Investigator Liberty Jenkins, MD

Dr. Jenkins is a neuromuscular and general neurologist and director of the Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Clinic at the Forbes Norris MDA/ALS Research and Treatment Center.

After graduating from Cambridge University with a degree in physiology, Dr. Jenkins went on to earn a Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery with Honors (cum laude) from Edinburgh University. She received multiple academic scholarships and prizes from Cambridge and Edinburgh, including first-class honors.

Subsequently, she completed her internship at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh in Scotland, United Kingdom, and then her residency at the Oxford University Hospital. Following her residency and internship training, Dr. Jenkins completed various fellowships, including a peripheral nerve fellowship at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery in London, a neuromuscular clinical research (ALS) fellowship at the Forbes Norris ALS/MDA Center in San Francisco, California, a fellowship in clinical neurophysiology at Stanford University Hospital in Stanford, California, and a neuromuscular fellowship at the Stanford University Hospital. 

Dr. Jenkins specializes in ALS, neuromuscular disease and electromyography (EMG). Her most recent publication is a book on the diagnosis of ALS that she co-authored with Martin Turner. Dr. Jenkins has also published works related to the study of phrenic nerve conduction as a biomarker of respiratory insufficiency in ALS and other topics related to the diagnosis of ALS, muscle disorders and peripheral nerve disease.

Her research interests have led her to travel widely and collaborate with international colleagues. In addition to her work in the United State, the United Kingdom and Australia, she has worked in pediatrics in rural Nepal, at the Peto Institute in Budapest, Hungary, and with village polio immunization programs in Zimbabwe. Dr. Jenkins enjoys running, skiing, reading and cooking.

Publications and Books / Book Chapters:

“Fast Facts Series: Diagnosing Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis” Jenkins L & Turner M (2019)

“Muscle disorders” Mathew L. Oxford Diagnosis and Treatment in Internal Medicine, edited by Patrick Davey and David Sprigings (Oxford University Press, 2018)

"Peripheral nerve disease” Mathew L. Oxford Diagnosis and Treatment in Internal Medicine, edited by Patrick Davey and David Sprigings (Oxford University Press, 2018)