
• Diplomate, American Board of Pediatrics, 1989
• Diplomate, American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, with special qualification in Child Neurology, 1991