Manuel A. Friese studied medicine at the Universities of Hamburg, Oxford and University College London and received his MD in 2001. He completed his neurology training at the Universities of Tübingen and Hamburg. After his postdoctoral training at the University of Oxford from 2004––2008, he started his laboratory as an Emmy Noether research fellow of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft at the University of Hamburg. Since 2013 he has been consultant neurologist and Professor of Neuroimmunology at the University of Hamburg and since 2014 director of the INIMS. His laboratory focuses on inflammatory and neurodegenerative aspects of neuroimmunological and neuroinfectious diseases.

Stefan Gold studied psychology in Giessen and Hamburg and received his PhD from the University of Hamburg in 2003. He completed postdoctoral training in neuroimaging at New York University (NYU) and in neuroimmunology at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA). Stefan is a research group leader at the INIMS and Heisenberg Professor of Neuropsychiatry at Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin. He is interested in neuro-endocrine-immune regulation and its role in the pathogenesis of autoimmune and psychiatric disorders. His lab employs techniques from molecular biology, immunology, endocrinology, neuroimaging, and neuropsychology to study biological mechanisms of disease progression and neuropsychiatric symptoms in MS and other chronic disorders.

Christoph Heesen studied medicine at the Universities of Marburg and Kiel and received his MD in 1993. He completed his neurology training at the General Hospital in Bremen –Ost and the Univeristy Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf. Since 1995 he is head of the MS outpatient unit and since 2004, he has been consultant neurologist. He was deputy director of the Institute of Neuroimmunology and Clinical MS Research (INIMS) from 2006–2010. In 2017 he became an endowed professor of clinical and rehabilitative MS research at the INIMS. His research focusses on behavioural interventions and strategies to enhance patient autonomy with a special interest in Ehealth interventions.

Jan-Patrick Stellmann studied medicine at the Universities of Düsseldorf and Hamburg and completed his neurology training in 2009. In 2010 he joined the INIMS as a clinical research fellow. He earned his MD at the University of Hamburg in 2011 and performed a post-doctoral training at the University of Marseille from 2016–2017. His research activities include imaging outcomes (OCT and MRI), cohort studies (MS and NMOSD) as well as ecological valid measurements of mobility and vision. A special focus is the development of functional and structural brain connectivity as read-out for neurodegeneration and neuroplasticity.

Anne Willing studied biology and biomedical sciences at the University of Münster and the transnational University Limburg based in Maastricht (Netherlands) and Hasselt (Belgium). From 2009 to 2013 she completed her PhD study characterizing IL-17 producing CD8+ T cells in multiple sclerosis at the INIMS. Her main research focus as postdoctoral scientist is T cell and particularly MAIT cell biology in the context of immunological pathomechanisms of multiple sclerosis. In addition, she is coordinating co-operative research projects, biobanking activities, flow cytometry devices, training of technical assistant apprentices and scientific outreach activities at the INIMS.

As administrative assistant of the MS Outpatient Clinic, Marile Miara supports the clinical team realising clinical research projects, e.g. registration at ethical review committees and contracts. Accordingly, she organises correspondence and meetings and assists in all administrative aspects regarding personnel, clinical case management, financial and purchase matters.

As administrative assistant, Bärbel Müller supports the director and researchers of the INIMS in realising their research and clinical projects. In accordance she organises correspondence and meetings and assists in all administrative aspects regarding personnel, financial and purchase matters.

Manuel A. Friese studied medicine at the Universities of Hamburg, Oxford and University College London and received his MD in 2001. He completed his neurology training at the Universities of Tübingen and Hamburg. After his postdoctoral training at the University of Oxford from 2004––2008, he started his laboratory as an Emmy Noether research fellow of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft at the University of Hamburg. Since 2013 he has been consultant neurologist and Professor of Neuroimmunology at the University of Hamburg and since 2014 director of the INIMS. His laboratory focuses on inflammatory and neurodegenerative aspects of neuroimmunological and neuroinfectious diseases.

