New leadership for MSIF’s International Medical and Scientific Expert Group

MSIF is delighted to welcome a new Chair and Deputy Chair to its International Medical and Scientific Expert Group (IMSEG). Professor Andrew Solomon from the USA and Dr Shanthi Viswanathan from Malaysia will start their roles in September 2026.

Professor Andrew Solomon, the new Chair of the IMSEG and Dr Shanthi Viswanathan, the new Deputy Chair.

Professor Solomon and Dr Viswanathan will be taking over from Professor Brenda Banwell and Professor Jorge Correale, our current Chair and Deputy Chair, who were appointed in 2019. During their leadership of the IMSEG they have:

• Advised on the growth of MSIF’s work in access to healthcare including our two applications to the WHO Essential Medicines List.
• Steered us through the Covid-19 pandemic and its impact on people with MS, providing essential guidance for the global MS community.
• Reviewed hundreds of funding applications from early career researchers as part of our Du Pré and McDonald Fellowship grant schemes.
• Collaborated with international colleagues on analysing and publicising data from the Atlas of MS.
• Represented MSIF and the needs of the MS community around the world within other international collaborations, including the International Progressive MS Alliance and the International Advisory Committee for Clinical Trials.

Professor Brenda Banwell, past-Chair of the IMSEG and Professor Jorge Correale, past-Deputy Chair.

We are grateful to Professor Banwell and Professor Correale for giving up their time and expertise to support MSIF’s work for so many years. They have agreed to stay as past-Chairs of the IMSEG to help with the transition and continue contributing their valuable expertise to MSIF.

“I want to thank Brenda and Jorge on a personal level. As Head of Research and Access, I couldn’t do my job without them. They have made themselves available when needed, leading panel and committee meetings, and offering their insight and wisdom to help us make the best decisions for people with MS across the world.” Anne Helme, Head of Research and Access, MSIF

Professor Andrew Solomon is Professor of Neurology at the University of Vermont in the USA, and is a global expert on MS diagnosis. He led the consensus process for updating guidance on the differential diagnosis of MS, and also played a major role in the 2024 update of the McDonald diagnostic criteria, with a focus on how the criteria can be implemented in different global contexts. MSIF has worked closely with Professor Solomon since 2021 on analysing and publishing data from the Atlas of MS, resulting in two major publications:

• Global Barriers to the Diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis: Data From the Multiple Sclerosis International Federation Atlas of MS, Third Edition
• Global Access to Diagnostic Paraclinical Testing Incorporated in the 2024 Revised McDonald Criteria: Disparities and Opportunity

Dr Shanthi Viswanathan is a Consultant Neurologist and Head of the Department of Neurology at the Tunku Abdul Rahman Neuroscience Institute, Kuala Lumpur Hospital, Malaysia. She is recognised for her work in Clinical Neuroimmunology within Southeast Asia, collaborating with MS neurologists across the region. MSIF has worked with Dr Viswanathan for many years. She has advised the Atlas of MS, bringing a crucial perspective on the impact of changes to scientific and clinical consensus in lower-resource settings. She also had a major role as clinical co-Chair of MSIF’s Off-Label Taskforce, the recommendations from which formed part of our application to the WHO Essential Medicines List:

• Disease-modifying therapies enter the World Health Organization Essential Medicines List: A victory now requiring a roadmap of implementation
• Recommendations for the use of off-label rituximab for the treatment of multiple sclerosis in low-resource settings

We are delighted that Professor Solomon and Dr Viswanathan have agreed to be a part of MSIF’s scientific and clinical community, advising our work in global research and access to healthcare, and we look forward to the next chapter of collaboration.