Finding NEMO: NMOSD and MOGAD 101 Review Course

Dr. Romain Marignier

Pr. 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 on rare disorders, namely neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders (NMOSD) and MOG-Ab associated diseases (MOGAD). Pr 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, Pr 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, Pr Marignier is the head of the French referral center 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, Pr. 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 diagnosis and prognosis purpose (immunohistochemistry, flow cytometry).

Dr. Dalia Rotstein

Dr. Dalia Rotstein is an assistant professor of medicine at the University of Toronto and neurologist specialized in multiple sclerosis (MS) and other demyelinating diseases. She completed neurology residency at University of Toronto where she was co-chief resident and MS fellowship at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital/Harvard University, where she also earned a Master of Public Health degree.

Her research is focused on the epidemiology of multiple sclerosis and neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD). She has a particular interest in the roles of gender, ethnicity, migration, and EBV in these conditions. She is the Principal Investigator for CANOPTICS, the first Canadian national prospective study to investigate adults with NMOSD, MOG Antibody Disease, and other atypical demyelinating conditions.
Dr. Rotstein founded the NMOSD Multi-Disciplinary Clinic at St. Michael’s Hospital in 2020 and the international educational program NIRVE, the Neurology International Residents Videoconferencing Exchange, in 2009.

Dr. Adrian Budhram

Dr. Adrian Budhram obtained his medical degree from McMaster University, followed by residency training in neurology at Western University. He then went on to complete fellowship training in Autoimmune Neurology at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. He has expertise in both the laboratory diagnosis and clinical management of patients with autoimmune neurological diseases.

Dr. Jodie Burton

Dr. Jodie Burton obtained her BSc in the Life Sciences in 1996 and her MD in 2000 at the University of Toronto.  She then undertook a Neurology residency at the University of Toronto completed in 2005, followed by a Multiple Sclerosis fellowship with Dr. Paul O'Connor from 2005-2007. She also obtained her MSc in Clinical Epidemiology from 2006-2008 (both at the University of Toronto). She was on staff at the University of Toronto at the MS clinic from 2007-2009 until she joined the Department of Clinical Neurosciences and the MS Program as well as the Department of Community Health Sciences at the University of Calgary in 2009 where she is currently an Associate Clinical Professor and a full member of the MS Research Program with the Hotchkiss Brian Institute.

Dr. Burton's research has focused for over 22 years on the role of vitamin D in MS, most recently in a trial of high-dose vitamin D in the treatment of optic neuritis. She has also focused on NMOSD and MOGAD writing guidelines for inpatient and outpatient care as part of the Alberta Provincial Clinical Knowledge initiative, and in collaboration with resident Dr. Jonathan Krett, has recently publishing QI-based recommendations on local antibody testing on the subject. Since fellowship, she has been actively developing and providing escalation strategies for aggressive demyelinating disease. She is also the co-director of the Autologous Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant Program for Multiple Sclerosis at the University of Calgary. She participates in the Evidence Based Medicine educational program for neurology residents and supervises students in a variety of research settings.

Dr. Jonathan Krett

Dr. Jonathan Krett is a final-year Neurology resident at the University of Calgary Cumming School of Medicine. He completed his medical school training at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario and undergraduate studies in Neuroscience at McGill University in Montreal, Quebec. In July 2023, he will be starting a multi-year clinical-research fellowship in Neuroimmunology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. His subspecialty interest is in multiple sclerosis and other immune-mediated disorders of the central nervous system including neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) and anti-MOG antibody-associated disease (MOGAD). His research training will centre around clinical trials, biomarkers, and experimental therapeutics. Dr. Krett’s goal is to improve the care of people living with demyelinating and other autoimmune neurological diseases through his clinical and scholarly efforts in neurology.

Dr. Kazuo Fujihara

Kazuo Fujihara, M.D. is Professor, Department of Multiple Sclerosis Therapeutics, Fukushima Medical University School of Medicine, and Director, Multiple Sclerosis & Neuromyelitis Optica Center, Southern TOHOKU Research Institute for Neuroscience (STRINS), Koriyama, Japan. Dr. Fujihara is a neurologist and has mainly worked in the field of multiple sclerosis (MS), neuromyelitis optica (NMO) and related neuroimmunological disorders. He is a member of the International Panel on Diagnosis of MS (the 2010 and 2017 revisions), the International Panel on NMO Diagnosis (the 2015 criteria), the International Panel on Diagnosis of MOGAD (2020~2023) and the International Advisory Committee on Clinical Trials in MS (2022~). Since 2013, he has served on the Executive Committee, International Medical and Scientific Board of The Multiple Sclerosis International Federation (MSIF). He is an inaugural member and President (2018~) of Pan-Asian Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (PACTRIMS).

Dr. Alex Muccilli

Dr. Alex Muccilli Neuroinflammatory Neurologist and co-director of the MS fellowship at the Barlo MS Centre in Toronto. She completed her residency at the Université de Montréal and an MEd at the University of Cincinnati.  She did a Neurohospitalist Fellowship at UCSF followed by an MS and Neuroinflammatory Fellowship in Toronto.  She sees a large volume of patients with CNS autoimmune conditions and is very involved in medical education at the University of Toronto. 

Dr. Courtney Casserly

Dr. Courtney Casserly is the director of the NeMO clinic, an innovative fellow-driven neurology clinic focused on the care of individuals with NMOSD and MOGAD. Dr. Casserly obtained her undergraduate degree in Biochemistry from McGill, followed by her Medical Degree at Queen's University, and then completed her Neurology Residency at Western University. She completed a 2-year clinical fellowship at the University of Toronto, St Michael's Hospital with such legends as Drs. Oh, Selchen, Hohol and O'Connor.  She now works as a Clinician Teacher and Assistant Professor at Western University, where her educational passions lie in undergraduate and postgraduate neurology teaching. She is the proud recipient of the 2020 Dr. Angelika Hahn Award for Excellence in Clinical Teaching, as well a 2022 Open Education Research Grant from Western Libraries. Dr. Courtney Casserly is beyond excited to have you join us for the first ever national Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorder (NMOSD) and MOG-associated disease (MOGAD) teaching course Jan 21 2023, hosted by the Canadian Neurological Sciences Federation (CNSF) and Western University. 

Dr. Christine Tomkinson

Christine Tomkinson completed her neurology residency at McMaster University, followed by a fellowship in Multiple Sclerosis at Western University. She has been part of the staff at PRHC since September 2020 as the Neurology Division Lead as well as an adjunct assistant professor with Queen’s University as an affiliate of the Kingston MS clinic.

We would like to thank our sponsors for their support of this year's CNS Research Bootcamp!

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