NIH Researcher Working on MS Imaging Wins 2016 Barancik Prize for Innovation

Patricia Silva, PhD avatar

by Patricia Silva, PhD |

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MS imaging

Dr. Daniel Reich, a researcher with the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Ā has beenĀ recognized for his pioneering work on brain imagingĀ to advance both the treatment of people withĀ multiple sclerosis (MS)Ā and scientific understanding of the disease.

Reich, aĀ neurologist, neuro-radiologist and neuroscientist,Ā was awarded theĀ 2016 Barancik Prize for Innovation in MS ResearchĀ by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. TheĀ honorĀ recognizes exceptional research ofĀ relevance to MS, with an emphasis on work with aĀ potential Ā to lead to better treatments and a cure.

Daniel Reich

Dr. Daniel Reich. (Credit: National Institutes of Health)

“I work on multiple sclerosis, and I do that by using MRI [magnetic resonance imaging] machines to take pictures of the brain, and the spinal cord,” Reich,Ā director of the Translational Neuroradiology Section of the Division of Neuro-immunology and Neurovirology of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), said in a SocietyĀ press release. “That’s opened new doors into understanding how we might treat it, and prevent the disease.”

Working with MS patients, Reich and his research team have developed and analyzed an imaging approach that can detect inflammation in the meninges, the tissue layer that surrounds the brain.

ThisĀ work has led to several significant observations, the MS society said in its release, including evidence of two major patterns of lesion evolution that can help determineĀ the ultimate degree of tissue damage or recovery in patients. The approach is being consideredĀ for clinical trials that will evaluateĀ MS therapies focused on myelin repair.

“Dr. Reich’s novel approaches to imaging disease activity in people with multiple sclerosis are creating new pathways to better treatments,” saidĀ Timothy Coetzee, the National MS Societyā€™s chief advocacy, services and research officer.

“Winning the Barancik Prize means a lot to me as a researcher,” Reich said. ā€œI’m really thrilled the committee found our work interesting, promising, and innovative.”

The Barancik Prize, made possible through the Charles and Margery Barancik SO Foundation and administered by the society, accepts applications worldwide from investigators active in MS research, from any institution or organization, public, private, governmental or non-governmental.