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Medical Scientific Advisory Council (MSAC)

Our Medical Advisors are made up of the leading experts in MOG Antibody Disease and other rare neuroimmune disorders. We rely on them to help us educate patients and every resource we have has been reviewed and signed off by one of these authorities to ensure that we provide you with the most accurate and up-to-date understanding according to research.

US Medical Advisory Council
Canadian Medical Advisory Council
South American Medical Advisory Council
European Medical Advisory Council
Asian Medical Advisory Council
Australian Medical Advisory Council
Scientific Advisory Council

US Medical Advisory Council

Dr. Levy with short dark hair wearing a dark green sweater, posed in front of a circular background with a soft pink and purple gradient.
Michael Levy, MD, PhD

Massachusetts General Hospital
Harvard University

Dr. Ben Greenberg is shown smiling with dark brown hair, a beard and mustache and wearing a dark suit jacket, blue shirt and gold tie.
Benjamin Greenberg, MD,

UT Southwestern Medical Center

Dr. Elias Sotirchos US MEDICAL ADVISOR
Elias Sotirchos, MD

Johns Hopkins Medicine
Johns Hopkins University

Dr. Tanuja Chitnis US MEDICAL ADVISOR
Tanuja Chitnis, MD, FAAN

Brigham and Women's Hospital
Harvard University

Dr. Lauren Tardo US MEDICAL ADVISOR
Lauren Tardo, MD

UT Southwestern Medical Center

US MEDICAL ADVISOR Brenda Banwell
Brenda Banwell, MD, FRCPC, FAAN

Johns Hopkins Medicine
Johns Hopkins University

Dr. Sean Pittock The Mayo Clinic’s Neuroimmunology Laboratory leading expert
Sean Pittock, MD

Mayo Clinic

Dr. John Chen The Mayo Clinic’s Neuroimmunology Laboratory leading expert
John Chen, MD, PhD

Mayo Clinic

Dr. Eoin Flanagan The Mayo Clinic’s Neuroimmunology Laboratory leading expert
Eoin P. Flanagan, M.B., B.Ch.

Mayo Clinic

Grace Gombolay, MD, MSc
Grace Gombolay, MD, MSc

Multiple Sclerosis Clinic at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta
Emory University

Jonathan Santoro, MD
Jonathan Santoro, MD

Chidren's Hospital Los Angeles
University of Southern California

Dr. May Han US MEDICAL ADVISOR
May Han, MD

Stanford Hospital
Stanford University

Dr Akash Virupakshaiah is shown smiling. He has medium skin tone, dark hair and glasses and is wearing a suite and tie with a white shirt.
Akash Virupakshaiah, MD

University of California,
San Francisco

Dr. Emmanuelle Waubant is shown smiling. She has light skin, brown hair and is wearing a multi-colored flowered top covered by a chartreuse sweater.
Emmanuelle Waubant, MD, PhD

University of California,
San Francisco

A woman with long brown hair, wearing glasses and a floral top, smiles at the camera. The background is a soft gradient of pink and purple tones.
Kristen Fisher, DO

Baylor College of Medicine
Texas Children's Hospital

Scott with curly gray hair and a beard smiles, wearing a checked gray suit, white shirt, and dark patterned tie, posed in front of a circular background with a gradient from pink to purple.
Scott Zamvil, MD, PhD

University of California,
San Francisco

A woman with glasses and a pendant necklace smiles at the camera against a circular, gradient background.
Haiwen Chen, MD, PhD

Johns Hopkins Medicine

Portrait of a smiling woman with shoulder-length blonde hair.
Kelly Jones, PhD, ABPP

Kennedy Krieger Institute

Canadian Medical Advisory Council

Courtney Casserly, MD, FRCPC is shown with a white lab coat on, a dark shirt underneath, long blonde hair and dark glasses. She is smiling.
Courtney Casserly, MD, FRCPC

Director, Multiple Sclerosis Clinic and NeMO Clinic
Western Universiry

South American Medical Advisory Council

Edgar Carnero Contentti, MD, MSc, FECF is shown wearing a light colored button down collared shirt. He has medium toned skin and dark hair with a dark beard.
Edgar Carnero Contentti, MD, MSc, FECF

Hospital Alemán de Buenos Aires y Centro de Enfermedades Neuroinmunologicas de Rosario (CENRos)

Dr. Ethel Ciampi is shown smiling with long blonde hair and wearing a blue shirt with a white jacket.
Ethel Ciampi, MD, MSc

Red de Salud UC-Christus y Hospital Sótero del Río
Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile

European Medical Advisory Council

Dr. Jackie Palace
Jackie Palace, BM, FRCP, DM

Oxford University

Yael Hacohen,
Yael Hacohen, MD, PhD

Great Ormond Street Hospital
University College London

Dr. Kish Mankad
Kshitij Mankad MRCP, FRCR, PG Dip

Great Ormond Street Hospital
University College London

Elia Sechi, MD
Elia Sechi, MD, MS

University of Sassari

Romain Marignier is shown wearing a black shirt. He is smiling and has brown hair and a mustache.
Romain Marignier, MD, PhD

Neurological Hospital of Lyon

Dr Robert Bonek is shown with a black shirt and smiling. He has no hair and light skin.
Robert Bonek, MD, PhD

Neurocenter Bydgoszcz

Prof. Dr. Friedemann Paul is shown with short grey hair, glasses and wearing a white button down shirt.
Friedemann Paul, MD, PhD

Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin

Kevin Rostasy is shown with brown hair and glasses and is wearing a white lab coat.
Kevin Rostásy, MD, PhD

Children’s Hospital Datteln

Orhan Aktas, MD is smiling. He has greyish hair and dark glasses. He is wearing a dark tweed suit with a white shirt and dark tie.
Orhan Aktas, MD

Department of Neurology
Heinrich-Heine University

Dr Cristina Valencia Sanchez
Cristina Valencia-Sanchez, MD, PhD

Fundación Jiménez Díaz University Hospital
Madrid, Spain

Barbara Willekens is shown with light hair and dark glasses. She is smiling.
Barbara Willekens, MD, PhD

Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences
University of Antwerp

Dra. Sepúlveda with shoulder-length dark hair wearing a maroon top with sequin detailing.
Maria Sepúlveda, MD, PhD

hospital clínic of barcelona
Institut d’investigacions biomèdiques august pi i sunyer (IDIBAPS)

Asian Medical Advisory Council

Prof. Dr. Ayşe Altıntaş, MD
Prof. Ayşe Altıntaş, M.D.

Research Center for Translational Medicine (KUTTAM)
Koç University School of Medicine

Australian Medical Advisory Council

Dr. Sudarshi Ramanathan
Sudarshini Ramanathan, MD, PhD

Kid's Neuroscience Centre
University of Sydney

Dr. Russell Dale
Russell Dale, MD, PhD

Kid's Neuroscience Centre
University of Sydney

Fiona Chan, MBBS, FRACP, PhD Candidate

Clinical Consultant
Macquarie University Hospital

Benjamin Trewin, BAppSc, MBBS,
FRACP, PhD

Neurologist & Neuroimmunologist
College Street Specialists
University of Sydney

Scientific Advisory Council

Dr. Fabienne Brilot
Fabienne Brilot, PhD

Kid's Neuroscience Centre
University of Sydney

Kevin O'Connor, PhD is shown wearing a suite and tie with a white shirt. He has dark glasses light skin and no hair.
Kevin O'Connor, PhD

Professor of Neurology & Immunology
Yale University

Dr. Lisa K. Ryan, PhD
Lisa K. Ryan, PhD

University of Louisville

Dr. Gill Diamond
Gill Diamond, PhD

University of Louisville

Johns Hopkins Hospital
Johns Hopkins University

Elias Sotirchos, MD

Dr. Sotirchos is an Assistant Professor of Neurology at Johns Hopkins University and Director of the Johns Hopkins Neuromyelitis Optica Center. He earned his medical degree from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens and subsequently completed his Osler internship and neurology residency training at the Johns Hopkins Hospital, serving as chief resident in his final year. He then pursued advanced clinical and research training in neuroimmunology at Johns Hopkins as a National Multiple Sclerosis Society Sylvia Lawry Fellow.

