4.5 (28)
The 2020 Barancik Prize for Innovation in MS Research has been awarded to neuroscientist Dwight E. Bergles, PhD, a Johns Hopkins University professor, for his work in understanding the function of brain cells in multiple sclerosis (MS).
This international prize awards $100,000 to the recipient.
Administered by the National MS Society, the prize seeks to “recognize and encourage exceptional innovation and originality in scientific research” into the causes and potential treatments for multiple sclerosis.
Myelin, the fat-rich substance that wraps around nerve fibers (axons), works to insulate and increase the velocity of signals relayed by nerve cells. Myelin loss is the underlying cause of diseases like MS.
E-Mail
IMAGE: Dwight E. Bergles, Ph.D., a leading neuroscientist at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, is the winner of the 2020 Barancik Prize for Innovation in MS Research. Bergles has pioneered. view more
Credit: Courtesy Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
NEW YORK, February 18, 2021 Dwight E. Bergles, Ph.D., a leading neuroscientist at The Solomon H. Snyder Department of Neuroscience and the Kavli Neuroscience Discovery Institute at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, is the winner of the 2020 Barancik Prize for Innovation in MS Research.
Bergles has pioneered the study of immature cells in the brain that can regenerate myelin-making cells after myelin is destroyed in MS. These cells, oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPCs), hold the key to finding ways to promote myelin repair and restore function for people living with multiple sclerosis.