Presentation – Update on current understanding of MS Pathology

WOLFGANG BRÜCK
Wolfgang Brück has been Professor of Neuropathology and Director of the Department of Neuropathology at the University MedicalCentre Göttingen, Germany, since 2002. In recent years he has also served as Dean of Research and Infrastructure in the Faculty of Medicine at Georg-August-University Göttingen. He received his medical degree from Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Germany, and attained his habilitation and venia legendi for neuropathology from Georg-August University Göttingen. Wolfgang Brück’s research focuses on the immunopathology of multiple sclerosis (MS), in particular on mechanisms of degeneration (myelin, oligodendrocytes, axons neurons) and remyelination in MS lesions. One of the major results of his studies is the definition of different immunopathological subtypes of multiple sclerosis.

In recent years, pediatric MS became a focus of his work. The studies in human tissue are paralled by experimental studies in animal models of MS including autoimmune models in rodents and non-human primates as well as models of toxic demyelination/remyelination. Throughout his career, Professor Brück has been actively involved with numerous neurological and neuropathological societies and committees. He is also on the Scientific Advisory Board of the Cambridge Centre for Myelin Repair, University of Cambridge, UK, the Edinburgh Centre for Translational Research, UK, and The Myelin Project. Professor Brück has received various awards for his contributions to research in MS, including the Langheinrich Award for Multiple Sclerosis Research (2000), the Hans Heinrich Georg Queckenstedt Award for Multiple Sclerosis Research (2002), the HG Mertens Prize for Innovative Research in Neurology (2008), and the Kohn Memorial Lecture Prize from the British Society of Toxicological Pathology (2011). He has also authored numerous papers published in peer-reviewed journals, and is an editorial board member and regular reviewer for several scientific journals.

JACK VAN HORSSEN
Throughout his scientific career Jack van Horssen has been interested in understanding the pathogenetic basis of neurodegenerative disorders. He obtained his PhD at the Radboud University Nijmegen in 2005 on the expression and role of heparan sulphate proteoglycans in Alzheimer’s disease in the group of Prof. dr. D. Ruiter, Dr. R de Waal and Dr. M. Verbeek. Thereafter, he started as a postdoctoral scientist in the group of Prof. dr. H.E. de Vries working on extracellular matrix alterations in MS brain tissue. In 2010 he received the MS Fellowship that allowed him to continue his scientific work on the identification of molecular pathways underlying impaired mitochondrial metabolism and reactive oxygen species production in MS and to examine the potential of antioxidant and mitochondrial protection to counteract oxidative stress and improve mitochondrial function.

Jack van Horssen is currently appointed as an associate professor at the Department of Molecular Cell Biology and Immunology and a visiting professor at the University of Hasselt, Belgium. He has a strong teaching profile and is intimately involved in the bachelor program of the study of Medicine.