Dr. Sotirchos specializes in the diagnosis, management and treatment of neuroimmunological conditions that involve the central nervous system, including MOG-IgG associated disease (MOGAD), neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD), and multiple sclerosis (MS). His research involves the application of imaging techniques, including retinal optical coherence tomography (OCT) and brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), to study these conditions. His work especially focuses on visual pathway involvement in neuroimmunological conditions, and aims to characterize mechanisms of neurodegeneration and to identify novel biomarkers for predicting and monitoring the disease course and therapeutic response.

Stanford Hospital
Stanford University

May Han, MD

Dr. Han is a board-certified neurologist and a clinician-scientist who specializes in multiple sclerosis and central nervous system demyelinating diseases. She was born and raised in Burma (Myanmar) and received her medical degree at the Institute of Medicine (1), Rangoon. She did her post-doctoral fellowship training in protein and membrane lipid biochemistry under the mentorship of Dr. John Glomset at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (University of Washington, Seattle).
She completed Neurology residency at University of Washington-affiliated hospitals and a fellowship in Neuroimmunology (MS) at Stanford with Dr. Lawrence Steinman. She joined the Stanford Neurology department and MS Center in 2009.
Her research focuses on utilizing Systems Biology approach (genomics, transcriptomics and proteomics) to identify targets for therapy in MS and NMO. Dr. Han is also an attending physician at the Neuroimmunology clinic and at the Stanford Hospital.

Brigham and Women's Hospital
Harvard University

Tanuja Chitnis, MD, FAAN

Dr. Chitnis is a Professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School, Senior Neurologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital, and Senior Scientist within the Ann Romney Center for Neurologic Diseases at Brigham and Women’s Hospital where she created the Translational Neuroimmunology Research Center focused on bringing bench discoveries to clinical trials for MOG-AD, multiple sclerosis and neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders. She created and serves as the Director of the Partners Pediatric MS Center at the Massachusetts General Hospital for Children.
She has published over 250 scientific studies, including key publications on MOG-AD phenotypes and biomarkers. She receives grant funding from the Department of Defense, NIH, National MS Society and the Guthy Jackson Charitable Foundation. She is the recipient of several awards including the Joseph Martin Award for Clinical Research in 2019 from the Scientific Advisory Council at Massachusetts General Hospital, and the 2018 Milestones Award from the National MS Society. In addition to her mentioned positions, she is also a Director of the Translational Neuroimmunology Research Center, The CLIMB Study, and Partners Multiple Sclerosis Center at Brigham and Women’s Hospital as well as a Co-Director for the Partners Multiple Sclerosis Center Fellowship Program.

UT Southwestern Medical Center

Lauren Tardo, MD

Dr. Tardo is an Instructor in the Neuroimmunology division of the Department of Neurology at UT Southwestern Medical Center. She completed medical school at the University of Mississippi School of Medicine and completed her adult neurology residency at UT Southwestern Medical Center. Dr. Tardo remained at UT Southwestern for a fellowship in Neuroimmunology and Multiple Sclerosis with Dr. Benjamin Greenberg. She was trained to diagnose and manage both adult and pediatric patients with anti-MOG antibody associated disease. She is actively engaged in translational research and clinical trials within the Neuroimmunology Section. Dr. Tardo is board certified in neurology by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology.

Johns Hopkins Hospital
Johns Hopkins University

Brenda Banwell, MD, FRCPC, FAAN

Brenda Banwell, M.D., has been named pediatrician-in-chief and co-director of Johns Hopkins Children’s Center. She also serves as director (Chair) of the Department of Pediatrics at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Banwell began in the position on Sept. 1, 2024. 

In her role with the Children’s Center, Banwell will collaborate closely with David Hackam, M.D., Ph.D., pediatric surgeon-in-chief, to help manage the hospital’s multifaceted clinical and research centers.

Banwell joins Johns Hopkins from the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, where she served as chief of the Division of Neurology and co-director for both the Neuroscience Center and the Pediatric Multiple Sclerosis and Neuroinflammatory Clinic. She was also a professor of neurology and pediatrics at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

As a renowned expert in the research and treatment of pediatric multiple sclerosis and other neuroimmune disorders, Banwell specializes in and studies the use of neuroimaging to assess the clinical and cognitive impact of the conditions, as well as the function of the immune system in children with these disorders.   

Mayo Clinic

John Chen, MD, PhD

Dr. Chen attended the University of Virginia for his undergraduate and combined MD/PhD degrees and completed his Ophthalmology residency and Neuro-Ophthalmology fellowship training at the University of Iowa. He then took a position at the Mayo Clinic in 2014 where he specializes in Neuro-Ophthalmology. Currently, he serves as a Consultant and Professor of Ophthalmology and Neurology, and Neuro-Ophthalmology Fellowship Director at the Mayo Clinic. Among Dr. Chen’s awards/honors are the AAO Achievement Award, Top Doctors in Minnesota, the Heed Fellowship, Real World Ophthalmology Inspiring Academic Leader Award, Ophthalmology Teacher of the Year Award four times leading to induction to the Educators Hall of Fame, and the Mayo Clinic Distinguished Educator Award. He has published over 250 peer-reviewed manuscripts and his research interests include ophthalmic imaging, idiopathic intracranial hypertension, and optic neuritis, especially NMOSD and MOG antibody-associated disease.

Learn About The Neuroimmunology Laboratory

Mayo Clinic

Sean Pittock, MD

Dr. Pittock is a Professor of Neurology, Director of the Neuroimmunology Laboratory and the Center for MS and Autoimmune Neurology at the Mayo Clinic. His expertise is in the laboratory and clinic
based diagnosis and management of immune mediated neurological disorders. He is considered
a leader in the field of glial autoimmunity as it pertains to inflammatory CNS demyelinating
diseases including MS. He currently serves as the chair of the Autoimmune Neurology Section at
the American Academy Neurology. His research is translational, and is focused on

1) the identification of novel biomarkers of autoimmune neurological disease (antibodies to AQP4, GFAP, MAP1B-IgG, Kelch11);
2) the clinical application of laboratory-based tests in diagnosis and outcome prediction for patients with autoimmune and paraneoplastic neurological disorders;

3) optimizing the clinical management of autoimmune and paraneoplastic neurological disorders. 

 

He currently directs the Mayo Clinic Neuroimmunology Laboratory which tests
approximately 200,000 patients for comprehensive neural antibody profiles (CAP and New York
State certified) pertinent to inflammatory CNS disorders. As Director of the Center for MS and
Autoimmune Neurology at Mayo Clinic, he has assisted in building the largest biorepository of
blood and cerebrospinal fluid samples from MS and inflammatory CNS disorders in the world.

Our Laboratory also provides testing for biomarkers of type 1 diabetes allowing collection and storage of more than 1000 serum samples. His research has been supported by Mayo Clinic, NIH (R01) and the Guthy-Jackson Charitable Foundation. He has published more than 300 peer reviewed papers in the field of MS and Autoimmune Neurology. He recently co-edited the first
textbook of Autoimmune Neurology.

Learn About The Neuroimmunology Laboratory

Mayo Clinic

Eoin P. Flanagan, M.B., B.Ch.

Dr Eoin Flanagan is a Professor of Neurology, Chair of the Division of MS and Autoimmune Neurology and Program Director of the Autoimmune Neurology Fellowship at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN. He completed medical school at University College Dublin in Ireland and completed neurology residency, fellowships in neuroimmunology and a Master’s in Clinical and Translational Science at Mayo Clinic. He has been Principal Investigator on an NIH RO1 grant studying MOGAD and was a co-author of its 2023 diagnostic criteria. He also has expertise in autoimmune encephalitis, myelitis, MS, NMOSD and paraneoplastic neurologic disorders.

