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Multiple sclerosis

The Ottawa Hospital is conducting cutting-edge research to improve our understanding of multiple sclerosis and develop better treatments. This page includes selected news stories about our multiple sclerosis research, links to researchers working in this area and related resources. Learn more below.

Research News


New Scientist Profile: Dr. Giulia Fadda investigates poorly understood neuroinflammatory conditions
April 5, 2023 - Neurologist Dr. Giulia Fadda wants to know what causes widespread brain damage in neuroinflammatory conditions like progressive multiple sclerosis (MS). Patients with this kind of MS relentlessly get worse over time.
Stem cell treatment banishes disease for MS patient
April 2, 2023 - John Chafe had a job in a bank with the goal of running it one day. But his plans were sidetracked by an aggressive form of multiple sclerosis (MS). In 2001, he became the second person in a world-first clinical trial of its kind that virtually elimi
After 18 years with MS—“I really feel like I’m cured.”
April 2, 2023 - “It’s now 12 years since my stem cell transplant. I really feel like I’m cured,” said Heather Harris, who has no symptoms of the disease. She works full-time as a school principal, and is back to camping, skiing, running and driving a manual shift ca
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Researchers


Name Scientific appointment Diseases, conditions and populations of interest Research and clinical approaches
Atkins, Harold
MD, FRCPC
Senior Clinician Investigator
(Cancer Therapeutics)
Autoimmune disease, Autoimmune diseases of the nervous system, Blood cancer, Cancer, Multiple sclerosis, Myasthenia gravis, Stiff person syndrome Basic research, Cancer biotherapeutics, Cancer immunotherapy, Cell therapy, Clinical trials, Immunotherapy, Oncolytic viruses, Regenerative medicine, Stem cells, Translational research, Transplantation, Viral therapy
Aviv, Richard
MBChB, FRCR (UK), FRCPC, dABR
Clinician Investigator
(Neuroscience)
Brain and neuromuscular disease, Brain cancer, Head and neck cancer, Multiple sclerosis, Stroke, Subarachnoid hemorrhage, Traumatic brain injury, Vascular cognitive impairment, Vascular, heart and metabolic disease 3D printing, Artificial intelligence and data science, Basic research, Big data, Bioinformatics, Biomarkers, Clinical research, Cluster randomized trials, Disease models, Health economics, Health technology, Imaging, Patient safety, Quality Improvement, Translational research
Bose, Gauruv
MD, FRCPC
Associate Scientist
(Neuroscience)
Autoimmune diseases of the nervous system, Multiple sclerosis Artificial intelligence and data science, Biomarkers, Clinical decision rules, Clinical trials, Cohort studies, Health economics
Chakraborty, Santanu
MBBS, MRCP, DMRD, FRCR, FRCP(C)
Senior Clinician Investigator
(Neuroscience)
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Brain cancer, Concussion, Dementia, Head and neck cancer, Multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's, Spinal cord injury, Stroke, Traumatic brain injury Bioinformatics, Clinical research, Health economics, Health professional behaviour change, Imaging, Immunization, Patient safety, Quality Improvement, Risk assessment
Fadda, Giulia
MD
Associate Scientist
(Neuroscience)
Autoimmune diseases of the nervous system, Multiple sclerosis Bioinformatics, Biomarkers, Biostatistics, Clinical research, Imaging, Immunotherapy, Molecular and cellular biology, Patient engagement, Translational research
Freedman, Mark
HBSc, MSc, MD, CSPQ, FAAN, FRCPC
Senior Scientist
(Neuroscience)
Multiple sclerosis Cell therapy, Clinical research, Regenerative medicine, Clinical trials
Kothary, Rashmi
Ph.D.
Senior Scientist
(Regenerative Medicine)
Neuromuscular disease, Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Dystonia, Multiple sclerosis, Muscular dystrophy, Spinal muscular atrophy Basic research, Disease models, Drug development, Epigenetics, Epigenetics, Gene therapy, Genetics, Imaging, Lipidomics, Model organisms, Molecular and cellular biology, Proteomics, Regenerative medicine, Transgenic/knockout models, Translational research
