Real World Treatment of Multiple Sclerosis (MS)

Robert Bermel, MD is staff neurologist and medical director of the Mellen Center for Multiple Sclerosis at Cleveland Clinic. He received a medical degree with thesis honors from the State University of New York at Buffalo, where his interest in multiple sclerosis began while training under Dr. Lawrence Jacobs. Dr. Bermel completed neurology residency training and served as chief resident at Cleveland Clinic. He was funded as a National MS Society postdoctoral fellow in clinical neuroimmunology and advanced imaging at Cleveland Clinic.
 
Dr. Bermel cares for patients, conducts imaging research, and participates in clinical trials at the Mellen Center. His current research interests focus on the identification of advanced imaging methods to evaluate and improve recovery from inflammatory demyelinating disease. Specifically, he is utilizing techniques, such as optical coherence tomography (OCT), diffusion tensor imaging MRI (DTI), and functional MRI (fMRI). In collaboration with Cleveland Clinic ophthalmology, Dr. Bermel directs the digital OCT reading center (DOCTR), a regulatory-compliant central reading center for neurology trials using OCT as an outcome measure. He is currently principal investigator on a research grant funded by the National MS Society, and a co-investigator on multiple clinical trials. Dr. Bermel has published in multiple peer-reviewed journals including Neurology, Annals of Neurology, Archives of Neurology, Lancet Neurology, Journal of Neuroimaging, and others. In 2012, Dr. Bermel organized the first multinational meeting on disease free status as a clinical goal in MS. He is a member of the annual meeting program committee for the American Society of Neuroimaging, the fellowship grant review committee of the National MS Society, and serves as an ad hoc reviewer for multiple scholarly journals. He regularly presents his ongoing work at international conferences.

Patricia K. Coyle, MD, FAAN, is professor and vice chair (clinical affairs) of neurology, and director of the Multiple Sclerosis Comprehensive Care Center at the Stony Brook University Medical Center in Stony Brook, NY. She received a BS with highest honors from Fordham University in the Bronx, NY, and an MD from The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, where she was elected to Alpha Omega Alpha. While at the Johns Hopkins, she completed a residency and chief residency in neurology, followed by a 2-year fellowship in neuroimmunology and neurovirology. She then went on to establish a successful research laboratory and build a busy clinical practice at the Stony Brook University Medical Center.
 
Dr. Coyle is the author of numerous articles on clinical and basic research aspects of multiple sclerosis and neurologic infections and is recognized as a leading expert in the field. Her areas of expertise include Lyme disease and neurologic infections, cerebrospinal fluid, therapeutics, and neuroimmunology. Her research has been supported by the National Institutes of Health and other organizations. She is currently involved in a number of therapeutic trials testing new immunotherapies for MS, as well as studies addressing neurologic aspects of Lyme disease. In addition to her busy clinical and research careers, she has held active leadership positions in a number of national and international organizations and academic societies, including the American Academy of Neurology, American Neurological Association, National MS Society, and the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. She lectures widely on MS and neurologic infections to national and international audiences.

Megan Weigel, DNP, ARNP-c, MSCN is an advanced registered nurse practitioner who has been practicing neurology for 13 years and has been a Multiple Sclerosis Certified Nurse (MSCN) for 8 years. She currently works at Baptist Neurology, Beaches Division, where she specializes in the care of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). She received her Doctor of Nursing Practice degree from the University of Florida in 2009, with a research focus on preventive health care in patients with MS. Dr. Weigel was chosen as one of Jacksonville’s “40 Under 40” by the Jacksonville Business Journal in 2010, and received an Outstanding Young Alumnus award from the University of Florida in 2010. She served 2 terms on the Board of Directors for the International Organization of MS Nurses. She is a member of the North Florida chapter of the National MS Society’s Clinical Advisory Committee, acts as their research advocate, and is an active fundraiser. Dr. Weigel speaks nationally to patients and health care providers on topics related to the care of people living with MS. As a registered yoga teacher, she is the cofounder of OMS Yoga, a program that has brought free yoga to people living with MS in the Jacksonville area.