Learn About The Neuroimmunology Laboratory

Chidren's Hospital Los Angeles
University of Southern California

Jonathan Santoro, MD

Dr. Santoro serves as the Director of the Neuroimmunology and Demyelinating Disorders Program at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and as an Assistant Professor of Neurology at the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California. Dr. Santoro completed his undergraduate, masters, and medical degrees at Tulane University. He subsequently completed residencies in pediatrics and child neurology at Stanford University School of Medicine and obtained sub-specialty training in neuroimmunology and pediatric multiple sclerosis at the Massachusetts General Hospital and Boston Children’s Hospital. Dr. Santoro’s pediatric-specific program is one of the largest on the west coast and utilizes a multi-disciplinary team model that optimizes patient outcomes and improves access to sub-specialty care. Dr. Santoro leads multiple clinical research studies designed at identifying endocrine biomarkers of disease in neuroimmunologic conditions as well as evaluation of specific neurocognitive disease phenotypes. Dr. Santoro is a long-standing advocate for persons with disabilities and has lobbied locally in California and on Capitol Hill through the American Academy of Neurology and the American Medical Association.

University of Louisville

LIsa Ryan, PhD

Dr. Ryan is Associate Professor of Oral Immunology and Infectious Diseases at the University of
Louisville School of Dentistry and holds a joint Courtesy Assistant Professor appointment at the University of Florida College of Medicine. She is an immunologist and toxicologist who has led research on the effects of environment and nutrition on the innate immune system and its role in viral infections such as influenza and Herpes Simplex virus. In addition to faculty positions at the U.S Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA), Rutgers University Health Sciences Center, the University of Florida, and the University of Louisville, she has served as a scientific policy advisor in the U.S. EPA’s Office of Research and Development Office of Science Policy.
She served on many grant review committees for the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Defense’s Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program, the UK’s Medical Research Council, the Italian Ministry of Health, and private foundations.

Dr. Ryan received her Ph.D. from the University of Pittsburgh in immunotoxicology and inhalation toxicology and was a postdoctoral fellow in pulmonary immunology with Harvard Medical School at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. She also studied microbiology, receiving her M.S. in medical microbiology from West Virginia University and a B.S. in microbiology from Penn State University. She also has industry experience in risk assessment with inhaled and skin-applied consumer products, working as Associate Manager for Inhalation Toxicology and the Established Portfolio for Reckitt.

University of Louisville

Gill Diamond, PhD

Dr. Gill Diamond received his B.A. in biochemistry from the University of Pennsylvania, and his Ph.D. in genetics from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He did his postdoctoral research in the Division of Human Genetics and Molecular Biology at the University of Pennsylvania in the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, where he helped pioneer the field of antimicrobial peptides. He was a faculty member at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (a part of Rutgers University) and at the University of Florida.

Currently, he is a Professor in the Department of Oral Immunology and Infectious Diseases at the University of Louisville. His research focuses on innate immunity, and ways to enhance our own immunity to infectious diseases, as well as the development of novel antibiotics and antiviral agents.

Oxford University

Jackie Palace, BM, FRCP, DM

Dr Jacqueline Palace is a consultant neurologist in Oxford and a Professor in the Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Oxford University. She is involved in running a national service for neuromyelitis optica and a national service for congenital myasthenic syndromes (CMS) and a lead of the Oxford Multiple Sclerosis group. Her research interests covers MS, NMO, CMS and myasthenia gravis and includes clinical treatment trials, immunological studies, pathology, biomarkers, genetics and imaging studies. She was the clinical lead for the National MS Risk Sharing Scheme which assessed the long-term effectiveness for disease modifying agents in multiple sclerosis, is a board member for the European Charcot Foundation, on the steering committee for MAGNIMS and was the Oxford lead for the European Rare Network for Neuromuscular diseases until Brexit.

Kid's Neuroscience Centre
University of Sydney

Sudarshini Ramanathan, MD, PhD

Associate Professor Darshi Ramanathan is a neurologist and clinician-scientist, with subspecialty expertise in neuroimmunology. She completed her neurology specialisation (FRACP), and was awarded her PhD on the clinical and immunophenotypic characterisation of MOG antibody associated diseases (MOGAD) through the University of Sydney. She undertook a postdoctoral fellowship with the Oxford Autoimmune Neurology Group at the John Radcliffe Hospital and University of Oxford, where she developed expertise in B cell immunology and neuroscience. She has been awarded a number of prestigious fellowships including an NHMRC funded PhD, an NHMRC Neil Hamilton Fairley Early Career Fellowship, and most recently, an NHMRC Investigator Grant. Dr. Ramanathan is a staff specialist neurologist at Concord Hospital where she looks after patients with autoimmune neurological disorders.
In 2013, Associate Professor Ramanathan established and has since been lead investigator of the Australian and New Zealand MOG Study Group, which encompasses over 150 neurologists, immunologists, and ophthalmologists from over 45 centres in the Asia Pacific region. She works closely with Professor Russell Dale and Associate Professor Fabienne Brilot, and leads the evaluation of a cohort of over 500 MOGAD pediatric and adult patients. She leads the Translational Neuroimmunology Group at the University of Sydney. Her clinical and fundamental science research program is focused on understanding disease pathogenesis and improving the diagnosis and treatment of autoimmune neurological disorders including MOGAD, neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder, autoimmune encephalitis, autoimmune muscle disease, and inflammatory neuropathies.

Kid's Neuroscience Centre
University of Sydney

Fabienne Brilot, PhD

Prof Fabienne Brilot obtained her PhD in Belgium and at the JD Gladstone Institutes, UCSF, USA. She then became postdoctoral fellow under the mentorship of Professor Christian Munz (University of Zurich, Switzerland) at the Browne Center for Immunology and Immune Diseases headed by late Professor Ralph Steinman (Nobel Prize for Medicine 2011) at the Rockefeller University, USA. She was recruited at the Children’s Hospital at Westmead in Sydney in 2007 where she started the Brain Autoimmunity Group.
Fabienne is Principal Research Fellow at the University of Sydney, and her research focuses on neuroimmunological brain disorders such as demyelinating disorders and movement and psychiatric disorders. Her group aims to discover biomarkers and explores the autoimmune response in patients to improve their diagnosis and treatment. Through with many collaborations with paediatric and adult neurologists, her team has contributed to the characterization of MOG antibodies and the diagnosis of MOGAD.

Fabienne is a member of the International Society of Neuroimmunology (ISNI) International Advisory board. She is the Secretary of the International Women in Multiple Sclerosis (iWiMS) network. She also is the President of Neuroimmunology Australia, was the Scientific Chair of the 14th International Congress of Neuroimmunology (ISNI) 2018, and is the co-convenor of the 3rd Asia-Pacific School of Neuroimmunology (APSNI) in 2021.

Kid's Neuroscience Centre
University of Sydney

Russell Dale, MD, PhD

Professor Russell Dale is a Professor of Paediatric Neurology at the Children’s Hospital at Westmead and University of Sydney. His primary interests are in autoimmune neurology and the role of the immune system in neurodevelopmental and neuropsychiatric disorders. He is Head of School and Head of the Speciality of Child and Adolescent Health at the University, and clinical director of the Kids Neuroscience Centre, a research centre of 100 researchers. He has published 270 peer reviewed publications, cited 17,000 times on Google Scholar, H factor 67, and has published some important work on the clinical and radiological phenotyping and treatment of autoimmune and inflammatory neurological disorders. He works closely with Dr Darshi Ramanathan and A/Prof Fabienne Brilot on autoantibody neurology syndromes in Sydney, including MOGAD.

University of Sassari

Elia Sechi, MD

Dr. Sechi is a neurology consultant at the Department of Medical, Surgical and Experimental Sciences at the University of Sassari (Italy), where he completed medical school and neurology residency. He was Assistant Professor of Neurology at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester (MN, USA), where he undertook a 3-year post-doc Neuroimmunology Research Fellowship and received a Master’s Degree in Clinical and Translational Sciences. His clinical and research interest is in immune-mediated disorders of the CNS, with specific focus on CNS demyelinating disorders, including MOG-IgG-associated disorders (MOGAD) and AQP4-IgG-positive neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders (NMOSD). He is also interested in disorders of the spinal cord (myelopathies).