Picketts, David
Ph.D.
Senior Scientist
(Regenerative Medicine)
Autism, Brain and neuromuscular disease, Intellectual disabilities, Multiple sclerosis, Stroke, Vision Basic research, Disease models, Epigenetics, Molecular and cellular biology, Regenerative medicine, Stem cells, Transgenic/knockout models
Ramsay, Timothy
PhD
Senior Scientist
(Clinical Epidemiology)
Addiction, Alzheimer's, Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Anxiety, Ataxia, Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), Autism, Bipolar, Brain and neuromuscular disease, Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, Colorectal cancer, Concussion, Cystic fibrosis, Dementia, Depression, Dystonia, First Nations, Inuit and Métis Health, HIV, Immigrant and refugee health, Influenza, Kidney disease, Lung cancer, Macular degeneration, Men's health, Multiple sclerosis, Muscular dystrophy, Myasthenia gravis, Obesity, Ovarian cancer, Parkinson's, Pulmonary hypertension, Septic shock, Spinal cord injury Artificial intelligence and data science, Behaviour, Biomaterials, Biostatistics, Cell therapy, Clinical decision rules, Clinical research, Clinical trials, Cohort studies, Critical care, Drug development, Emergency medicine, Epidemiology, Health professional behaviour change, Health promotion, Health research methods, Health services research, Health technology, Immunization, Immunotherapy, Palliative care, Patient decision aids, Pharmacology, Pharmacy, Prevention, Psychology, Psychometrics, Public health, Qualitative methods, Quality Improvement, Regenerative medicine, Rehabilitation, Risk assessment, Shared decision making, Surgery, Surveys, Systematic reviews, Transfusions, Translational research, Transplantation, Viral therapy
Santos, Marlise
MD (FRCPC), MSc, MPH
Clinician Investigator
(Clinical Epidemiology)
Alzheimer's, Anxiety, Ataxia, Autoimmune disease, Autoimmune diseases of the nervous system, Blood cancer, Brain and neuromuscular disease, Brain cancer, Cancer, Chronic disease, Concussion, Dementia, Depression, Global health, Head and neck cancer, Health equity, Health in disadvantaged peoples, Infectious disease, Intellectual disabilities, Multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's, Population health, Sickle cell anemia, Spinal cord injury, Stroke, Subarachnoid hemorrhage, Thrombosis / thromboembolism, Traumatic brain injury, Traumatic injuries, Vascular cognitive impairment, Vascular, heart and metabolic disease Artificial intelligence and data science, Basic research, Behaviour, Biostatistics, Cancer biotherapeutics, Clinical decision rules, Clinical research, Clinical trials, Cohort studies, Critical care, Epidemiology, Health economics, Health research methods, Health services research, Health technology, Imaging, Patient safety, Pragmatic trials, Prevention, Public health, Qualitative methods, Quality Improvement, Shared decision making, Surgery, Surveys, Systematic reviews
Walker, Lisa
PhD, C.Psych
Clinician Investigator
(Neuroscience)
Anxiety, Autoimmune disease, Autoimmune diseases of the nervous system, Brain and neuromuscular disease, Dementia, Depression, Mental health, Multiple sclerosis Behaviour, Biomarkers, Clinical research, Exercise, Imaging, Psychology, Psychometrics, Rehabilitation, Stem cells, Systematic reviews, Translational research
Wang, Jing
Ph.D.
Senior Scientist
(Regenerative Medicine)
Alzheimer's, Multiple sclerosis, Stroke Cell therapy, Disease models, Epigenetics, Imaging, Molecular and cellular biology, Regenerative medicine, Stem cells, Transgenic/knockout models




Clinical Trials

The following list of clinical trials is pulled from ClinicalTrials.gov using the search terms "Multiple sclerosis” and “Ottawa Hospital.” More advanced search options are available. If you find a clinical trial that interests you, you can bring the information to the next appointment with your care team and ask if you are eligible for the study. If so, they may be able to refer you to the study team. Visit ohri.ca/patients to learn more about participating in research and clinical trials.

Note that ClinicalTrials.gov is hosted by the U.S. National Library of Medicine and is only available in English. Please note that we cannot guarantee a response from the person listed in the ‘Contact’ column.

NCTTitleConditionStatusContact
NCT05781113A Novel Wearable Digital Biomarker for Detecting Changes in Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Condition (NCT05781113)Multiple SclerosisRecruitinggabose@toh.ca
NCT05269004A Rollover Study to Evaluate the Long-Term Safety and Efficacy of Ocrelizumab In Patients With Multiple Sclerosis (NCT05269004)Multiple SclerosisRecruiting 
NCT04035005A Study to Evaluate the Efficacy and Safety of Ocrelizumab in Adults With Primary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis (NCT04035005)Multiple Sclerosis, Primary ProgressiveRecruiting 
NCT03949387Functional Electrical Stimulation Cycling for Managing Mobility Disability in People With Multiple Sclerosis (NCT03949387)Multiple SclerosisRecruiting 
NCT01891071Lung Volume Recruitment for Lung Function and Cough Impairment in Multiple Sclerosis (NCT01891071)Multiple SclerosisUnknown status 
NCT05054140Study to Evaluate Efficacy, Safety, and Tolerability of IMU-838 in Patients With Progressive Multiple Sclerosis (NCT05054140)Multiple SclerosisRecruiting 
NCT04586023Study to Evaluate the Efficacy and Safety of Fenebrutinib Compared With Teriflunomide in Relapsing Multiple Sclerosis (RMS) (NCT04586023)Relapsing Multiple SclerosisRecruiting 
NCT03599245This is an Extension Study of the Roche P-trials to Investigate Safety and Effectiveness of Ocrelizumab in Participants With Multiple Sclerosis (MS) (NCT03599245)Multiple SclerosisRecruiting 


Publications

The following research publications are pulled from PubMed using the search terms "Multiple sclerosis" and "Ottawa Hospital", with publication date of 2020 or later. More advanced search options are available. Note that PubMed is hosted by the U.S. National Library of Medicine and is only available in English.

Development and multi-center validation of a fully automated digital immunoassay for neurofilament light chain: toward a clinical blood test for neuronal injury.
2023-09-13

Assessing the duration of EDSS improvement after a therapy start: A novel approach applied to the long-term extension of the PRISMS study.
2023-09-01

Balancing risks and benefits of cannabis use: umbrella review of meta-analyses of randomised controlled trials and observational studies.
2023-08-31

Cerebrospinal fluid camk2a levels at baseline predict long-term progression in multiple sclerosis.
2023-08-30

A plain language summary on assessing the long-term effectiveness of cladribine tablets in people living with relapsing multiple sclerosis: The CLASSIC-MS study.
2023-08-03

Comparative Effectiveness of Autologous Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant vs Fingolimod, Natalizumab, and Ocrelizumab in Highly Active Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis.
2023-07-12

Processing speed and memory test performance are associated with different brain region volumes in Veterans and others with progressive multiple sclerosis.
2023-06-26

Deviation From Normative Whole Brain and Deep Gray Matter Growth in Children With MOGAD, MS, and Monophasic Seronegative Demyelination.
2023-06-01

Defining the Riddle in Order to Solve It: There Is More Than One "Parkinson's Disease".
2023-05-09

The spatio-temporal relationship between concurrent lesion and brain atrophy changes in early multiple sclerosis: A post-hoc analysis of the REFLEXION study.
2023-04-23

View more on PubMed