The Henry McFarland NAIMS Workshop 2025

Spinal Cord in MS

February 26, 2025
Hilton West Palm Beach
West Palm Beach, Florida

The Henry McFarland NAIMS Workshop 2025 will be taking place Wednesday, February 26 from 8:30 am - 6:30 pm at the Hilton West Palm Beach in West Palm Beach, Florida. The workshop will be held ahead of the ACTRIMS Forum 2025, being held February 27 - March 1 at the Palm Beach County Convention Center and Hilton West Palm Beach.

This workshop is dedicated to exploring the role of the spinal cord in MS. It will provide a comprehensive review of the clinical impact, pathology, and pathophysiology of spinal cord involvement in MS. Participants will gain insights into advanced MRI techniques, including the latest developments in processing pipelines and analysis methods tailored for spinal cord imaging. Additionally, the workshop will discuss the use of spinal cord atrophy as a biomarker, offering a deeper understanding of its potential to monitor disease progression and evaluate therapeutic interventions in MS.

Registration Fees
Delegate: professional employed by academic institution, hospital, government agency, or non-profit organization. $100
Young Investigator: student/trainee OR professional who has obtained an advanced degree (M.D. or Ph.D.) within seven years (2017 or later) of the time of the Forum. Proof is required. $50
Industry Representative: Professional who holds a non-research position and is employed by a pharmaceutical company or commercial entity. $150

Accommodations

For attendees of the Henry McFarland NAIMS Workshop 2025, which is held in conjunction with the ACTRIMS Forum 2025 , accommodations are available at various hotels in the area. To book a hotel room, NAIMS attendees can click here.

Please visit the ACTRIMS Forum 2025 Travel page for more information.

2025 Workshop Planning Committee

  • Govind Nair

  • Mark Keegan

  • Ceren Tozlu

  • Irene Vavasour

  • Atlee Witt

  • Dinesh Sivakolundu 

8:30 - 8:45 am Welcome & Workshop Goals
8:45 - 9:55 am Session 1: Clinical Impact
Moderator: Jiwon Oh
8:45 - 9:05 am Spinal Cord Lesions in People with MS: Imaging Features, Diagnosis and Clinical Presentation
Anne Kerbrat (CHU Rennes)
9:05 - 9:25 am Spinal Cord Lesions in People with MS: Clinical Consequences and Future Goals
Mark Keegan (Mayo)
9:25 - 9:55 am Panel Discussion
9:55 - 10:10 am Break
10:10 - 11:20 am Session 2: Pathology
Moderator: Govind Nair
10:10 - 10:30 am Pathological Findings in the Spinal Cord of MS
Gabe DeLuca (Oxford)
10:30 - 10:50 am Lessons from Postmortem MRI of Spinal Cord in MS
Corree Laule (UBC)
10:50 - 11:20 am Panel Discussion
11:20 - 11:35 am Break
11:35 - 12:45 pm Session 3: Advanced MRI
Moderators: Seth Smith & Ceren Tozlu
11:35 - 11:55 am Don’t Be Held Back, Tap into Advanced Spinal Cord Imaging
Shannon Kolind (UBC)
11:55 - 12:15 pm Clinical Application of Advanced Imaging in the Spinal Cord in MS
Eric Klawiter (MGH/Harvard)
12:15 - 12:45 pm Panel Discussion
12:45 - 1:30 pm Lunch
1:30 - 2:40 pm Session 4: Processing Pipelines/Methods
Moderator: Kristin O’Grady
1:30 - 1:50 pm Reproducible Analysis of Spinal Cord MRI data
Julien Cohen-Adad (Ecole Polytechnique de Montreal)
1:50 - 2:10 pm Advances in Quantitative MRI Analysis of the Spinal Cord
Kurt Schilling (Vanderbilt)
2:10 - 2:40 pm Panel Discussion
2:40 - 2:55 pm Break
2:55 - 4:05 pm Session 5: Atrophy
Moderator: Irene Vavasour
2:55 - 3:15 pm Spinal Cord Atrophy and Progressive Biology
Roland Henry (UCSF)
3:15 - 3:35 pm Spinal Cord Atrophy in Early MS – Relationship to Lesions
Cristina Granziera (Basel)
3:35 - 4:05 pm Panel Discussion
4:05 - 4:35 pm Poster Previews
Moderators: Atlee Witt & Dinesh Sivakolundu
4:35 - 5:30 pm Workshop wrap up, final discussion, general member meeting
5:30 - 6:30 pm Reception & Poster Session

If you’re interested in sponsorship opportunities, please refer to our sponsorship prospectus for more information.

  • Roland Henry

  • Corree Laule

  • Kristin O'Grady

  • Julien Cohen-Adad

  • Jiwon Oh

  • Seth Smith

Our Partners

Program Schedule

The Henry McFarland NAIMS Workshop 2025 will take place Wednesday, February 26, 2025. All times are listed in Eastern Standard Time (EST). This schedule is subject to change.