Massachusetts General Hospital
Harvard University

Michael Levy, MD, PhD

Dr. Levy is an Associate Professor in Neurology who was recently recruited to lead the new Neuroimmunology Division at the Massachusetts General Hospital. His mission is to build a combined clinical and research neuroimmunology program to develop therapies for patients with autoimmune diseases of the central nervous system. Dr. Levy moved from Baltimore, MD, where he was one of the faculty at Johns Hopkins University since 2009 and Director of the Neuromyelitis Optica Clinic.

Clinically, Dr. Levy specializes in taking care of children and adults with rare neuroimmunological diseases including neuromyelitis optica, transverse myelitis, MOG antibody disease and acute disseminated encephalomyelitis. In addition to four monthly clinics, Dr. Levy is the principal investigator on several clinical studies and drug trials for these conditions.

In the laboratory, Dr. Levy’s research focuses on four main areas:
1. Development of animal models of neuromyelitis optica (NMO) with the goal of tolerization as a sustainable long term treatment: His team generated a mouse model of NMO based on pathogenic T cells reactive against the aquaporin-4 water channel. Now, they are using this mouse model to create a tolerization therapy to desensitize the immune response to aquaporin-4.
2. Genetic basis of transverse myelitis: His team discovered a genetic mutation in VPS37a found in a group of patients with a familial form of transverse myelitis (TM). To understand how this gene is involved in this immune process, they generated a mouse model with this mutation.
3. The immunopathogenesis of MOG antibody disease: This may depend on a subset of T cells called gamma/delta T cells. These specialize T cells react to MOG in mouse models and attack the central nervous system. In addition to understanding why and how these T cells are involved in MOG antibody disease, they are developing a treatment to target these cells.
4. Biomarker assays for other autoimmune diseases of the central nervous system: They are developing assays that detect autoreactive T cells in NMO and MOG antibody disease. In parallel, they are screening for novel antibodies to glial cells in related disorders such as encephalitis and optic neuritis.

Learn About The MOG Initiative

Fundación Jiménez Díaz University Hospital

Cristina Valencia Sanchez, MD, PhD

Cristina Valencia-Sanchez, MD, PhD, is a neurologist at Fundación Jiménez Díaz University Hospital in Madrid, Spain. 

She completed her neurology residency and multiple sclerosis fellowship at Mayo Clinic Arizona, followed by an autoimmune neurology fellowship at Mayo Clinic Rochester, in the USA. She was a Consultant at the Multiple Sclerosis and Autoimmune Nerology division at Mayo Clinic Arizona. Her clinical and research focus includes immune-mediated disorders that involve the central nervous system, such as MOG-IgG associated disease (MOGAD), neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders (NMOSD), multiple sclerosis, autoimmune encephalitis and paraneoplastic neurological disorders.

Dr. Valencia-Sanchez has been involved in clinical trials for autoimmune neurological conditions including MOGAD.

Dr. Valencia-Sanchez is an editorial board member for the American Academy of Neurology magazine “Brain Life”, in Spanish.

Great Ormond Street Hospital
University College London

Yael Hacohen, MD, PhD

Yael Hacohen is a senior lecturer in paediatric neurology at University College London and a consultant paediatric neurologist at Great Ormond Street Hospital, London. Yael completed her doctoral studies in 2014, in the Nuffield Department of Clinical Neuroscience (NDCN) at Oxford University, where she studied children with autoimmune encephalitis and characterised their clinical and immunological (autoantibody) phenotypes. Yael’s main research interest is precision medicine in acquired demyelinating syndromes such as MOGAD and paediatric multiple sclerosis

Great Ormond Street Hospital
University College London

Kshitij Mankad MRCP, FRCR, PG Dip

Kish Mankad is a Clinical Lead for Pediatric Neuroimaging at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London, with a particular interest in ‘impact radiology’ where diagnostics can be timely, precise, and personalized. His primary academic interests are neuroinflammation, neurooncology, and epilepsy disorders in children. Beyond Medicine, Kish is an educationist and has set up several teaching and training platforms, particularly the Society of Pediatric Neuroimaging, aimed at training healthcare professionals globally. He also has a significant interest in quality improvement in healthcare and is an expert in Lean Six Sigma. 

Koç University Research Center for Translational Medicine (KUTTAM)
Koç University School of Medicine

Prof. Ayşe Altıntaş, M.D.

Prof. Dr. Ayşe Altıntaş became a neurology specialist (Ege University) in 1992, associate professor in 1997, and professor in 2003 (Istanbul University, Cerrahpaşa Medical School). Between 1991-1992, she studied neuroimmunology under the mentorship of Prof. Moses Rodriguez at Mayo Clinic and worked on the experimental model of Multiple Sclerosis (MS). With this work, she was awarded the Eczacıbaşı Medical Incentive Award. In 2001, she worked with Prof.C.Lucchinetti and Prof. B. Weinshenker on the neuroimmunopathological mechanisms, radiological correlations and demyelination / remyelination mechanisms of MS at Mayo Clinic.

 

Between 2005 and 2018, she worked as a “lecturer” in “neuroscience” and “immunology” master and PhD programs at Aziz Sancar Experimental Medicine and Research Institute.

 

She has served on the board of the European Neuroimmunology School for many years, as well as a member of the BioMS-eu working group, the Guthy Jackson Charitable Foundation’s International Scientific Council, MSBase’s Scientific Leadership Group, and as the former coordinator of the Turkish Neurological Association’s Neuroimmunology working group. Establishing her research lab at Koç University Research Center for Translational Medicine (KUTTAM), she is currently focused on inflammatory demyelinating diseases of the central nervous system, primarily MS, NMOSD and MOGAD, with a goal to understand disease mechanisms at the immunopathological level and identify potential biomarkers.

Currently, Prof. Dr. Ayşe Altıntaş has been working at Koç University School of Medicine as an academician and chair of Neurology Department.

Neurocenter Bydgoszcz

Robert Bonek, MD, PhD

Dr. Robert Bonek is a neurologist with over twenty years of clinical experience. The subject of his doctoral studies was the course and clinical phenotypes of multiple sclerosis. He participated in the European Talent Network program in the field of multiple sclerosis.

 

Dr. Bonek is a member of the Executive Board of the Polish Neurological Society and vice-chair of the Medical Advisory Board of the Polish Multiple Sclerosis Society. He is also a member of the Editorial Advisory Board of the Polish Journal of Neurology and Neurosurgery.

 

Dr. Bonek’s special clinical and research interests include autoimmune disorders of the central nervous system, with particular emphasis on multiple sclerosis, neuromyelitis optica, MOGAD and autoimmune encephalitis, as well as paraneoplastic syndromes.

Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin

Friedemann Paul, MD, PhD

Prof. Dr. Friedemann Paul is director of the Experimental and Clinical Research Center as well as group leader of the Clinical Neuroimmunology department of the NeuroCure Clinical Research Center at the Charité -Universitätsmedizin Berlin. He finished his medical education in Berlin and has been a board certified Neurologist since 2003. Friedemann Paul has been a senior Neurologist in the Charité since 2004. Since 2010, he has headed the Neuroimmunology outpatients’ clinic in Buch, a suburb of Berlin. From 2011 to 2016 Paul was Professor (W2) of Neurology at the NeuroCure Clinical Research Center of Charité.

 

In 2016 he joined as a tenured Professor (W2) of Clinical and Experimental Neuroimmunology at Charité. In 2018 he became a Scientific Director of the Experimental and Clinical Research Center (ECRC) and since 2020 Vice Dean for Research with a clinical focus.  His research focuses on Neuromyelitis optica, Neurodegeneration and Neuroprotection in Multiple Sclerosis, Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis, Neurological Complications of Chronic Inflammatory Bowel Diseases, Diagnostic Tools in Neuro-immunology (Imaging (OCT, MRI, Ultrasound), Laboratory, and CSF Biomarkers) as well as the association of structural damage and dysfunction of the visual system in autoimmune disorders of the Central Nervous System.

Neurological Hospital of Lyon

Romain Marignier, MD, PhD

Prof. Romain Marignier is a neurologist (MD), professor in the Neurological Hospital of Lyon, France. His field of expertise are the neuro-inflammatory disorders of the central nervous system with a specific interest in rare disorders, namely neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders (NMOSD) and MOG-Ab associated diseases (MOGAD). Prof. Marignier is the coordinator of the French nationwide NMO and MOGAD cohorts and biobanks, NOMADMUS, set up in 2010 that includes all the French clinical experts in neuro-inflammatory disorders. Through NOMADMUS, Prof. Marignier provided breakthrough insights in the topic regarding clinical characterization, management, and treatment of NMOSD and MOGAD, supported by major publication in high-profile journals.

 

Since 2017, Prof. Marignier is the head of the French referral centre for rare inflammatory disorder of the central nervous system (MIRCEM), providing expertise on diagnosis and management of NMOSD and MOGAD for both patients and clinicians.

 

Finally, Prof. Marignier achieved a PhD on basic neurosciences at Claude Bernard University Lyon 1 on the role of auto-antibodies in NMOSD and related diseases. He currently performs his research at INSERM unit 1028 in Lyon Neuroscience Research Centre (CRNL) on: 1. The pathophysiology of auto antibody- mediated disorders of the central nervous system with in vitro, ex vivo and animal models; 2. The development of new strategies to optimise detection of auto-antibodies (anti-AQP4, anti-MOG, anti-GFAP) for diagnostic and prognostic purposes (immunohistochemistry, flow cytometry).

Multiple Sclerosis Clinic at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta
Emory University

Grace Gombolay, MD, MSc

Grace Gombolay, MD, MSc is an Associate Professor at Emory University and Director of the Pediatric Neuroimmunology and Multiple Sclerosis Clinic at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. She is also an Associate Program Director for the Child Neurology Residency Program at Emory. She attended medical school at Johns Hopkins, Pediatric Neurology residency at Massachusetts General and a Pediatric Neuroimmunology fellowship at Harvard, including at Boston Children’s and MassGeneral Brigham. She serves as a part-time CDC consultant for acute flaccid myelitis surveillance. She is co-leading a multi-center prospective patient neuroinflammatory registry called CONNECT and her site is part of the Network of Pediatric MS Centers, which is funded by the National MS Society. Dr. Gombolay is also an Associate Editor for the Annals of the Child Neurology Society and Media Editor for Pediatric Neurology.

University of California San Francisco

Akash Virupakshaiah, MD

Dr. Virupakshaiah is an Assistant Professor of Neurology with special qualifications in Child Neurology, specializing in the diagnosis and treatment of autoimmune diseases of the brain, with a focus on multiple sclerosis (MS), Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorder (NMOSD), and myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibody-associated disease (MOGAD). He is actively involved in clinical research and trials to advance the understanding and treatment of these conditions.

Dr. Virupakshaiah earned his medical degree from Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences, Bangalore, India, and completed his residency in Pediatric Neurology at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania. He subsequently pursued a fellowship in MS and neuroimmunology at the University of California, San Francisco as a National Multiple Sclerosis Society (NMSS) Sylvia Lawry Fellow. His research interests include neuroimmunology, neuroimaging, and clinical trials. He is
also interested in exploring the impact of diet and lifestyle on autoimmune diseases.

Additional Information:

  • Languages: Kannada, Hindi, and English
  • Personal Interests: Landscape and Astro-Photography
  • Quote: My goal is to empower patients with knowledge, provide the best care at every step, and advance science to improve treatments and outcomes.

University of California San Francisco

Emmanuelle Waubant, MD, PhD

Emmanuelle Waubant, MD, PhD, received her medical degree at the University of Lille, France. She then trained in France as well as at UCSF in adult neurology, neuroimmunology and MS clinical research. She is currently Professor of Neurology and Pediatrics at UCSF. She directs the Regional Pediatric MS Center at UCSF and is the president-elect for the Americas Committee on Treatment and Research in MS. She is the founder and lead of the international Women in MS, a group devoted to advancing diversity and fostering collaborations in the field of MS and related diseases including
MOG-associated disease.
Dr. Waubant serves or has served on the clinical care, fellowship and research grant review, and scientific advisory committees of the National MS Society, and is a grant reviewer for the NIH. She is the medical director of the Race to Erase MS. She directs translational research projects, and mentors junior investigators on various clinical, research and career development aspects in the field of MS and related diseases.
Dr. Waubant’s specific interests include the translation of promising agents from the bench to bedside to advance patients’ care, and the discovery of risk factors that contribute to MS and MOGAD onset and progression.

Center for Neuropediatrics
Social Pediatrics and Developmental Neurology
Children’s Hospital Datteln

Kevin Rostásy, MD, PhD

Prof. Kevin Rostasy was trained in General Pediatric and Pediatric Neurology in Göttigen, Germany, Aberdeen, Scotland and Boston, USA. He is currently the Head of Pediatric Neurology at the Children’s Hospital Datteln, Germany and President of the European Pediatric Neurology Society. His main research interest is in the field of neuroimmunolgy in children with a particular focus on antibody-mediated diseases affecting the CNS such as MOGAD. In addition, he is involved in many activities addressing the awareness of the emerging challenges in the field of neurology across the ages.

 

Selected references of the last two years:

Diagnosis of myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibody-associated disease: International MOGAD Panel proposed criteria. Banwell B, Bennett JL, Marignier R, Kim HJ, Brilot F, Flanagan EP, Ramanathan S, Waters P, Tenembaum S, Graves JS, Chitnis T, Brandt AU, Hemingway C, Neuteboom R, Pandit L, Reindl M, Saiz A, Sato DK, Rostasy K, Paul F, Pittock SJ, Fujihara K, Palace J.Lancet Neurol. 2023 Mar;22(3):268-282. doi: 10.1016/S1474-4422(22)00431-8. Epub 2023 Jan 24.PMID: 36706773 Review. 

 

Update on the diagnosis and treatment of neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders (NMOSD) – revised recommendations of the Neuromyelitis Optica Study Group (NEMOS). Part II: Attack therapy and long-term management.

Kümpfel T, Giglhuber K, Aktas O, Ayzenberg I, Bellmann-Strobl J, Häußler V, Havla J, Hellwig K, Hümmert MW, Jarius S, Kleiter I, Klotz L, Krumbholz M, Paul F, Ringelstein M, Ruprecht K, Senel M, Stellmann JP, Bergh FT, Trebst C, Tumani H, Warnke C, Wildemann B, Berthele A; Neuromyelitis Optica Study Group (NEMOS).J Neurol. 2024 Jan;271(1):141-176. doi: 10.1007/s00415-023-11910-z. Epub 2023 Sep 7.PMID: 37676297 Free PMC article. Review.

 

Significance of Myelin Oligodendrocyte Glycoprotein Antibodies in CSF: A Retrospective Multicenter Study.

Carta S, Cobo Calvo Á, Armangué T, Saiz A, Lechner C, Rostásy K, Breu M, Baumann M, Höftberger R, Ayzenberg I, Schwake C, Sepulveda M, Martínez-Hernández E, Olivé-Cirera G, Arrambide G, Tintoré M, Bernard-Valnet R, Du Pasquier R, Brilot F, Ramanathan S, Schanda K, Gajofatto A, Ferrari S, Sechi E, Flanagan EP, Pittock SJ, Redenbaugh V, Reindl M, Marignier R, Mariotto S.Neurology. 2023 Mar 14;100(11):e1095-e1108. doi: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000201662. Epub 2022 Dec 16.PMID: 36526426  

 

Humoral signatures of MOG-antibody-associated disease track with age and disease activity.

Spatola M, Chuquisana O, Jung W, Lopez JA, Wendel EM, Ramanathan S, Keller CW, Hahn T, Meinl E, Reindl M, Dale RC, Wiendl H, Lauffenburger DA, Rostásy K, Brilot F, Alter G, Lünemann JD.Cell Rep Med. 2023 Feb 21;4(2):100913. doi: 10.1016/j.xcrm.2022.100913. Epub 2023 Jan 19.PMID: 36669487 

 

Impaired Brain Growth in Myelin Oligodendrocyte Glycoprotein Antibody-Associated Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis.

Bartels F, Baumgartner B, Aigner A, Cooper G, Blaschek A, Wendel EM, Bertolini A, Karenfort M, Baumann M, Cleaveland R, Wegener-Panzer A, Leiz S, Salandin M, Krieg P, Reindl T, Reindl M, Finke C, Rostásy K.Neurol Neuroimmunol Neuroinflamm. 2023 Feb 8;10(2):e200066. doi: 10.1212/NXI.0000000000200066. Print 2023

 

Long-term follow-up MR imaging in children with transverse myelitis.El Naggar I, Cleaveland R, Panzer A, Molenaar S, Giorgi L, Wendel EM, Bertolini A, Karenfort M, Thiels C, Libá Z, Baumann M, Leiz S, Della Marina A, Hengstler JG, Deiva K, Neuteboom R, Reindl M, Rostásy K; BIOMARKER study group.Mult Scler Relat Disord. 2024 Oct 11;92:105926. doi: 10.1016/j.msard.2024.105926.

 

Is there an immunological cross-reactivity of antibodies to the myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein and coronaviruses? Schanda K, Mariotto S, Rudzki D, Bauer A, Dinoto A, Rossi P, Ferrari S, Jarius S, Wildemann B, Boso F, Giometto B, Engels D, Kümpfel T, Wendel EM, Rostasy K, Reindl M.Brain Commun. 2024 Mar 25;6(2):fcae106. doi: 10.1093/braincomms/fcae106. eCollection 2024.PMID: 38576796 

 

Frequency of an intrathecal IgM synthesis and MRZ reaction in children with MS.Chen S, A B, Koukou G, Wendel EM, Thiels C, Baumann M, Lechner C, Blaschek A, Della Marina A, Classen G, Stüve B, Kauffmann B, Kapanci T, Mayer B, Otto M, Rostásy K.Eur J Paediatr Neurol. 2024 May;50:51-56. doi: 10.1016/j.ejpn.2024.04.005. Epub 2024 Apr 16.PMID: 38636242

 

Spectrum of Clinical and Imaging Features of Children With GFAP Astrocytopathy. Sommer S, Panzer A, Bertolini A, Cleaveland R, Jain V, Kapanci T, Derichs U, Geis T, Neu A, Löhr-Nilles C, Aeschimann-Huhn R, Flotats-Bastardas M, Deiva K, Armangue T, Olivé-Cirera G, Kannoth S, Koy A, Meirson H, Fattal-Valevski A, Ganelin-Cohen E, Losch H, Horne A, Wickström R, Dargvainiene J, Leypoldt F, Rostasy K.Neurol Neuroimmunol Neuroinflamm. 2025 Jan;12(1):e200327. doi: 10.1212/NXI.0000000000200327. Epub 2024 Nov 20.PMID: 39566024

Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences
University of Antwerp

Barbara Willekens, MD, PhD

Barbara Willekens, MD, PhD is Assistant Professor of Neurology at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences at the University of Antwerp (11/2023). She obtained a PhD in Medical Sciences in
2021, after performing translational and clinical research in the field of tolerance-inducing dendritic cell based (tolDC) therapy in multiple sclerosis.

Dr Willekens is a passionate and dedicated expert in multiple sclerosis and rare neuroimmunological diseases of the central nervous system (CNS), including NMOSD, MOGAD and Susac syndrome. Since 2011, she leads the MS and CNS neuroimmunological disorders clinic at the Department of
Neurology, Antwerp University Hospital, Belgium. She mentors, teaches, and supervises residents and fellows in neurology, bachelor and master students of medicine and biomedical sciences as well as PhD candidates. As PI in multiple academic and industry sponsored clinical trials ranging from phase I to phase IV she is experienced in set-up, conduct and analysis of clinical trials as well as registries to collect real-world data.

Barbara Willekens is the founder of UNICA, University Neuroimmunology Center Antwerp, a multidisciplinary care, research and educational center for MS and CNS neuroimmunological disorders, to integrate clinical and translational research activities from bench to bedside and back.
Her translational and clinical research interests include improving our understanding of MS and rare CNS neuroimmune disorders and developing novel treatment and monitoring approaches, with a
specific interest in drug repurposing and cellular immunotherapies.

Director, Multiple Sclerosis Clinic and NeMO Clinic
Western University

Courtney Casserly, MD, FRCPC

Dr. Courtney Casserly is an MS neurologist and Director of the Multiple Sclerosis Clinic and NeMO Clinic in London, Ontario Canada. With expertise in MS and related white matter disorders, she is passionate about advancing clinical care and education around autoimmune neurological disorders, including NMOSD and MOGAD.

 

Dr. Casserly is a strong advocate for patient-centered care and has played a pivotal role in advancing education, research, and multidisciplinary approaches to neurological diseases. Her leadership extends to collaborative projects, the NEMO National Education day 2023, and the Canadian National CANOPTICS national registry, and she is committed to improving outcomes for individuals with rare neuroimmunological conditions. Dr. Casserly is honored to join the Medical Advisory Counsil of the MOG Project, furthering her dedication to advocacy, education, and support for the MOGAD community.

Hospital Alemán de Buenos Aires y Centro de Enfermedades Neuroinmunologicas de Rosario (CENRos)

Edgar Carnero Contentti, MD, MSc, FECF

Prof. Dr. Edgar Carnero Contentti is a board-certified neurologist with over 15 years of clinical and research experience, specializing in multiple sclerosis (MS), neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders (NMOSD), and myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibody-
associated disease (MOGAD). He serves as Coordinator of Clinical Research and Chief of the NMOSD/MOGAD Clinic at INECO Neuroscience Oroño and co-founder of the CENRos (Center for Neuroimmunology diseases from Rosario) in Rosario, Argentina, and as a Consultant Neurologist in the Neuroimmunology Unit at Hospital Alemán, Buenos Aires. He is also Assistant Professor at Neurology and Chief of Neurological practice (University
of Buenos Aires) and Co-Director of University Certificate in Demyelinating Diseases: Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders program.

 

Dr. Carnero Contentti has completed advanced training at leading institutions, including Harvard Medical School (Clinical Research) and the University of Barcelona (Master in Neuroimmunology), and has been a principal investigator in numerous international
clinical trials. He has received multiple prestigious awards, such as the SPARK Grant from The Sumaira Foundation, the European Charcot Foundation Young Investigator Award and
LACTRIMS. His research contributions include over 120 publications in peer-reviewed journals, advancing understanding and treatment of demyelinating diseases. He is an Associate Editor for Multiple Sclerosis and Neuroimmunology in Frontiers in Neurology
and Frontiers in Immunology.

 

His clinical and fundamental science research program is focused on understanding disease pathogenesis and improving the diagnosis and treatment of autoimmune neurological disorders including MOGAD, NMOSD, MS, autoimmune encephalitis,
autoimmune muscle disease, and inflammatory neuropathies.
As an active member of LACTRIMS, RelevarEM (Argentine Registry for MS, NMOSD and MOGAD) and The Guthy-Jackson Charitable Foundation International Clinical Consortium, Dr. Carnero Contentti is dedicated to enhancing global standards of care and fostering equitable access to treatments for neuroimmunology disorders in LATAM.

Professor for Molecular Neurology
Department of Neurology
Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf

Orhan Aktas, MD

Orhan Aktas received his undergraduate training at the universities of Bochum and Strasbourg. After graduation as MD in 1999, he served a neuroimmunology fellowship at the Charité, Humboldt-University of Berlin, and at the Hadassah Medical School, Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He started his career in Neurology at the Charité and was appointed Associate Professor at the Department of Neurology, Heinrich-Heine University, Düsseldorf in 2008. Since 2013, he is Professor for Molecular Neurology and in charge of the Düsseldorf NMOSD & MOGAD Center as well as the MS Center at the Department of Neurology, Heinrich-Heine University, Düsseldorf, Germany.

 

Professor Aktas’ clinical and research interests are in the field of basic and clinical neuroimmunology, in particular Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum disorders (NMOSD), MOG-IgG-associated disease (MOGAD), as well as Multiple Sclerosis (MS). Orhan Aktas is co-founder and co-coordinator of the German Neuromyelitis optica Study Group (NEMOS, www.nemos-net.de), taking care of NMOSD & MOGAD research and patient advocacy in Germany. He is a member of the Medical Advisory Board of The MOG Project, member of the International Clinical Consortium of The Guthy-Jackson Charitable Foundation for NMOSD research, member of the international Medical Advisory Board of the Sumaira Foundation, as well as member of the International MS Visual System Consortium (IMSVISUAL). He has authored or co-authored a large series of primary research articles in peer-reviewed journals such as Nature Medicine, Nature Cell Biology, Cell, Neuron, JAMA Neurology, Neurology, Annals of Neurology, Lancet, Lancet Neurology and contributed to review articles and editorials in Trends in Neurosciences, Lancet Neurology, Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry (JNNP), Journal of Neurology, and Annals of Neurology. He has been involved as a principal investigator in international multicenter therapeutic trials in NMOSD, MOGAD as well as MS and has designed investigator-initiated trials in translational neuroimmunology.

UT Southwestern Medical Center

Benjamin Greenberg, MD

Dr. Benjamin Greenberg received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Johns Hopkins University and his Masters Degree in Molecular Microbiology and Immunology from the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health in Baltimore, Maryland. He attended medical school at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. He completed his residency in neurology at The Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, MD. He then joined the faculty within the division of neuroimmunology at Johns Hopkins and became the co-director of the Transverse Myelitis Center. In January of 2009 he was recruited to the faculty at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center where he founded the new Transverse Myelitis and Neuromyelitis Optica Program.

 

Dr. Greenberg is focused on rare autoimmune disorders of the central nervous system (e.g. transverse myelitis, neuromyelitis optica, MOGAD, ADEM and autoimmune encephalitis). His research interests are in both the diagnosis and treatment of these conditions. He is actively involved in developing better ways to diagnose and treat patients with these disorders. His research has identified novel biomarkers that may be able to distinguish between patients with various neurologic disorders. He also coordinates trials that study new treatments to prevent neurologic damage and restore function to those who have already been affected. He currently serves as Vice Chair of Clinical and Translational Research for the Department of Neurology at the University of Texas Southwestern.

Red de Salud UC-Christus y Hospital Sótero del Río
Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile

Ethel Ciampi, MD, MSc

Dr. Ethel Ciampi is an Associate Professor of Neurology at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. She completed her postgraduate degree in Multiple Sclerosis at the Multiple Sclerosis Centre of Catalonia (CEMCAT) at the Vall d’Hebron University Hospital in Barcelona, Spain, and holds a Neuroimmunology Master’s degree from the Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona. Additionally, Dr. Ciampi has advanced training in magnetic resonance analysis, including brain and spinal atrophy and functional magnetic resonance imaging, and has completed courses in Clinical Research and Advanced Statistics at Harvard University, Boston, United States.

 

Currently, Dr. Ciampi serves as a clinical neurologist at the Programa de Esclerosis Múltiple Red Salud UC-Christus. She leads the Neuroimmunology Unit at the Hospital Dr. Sótero del Río and co-directs the Multiple Sclerosis and Neuroimmunology Fellowship Programme at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile.

 

Over the past decade, Dr. Ciampi has been a member of the Expert Committee for Multiple Sclerosis for the Ministry of Health in Chile, advocating for access to disease-modifying therapies. She has participated in numerous clinical trials and has a keen interest in real-world evidence research from Latin America, focusing on healthcare access disparities in Multiple Sclerosis, NMOSD, and MOGAD across the lifespan. Dr. Ciampi has published over 40 peer-reviewed articles and serves as Co-Chair of the Global Epidemiology group for the International Women in Multiple Sclerosis (iWiMS).

 

Dr. Ciampi’s primary motivation is to improve the quality of life for patients with demyelinating disorders by making evidence-based decisions, developing research questions with clinical applications, and supporting patient advocacy.

Professor of Neurology & Immunology
Yale University

Kevin O'Connor, PhD

Dr. Kevin C. O’Connor is a Professor of Neurology and Immunobiology at Yale School of Medicine. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and a PhD in Biochemistry from Tufts University. Following his doctoral studies, Dr. O’Connor completed postdoctoral training in Immunology at Harvard Medical School, where he later served as an Assistant Professor before joining the faculty at Yale.

 

Dr. O’Connor’s research focuses on the intersection of human translational immunology and neurology, particularly on the roles of B cells and antibodies in autoimmune diseases affecting both the central nervous and neuromuscular systems. His laboratory is recognized for its work on the immunobiology of Myelin Oligodendrocyte Glycoprotein Antibody-Associated Disease (MOGAD). His work has clarified the distinct immunological features that differentiate MOGAD from demyelinating disorders such as multiple sclerosis and neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD). Using innovative tools—including antigen-specific tetramers and live cell-based assays—his team demonstrated that MOG autoantibodies recognize conformational epitopes reflective of native MOG biology. These approaches were instrumental in establishing MOGAD as a clinically and biologically distinct disease with unique diagnostic criteria. Recently, his team developed high-throughput functional assays showing that MOGAD patient antibodies can induce various forms of cytotoxicity, including complement activation, phagocytosis, and NK cell-mediated killing, highlighting functional heterogeneity among patient sera and potential biomarkers of relapse risk.

 

In addition, Dr. O’Connor investigates disorders of the neuromuscular junction, particularly myasthenia gravis, where his team studies the role of pathogenic autoantibodies and B cell responses targeting components of this critical interface between nerves and muscles. Across these conditions, his research identifies disease-driving B cell subsets, characterizes isotype-specific effector functions, and explores how immune responses vary among individuals. By analyzing biospecimens from clinical trials, his group links immune signatures to treatment outcomes—advancing personalized approaches for the diagnosis and therapy of antibody-mediated neurological diseases.

Neurologist; Neuro-Immunology and Neuro-Ophthalmology Specialist

Fiona Chan

Dr. Fiona Chan is a Neurologist specialising in Neuro-Ophthalmology and Neuro-Immunology. She completed her Neurology specialty training (FRACP) with a focus in Neuro-Immunology in Australia before undertaking a Neuro-Ophthalmology fellowship in the United Kingdom. She was subsequently employed as a Consultant Neuro-Ophthalmologist at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham (UK) which functions as one of Europe’s largest Neuro-Ophthalmology departments. 

 

Whilst in the UK, Dr. Chan consolidated her combined Neuro-Immunology and Neuro-Ophthalmology expertise through an additional fellowship in clinical research at the UK’s National NMOSD/MOGAD clinic, within the John Radcliffe Hospital of Oxford where she focused on advancing the Neuro-Ophthalmic care of NMOSD/MOGAD patients.

 

Dr. Chan has been awarded multiple prestigious awards. She was the first Australian Neurologist to be awarded the European Committee for Treatment in Multiple Sclerosis (ECTRIMS) Fellowship and was recently awarded an NHMRC Postgraduate Scholarship for her current PhD investigating the diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers in MOGAD. She is passionate about patient advocacy and education, particularly in conditions at the Neuro-Immunology and Neuro-Ophthalmology interface.

Neurologist & Neuroimmunologist

Benjamin Trewin

Dr Benjamin Trewin is a Sydney-based neurologist and clinician-scientist specialising in myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibody-associated disease (MOGAD), neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD), and multiple sclerosis (MS). He completed his neurology training at Royal Prince Alfred and Concord Hospitals, followed by a PhD in neuroimmunology at the University of Sydney under the supervision of Associate Professor Sudarshini Ramanathan, Professor Russell Dale, and Professor Fabienne Brilot. His doctoral research investigated relapse risk, steroid response, and long-term outcomes in MOGAD, contributing to one of the world’s largest and most comprehensive datasets in this field.