Anne Willing studied biology and biomedical sciences at the University of Münster and the transnational University Limburg based in Maastricht (Netherlands) and Hasselt (Belgium). From 2009 to 2013 she completed her PhD study characterizing IL-17 producing CD8+ T cells in multiple sclerosis at the INIMS. Her main research focus as postdoctoral scientist is T cell and particularly MAIT cell biology in the context of immunological pathomechanisms of multiple sclerosis. In addition, she is coordinating co-operative research projects, biobanking activities, flow cytometry devices, training of technical assistant apprentices and scientific outreach activities at the INIMS.

As administrative assistant, Bärbel Müller supports the director and researchers of the INIMS in realising their research and clinical projects. In accordance she organises correspondence and meetings and assists in all administrative aspects regarding personnel, financial and purchase matters.

Lars Binkle studied biology at the Freie Universität Berlin. For his PhD he joined the Institute for Molecular and Cellular Cognition (IMCC) at the Center for Molecular Neurobiology Hamburg (ZMNH) and received his PhD (Dr. rer. nat.) in 2010. In 2011 he became a postdoctoral fellow at the IMCC studying the molecular function of the immediate early gene Arc/Arg3.1, a master regulator of synaptic plasticity and cognition. In 2017 he became a postdoctoral fellow at the INIMS. His main research focus is the TRPM4 CAN channel and its protective function in neurodegeneration. In cooperation with biotech companies, he advances the development of TRMP4 inhibiting drugs that can be used in the treatment of multiple sclerosis.

Jan Broder Engler studied medicine at the Charité University Medical Center Berlin and the University of Córdoba, Spain. For his MD he joined the Group of Cell Autoimmunity at the German Rheumatism Research Centre Berlin (DRFZ) and received his MD in 2010. In 2011 he became a postdoctoral fellow at the INIMS where he completed his PhD of Human Biology in 2015. His main research focus is tolerance to cellular autoimmunity, currently investigating the mechanisms of pregnancy-induced tolerance in an animal model of multiple sclerosis. More recently, he gets increasingly involved in systems biology approaches, using RNA-seq to identify pathways that dictate neuronal survival or demise when confronted with chronic inflammation.

Alexandros Hadjilaou studied medicine at the University of Leipzig. From 2012 to 2014 he worked on the immunology of the dengue fever at the Virology Department of the University of Leipzig and of the University of California, Berkeley (UCB) under the supervision of Christian Jassoy and Eva Harris respectively. His work, which culminated in his MD thesis in 2017, focused on developing the Quad-Color FluoroSpot (QCF) to characterise the antibody repertoire of B cells generated following a dengue virus (DENV) infection. Driven by the fascinating and captivating complexity of neurological diseases, which interests him to the same extent as infectious diseases, he is currently pursuing his residency in clinical neurology at the Department of Neurology at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE). To merge his interests in clinical medicine and biomedical research, he works as a postdoctoral scientist at the INIMS and enrols in the MD/PhD programme. In his PhD thesis, he aims to broaden our understanding of the role of the brains endothelium in the pathogenesis of cerebral malaria. He is also interested in the pathogenesis, diagnosis and treatment of meningoencephalitides of infectious or unknown origin.

Inbal studied Biotechnology and Food Engineering at the Technion in Haifa (Israel) and completed her master’s degree in cell biology at the faculty of biology at the Technion in 2012. Following that, Inbal started her PhD studies at the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine in Berlin, where she investigated structural determinants and regulators that govern the proteolytic fate of the NF-κB precursors p100 and p105. Subsequent to the completion of her PhD in 2018, Inbal joined INIMS as a postdoctoral researcher. Her main research focus is neuronal aggresome formation as driver of neurodegeneration in multiple sclerosis.

Max Kaufmann studied medicine at the RWTH Aachen University and at the University College London. In 2015 he completed his MD on the role of ADP-ribosylation during cell division at the Institute for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (Aachen). At the beginning of 2016 he began his residency at the Department of Neurology at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE). Since January 2017 he works as a postdoctoral scientist at the INIMS and enrolls in the MD/PhD programme. He currently focuses on a systems biology approach towards questions concerning the deregulation of immune cells in multiple sclerosis and the identification of resilience factors of neurons confronted with inflammation. He is also interested in the pathogenesis, diagnosis and treatment of autoimmune encephalitides such as anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis. He actively contributes to the German Network for Research on Autoimmune Encephalitis (GENERATE).

Christina Mayer obtained her medical degree from the University of Heidelberg and trained at Karolinska Institute in Stockholm and University College London. Fascinated by the fine-tuned interplay between immune cells and neurons, she carried out her MD thesis in the Department of Neurology in Heidelberg investigating neurodegenerative alterations in retinal ganglion cells during onset of autoimmune optic neuritis in an animal model of Multiple Sclerosis. She started her residency in the Department of Neurology at the University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf in 2019. Since the beginning of 2020, she works as a postdoctoral scientist at the INIMS and enrols in the Clinician-Scientist in Multiple Sclerosis research programme. Her research will focus on cell-type specific susceptibility for inflammation-induced neurodegeneration using the retina as a model system with good in vivo accessibility.

Sina C. Rosenkranz studied medicine at the Universities of Hamburg, Berlin, Zürich, Pretoria and Campeche and started her residency in 2012 at the Department of Neurology at the University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf by focussing on Neuroimmunology. After completing her MD thesis at the Institute of Neuropathology on Alzheimer’s disease she has now enrolled in the MD/PhD programme. Her PhD thesis at the INIMS focuses on the role of mitochondria alterations during Multiple Sclerosis and the molecular basis of neuroprotective behavioural interventions, such as exercise and hypoxia.

Benjamin Schattling studied biology in Bochum and Rio de Janeiro as well as molecular biology in Hamburg. He obtained his MSc from the Ruhr-University Bochum in 2008 and his PhD from the University of Hamburg in 2012. Ben is currently a postdoctoral researcher at the INIMS, where he investigates cellular mechanisms of neuronal injury and repair.

Charlotte Schubert studied medicine at the Universities of Freiburg im Breisgau, Marseille and Paris. Fascinated by the complexity of neurobiology she carried out her thesis on neuroplasticity through 2-Photon long-term in vivo imaging in a model of epilepsy. In 2017 she started her residency at the Department of Neurology at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE) with a wide clinical interest in neuroimmunology, neurodegeneration and epilepsy. In 2018 she became a research fellow at the INIMS and joined the Collaborative Research Center “Adenine Nucleotides in Immunity and Inflammation” (CRC 1328). Her research focuses on pathophysiological mechanisms that drive inflammation-induced neurodegeneration in the experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) and Multiple Sclerosis in particular in the olfactory bulb and investigates possible neuroprotective treatment strategies via purinergic signaling.

Jana Sonner studied Molecular Biotechnology at the University of Heidelberg until 2014 and completed her PhD studies in 2017. From 2014 to 2019 she worked in the Clinical Cooperation Unit Neuroimmunology and Brain Tumor Immunology at the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) in Heidelberg, where she dissected the role of tryptophan metabolism in regulation immune responses in experimental models of multiple sclerosis, glioma and melanoma. In March 2019 she joined the INIMS as a postdoctoral scientist and is now working on the role of MAIT cells and classical auto-reactive T cells in CNS neuroinflammation with a special focus on the gut-brain axis. In addition, she is interested in identifying novel potential targets for MS therapy using systems biology approaches.

Friederike C. Ufer graduated from medical school at Charité-Berlin in 2008 and holds a diploma in Business, Economics and Philosophy from Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and Freie Universität Berlin. She received her MD in the area of neuroendocrinology from Charité-Berlin and started her clinical training in the Department of Neurology at the Universitätsklinikum Hamburg-Eppendorf in 2009. Her clinical interests lie in the field of neuroimmunology and neuroinfectiology. Friederike joined the INIMS in 2010 and her research interest focuses on exploring the role of dendritic cells and T cells in the context of immunology and neuroinflammation.

Nicola Rothammer studied Biology at the University Regensburg and received her master degree in neural, developmental and human biology in 2016. She started her PhD at the INIMS in 2017 and is investigating the role of epigenetic changes induced by inflammatory neurodegeneration.

Artem Shaposhnykov studied Medical Radiophysics at the Taras Shevchenko Kyiv University, Ukraine, and completed his master degree in nanobiophysics at the Dresden Technical University. He started his PhD at the INIMS in 2016 with the research topic "Calcium homeostasis by store-operated calcium entry in inflammatory neurodegeneration".

Mark Walkenhorst studied Bioscience at the Westfälische Wilhelms-University Münster and received his masters degree in 2015. He started his PhD at the INIMS in 2016 and is characterizing MAIT cells and classical CD8 + T cells in the animal model of multiple sclerosis.

Iris Winkler studied Biology in Wuppertal and Bochum and received her MSc in Neurobiology at the Ruhr-University Bochum in 2014. She started her PhD at the INIMS in 2015 to investigate the role of regulatory miRNAs during maladaptive changes in inflammation-induced neurodegeneration.

Ingo Winschel studied pharmacy at the Westfälische Wilhelms-University Münster and started his PhD at the INIMS in 2017. He is part of a research project funded by the Landesforschungsförderung Hamburg focusing on the sexual dimorphism in the immune system. For his PhD thesis he is investigating sex-specific differences of MAIT cells and DCs as well as their role in the pathogenesis of MS.

Lukas Bal is currently studying medicine at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE). He started his MD thesis at the INIMS in October 2018 and will investigate the role of neuronal microRNA-155 in inflammation-induced neurodegeneration.

Helena Lichtenfeld is currently studying medicine at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE). She started her MD thesis at the INIMS in October 2019 and will investigate the influence of exercise on neuroprotection.

Elena Luu is currently studying medicine at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE). She started her MD at the INIMS in October 2017 and will investigate the role of classical CD8+ T-cells in the animal model of multiple sclerosis.

Lukas Raich is currently studying medicine at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE). He started his MD thesis at the INIMS in October 2018 and will investigate the influence of exercise on neuroprotection.

Lisa Unger completed her pharmacy studies at the Technical University of Braunschweig in 2016 and is now getting her master degree in biology at the University of Hamburg. She started her master thesis at the INIMS in September 2019 and will be combining recent advances in CRISPR-Cas technology and cell viability assays to screen for candidate genes mediating neuronal resilience.

Marcel Seungsu Woo is currently studying medicine at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE) and will complete his thesis at the INIMS, where he will primarily investigate glutamate cytotoxicity in neurodegeneration and potential modulations by metabotropic glutamate receptors.

Simone Bauer has been working in the INIMS lab since 2011 as a technical assistant, where she is involved in several neurobiological and immunological projects. Besides genotyping and lab organization she is trained in the preparation of immune cells from different tissues including the inflamed CNS, isolation and culture of bone marrow derived dendritic cells, setup of stainings for flow cytometry and various primary cell culture systems.

Nina Kursawe joined the INIMS in 2011 as a technical assistant in the Friese lab, and since she is involved in different neurobiological and immunological projects. Besides lab organization and mouse preparations, such as ZNS, lymph nodes or spleen preparations, her main area of expertise comprises flow cytometry including cell sorting as well as processing of human blood samples. Furthermore, she is responsible for the organisation and database of the internal biobank.

Stefanie Reinhardt has been working in the INIMS laboratory since 2007 as a technical assistant. Furthermore, she is a trained study nurse involved in Investigator Initiated Trials conducted by the multiple sclerosis outpatient clinic, i.e. investigating therapeutic effects of autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation or boswellia serrata in multiple sclerosis.

Simone Träger studied Biochemistry at Ruhr-Universität Bochum with deepening in Neurosciences and worked while her studies at the Department of Neurophysiology, in the investigation of place cells. After her B.Sc. in 2014, she joined the INIMS as Research Technician. Since then she is working in the TRPM4-project, which aims to find an inhibiting drug for a protective function. