Research

Develop your distinct talents and abilities in a challenging, but supportive environment

As a fellow and junior investigator, you’ll have opportunities for research skill development and attendance at world-class education symposiums. Fellows also receive mentorship and training in clinical trials and serve as co-investigators on-going trials within the MS division. Working alongside our clinical research coordinators, they’ll gain familiarity with clinical trial design, implementation, analysis and regulatory requirements. In addition, fellows will develop proficiency using the Expanded Disability Status Scale and the Multiple Sclerosis Functional Composite, which are commonly used scales in MS clinical trial protocols.

For fellows with specific research interests, responsive faculty are available for additional guidance and help developing research ideas.

Our commitment to research excellence

Our MS research team is recognized on both the national and international stage, with funding from leading scientific organizations like the National Institutes of Health, research awards, presentations at international symposiums and leadership positions with international MS medical societies.

Our research focuses on the most pressing topics related to MS.

  • Although there are over 20 drugs that decrease risk of relapse, we know that not everyone responds to these drugs in the same way, so we’re always working to find new drugs that are safer, more effective, have fewer side effects and halt progressing MS.
  • We also want to support earlier diagnosis and testing that can help doctors quickly identify when a person may be moving from one stage of MS to another.
  • Most recently, we’ve even begun investigating how we might reverse the neurological damage caused by MS and other diseases, and this new cell discovery shows exciting promise and reason for new hope.

Of course, our ultimate motivation is to find a cure for MS.

To help us accomplish this, the Neuroscience Research Institute (NRI) was created to enhance the quality and breadth of neurological-related research at Ohio State by providing an infrastructure that emphasizes translating research discoveries into clinical interventions. Our fellows have access to all NRI resources and facilities.

In addition, the Neuroscience Research Institute Brain Bank and Biorepository (NRI-BBB) is available to fellows for novel research and clinical trials using samples collected by clinicians directly involved in patient care. While not therapeutic in scope, the biorepository serves as a centralized site where researchers can utilize clinical samples and data stored within the biorepository for their own specific research efforts. Samples stored and maintained within the NRI-BBB include, but are not limited to, cerebral spinal fluid, blood, autopsy and surgical and/or biopsy specimens.

Principal MS Investigators at Ohio State

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Benjamin Segal, MD

MS Program Director, Neurologist

Dr. Segal is internationally recognized for his work in MS and neuroimmunology, with more than $1.3 million in annual National Institutes of Health (NIH) research funding.
The Segal lab studies interactions between the immune system and central nervous system (CNS), both in disease and in repair.

Active projects include exploration of the pathogenesis of MS using the animal model, experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), and the analysis of patient samples in association with MRI and clinical metrics. The goal is to understand how the immune system is dysregulated in MS, how immune cells gain access to the CNS and how immune cells interact with glial cells, neurons and axons to either cause damage or initiate disease remission.

Another major interest of Dr. Segal’s lab is immune-driven CNS repair in the setting of neurodegenerative disease or in the aftermath CNS trauma.


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Tirisham Victoria Gyang, MD

Assistant Professor

Dr. Gyang’s main research interests focus on investigating new and novel therapeutics for demyelinating conditions such as multiple sclerosis, neuromyelitis optica, myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibody disease (MOGAD), and non-demyelinating CNS inflammatory conditions such as autoimmune encephalitis, neurosarcoidosis, neuropsychiatric lupus, etc. She is currently recruiting patients for clinical trials in multiple sclerosis and NMDA receptor encephalitis. Dr. Gyang is also setting up a novel clinical/research program to investigate neurotoxicity related to immune cancer therapy including CAR T and immune checkpoint inhibitors.
Em Harrington, MD, PhD

Em Harrington, MD, PhD

Assistant Professor

The Harrington lab studies how oligodendrocytes, the myelin making cells of the central nervous system, function in the context of inflammation and aging. The main interest of the lab is identification of the mechanisms that promote remyelination and repair in MS, both in relapse and progressive forms of disease.
Yinan Zhang, MD

Yinan Zhang, MD

Assistant Professor

Dr. Zhang's studies focus on aging in MS with the goal to improve care for patients taking into consideration a person’s unique biology of aging. He seeks to determine mechanisms of biological aging in people with MS and their associations with disease outcomes. He is also interested in ways to distinguish age-related changes from MS-related disease progression in older adults with MS.

Clinical Trials

To review currently available studies, click here.

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