Dr Trewin’s post-doctoral work with the University of Sydney continues to explore treatment comparisons and predictors of
relapse and permanent disability in autoimmune demyelination, bridging clinical data with translational immunology. He is an investigator within the Australasian MOGAD Study Group and first author and co-author of several landmark publications that define the global clinical and radiological spectrum of MOGAD. His research has been presented internationally, including at ECTRIMS & ANZAN ASM.


Clinically, Dr Trewin leads a dedicated neuroimmunology service at College Street Specialists in Darlinghurst, providing expert care for patients with MOGAD, NMOSD, and MS. His focus is on improving diagnosis, refining treatment strategies, and ensuring access to evidence-based, individualised care for people living with autoimmune neurological disorders.

pediatric Neurologist & Neuroimmunologist

Kristen Fisher

Dr. Fisher is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Neurology and Developmental Neuroscience at Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children’s Hospital, where she specializes in the care of children with rare neuroinflammatory and demyelinating disorders.  Dr. Fisher spends clinical time in the neurocritical care unit focusing on severe presentations of neuroinflammatory disorders, including ways to improve the time to clinical diagnosis and management strategies in hopes to improve the clinical outcomes.  She additionally serves as the Associate Program Directory for the Neurodevelopmental Disabilities residency program. 

Dr. Fisher completed her undergraduate degree at Arizona State University and medical degree at West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine. She subsequently completed training in pediatrics, child neurology, neurodevelopmental disabilities, and neuroimmunology and multiple sclerosis at Texas Children’s Hospital and Baylor College of Medicine. 

Dr. Fisher is involved in multiple national and international research protocols in rare diseases and neuroinflammation, including clinical trials.  Locally, she has been involved in the development of institutional protocols for neuroinflammatory diseases in the critical care unit, and is invested in a clinical and research basis on improving the care for these patients.

Professor of Neurology and Faculty, Program in immunology

Scott Zamvil

Scott S. Zamvil, Professor of Neurology and Faculty, Program in Immunology at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), specializes in care of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), neuromyelitis optica (NMO) and MOG antibody-associated disease (MOGAD). His group’s research has advanced our understanding how antigen-specific T cells participate in these diseases and contributed to the development of widely used models for central nervous system (CNS) autoimmunity.

Dr. Zamvil received his M.D. and Ph.D. in Immunology from Stanford University, California. After completion of his neurology residency at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital, he joined the Harvard neurology faculty, when he was awarded the National MS Society (NMSS) Harry Weaver Neuroscience Scholar Faculty Award. Since 1998, he has been on the faculty at UCSF, having appointments in Neurology and Immunology.  In 2014, Dr. Zamvil was named the Donnie Smith Chair in MS Research.

His research is devoted to understanding how CNS autoantigens are recognized by T cells and how therapies modulate T cell activation. Using the MS model, EAE, Dr. Zamvil demonstrated for the first time that autoantigen-specific T cell clones can cause autoimmunity. When studying how the MS therapy Copaxone works, Dr. Zamvil’s group provided the initial demonstration that anti-inflammatory myeloid (“M2”) cells can cause T cell regulation in vivo, now a central theme in innate immunity and therapy.  His research showing that cholesterol-lowering statins can cause T cell modulation provided the foundation for testing statins in autoimmune diseases, including the first placebo-controlled trial testing a statin in MS, a trial led by Dr. Zamvil. Currently, his research is focused on identification and characterization of MOG-specific T cells in patients with MOGAD, how MOG-specific B cells activate T cells in MOGAD and and how to modulate those responses therapeutically.

Dr. Zamvil is Editor-in-Chief of the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) journal, Neurology, Neuroimmunology and Neuroinflammation (“N2”). Previously, he served on the Editorial Boards of The Journal of Clinical Investigation, The Journal of Immunology, Neurotherapeutics, The Journal of Neurological Sciences and Frontiers in Immunology.   His research and his fellows have been funded by the NMSS, National Institutes of Health and several philanthropic organizations.  Dr. Zamvil has served on committees for the AAN, NMSS, American Committee on Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis, the International Society for Neuroimmunology and the Myelin Repair Foundation.

pediatric Neurologist & Neuroimmunologist

Haiwen Chen

Haiwen Chen, MD, PhD, is an Assistant Professor of Neurology at Johns Hopkins and a pediatric neuroimmunologist who cares for children with MOGAD and other demyelinating disorders. Dr. Chen completed her MD/PhD at the University of Maryland, pediatric neurology residency and neuroimmunology fellowship at Johns Hopkins, and postdoctoral research in synaptic neuroscience. Her research combines clinical studies of MOGAD diagnosis and treatment with laboratory work on how oligodendrocytes shape synaptic function.

pediatric neuropsychologist

Kelly Jones

Kelly Jones, PhD, ABPP, earned her PhD at Drexel University and completed a postdoctoral fellowship in pediatric neuropsychology at Kennedy Krieger/Johns Hopkins. She is an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Johns Hopkins and a pediatric neuropsychologist at Kennedy Krieger Institute. Dr. Jones provides care to pediatric patients with acquired brain injuries and neuroimmunological disorders. Her current research focuses on characterizing cognitive functioning in children and adolescents with neuroimmunological disorders, particularly MOGAD.

Neurologist

Maria Sepúlveda

Maria Sepúlveda, MD, PhD, es neuróloga de la Unidad de Neuroinmunología del Hospital Clínic de Barcelona e investigadora del Institut d’Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), en Barcelona, España.

Se licenció en Medicina por la Universidad de Barcelona en 2005 y completó su formación como especialista en Neurología en el Hospital del Mar en 2010. Desde entonces, desarrolla su actividad profesional en la Unidad de Neuroinmunología del Hospital Clínic de Barcelona, especializándose en enfermedades neuroinmunológicas, con especial dedicación a los trastornos del espectro de la neuromielitis óptica (NMOSD) y a la enfermedad asociada a anticuerpos contra la glicoproteína de oligodendrocito de mielina (MOGAD). En 2021 obtuvo el título de doctora en Medicina por la Universidad de Barcelona, recibiendo el Premio Extraordinario de Doctorado por su investigación sobre NMOSD y MOGAD.

La Dra. Sepúlveda coordina el área clínica de NMOSD/MOGAD dentro de la Unidad de Neuroinmunología del Hospital Clínic de Barcelona. Su actividad investigadora se centra en la caracterización clínica, el diagnóstico, el pronóstico y el tratamiento de estas enfermedades, incluyendo nuevas estrategias terapéuticas. Ha participado en numerosos ensayos clínicos y ha contribuido a la elaboración de recomendaciones terapéuticas nacionales y a iniciativas internacionales para el establecimiento de criterios diagnósticos.

Es miembro activo del grupo europeo MOGAD/Eugene Devic Networking (MEDEN) y coautora de más de 70 publicaciones científicas.

Maria Sepúlveda, MD, PhD, is a neurologist at the Neuroimmunology Unit of Hospital Clínic of Barcelona and a researcher at the Institut d’Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), in Barcelona, Spain.

She obtained her medical degree from the University of Barcelona in 2005 and completed her residency in Neurology at Hospital del Mar in 2010. Since then, she has been working at the Neuroimmunology Unit of Hospital Clínic of Barcelona, specializing in neuroimmunological disorders, with a particular focus on neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) and myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibody-associated disease (MOGAD). She completed her PhD at the University of Barcelona in 2021, receiving the Extraordinary Doctoral Award for her research on NMOSD and MOGAD.

Dr. Sepúlveda coordinates the NMOSD/MOGAD clinical area within the Neuroimmunology Unit at Hospital Clínic Barcelona. Her research focuses on the clinical characterization, diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of these disorders, including emerging therapeutic approaches. She has participated in numerous clinical trials and contributed to national treatment recommendations and international diagnostic initiatives.

She is an active member of the European MOGAD/Eugene Devic Networking (MEDEN) group and has co-authored more than 70 peer-reviewed scientific publications.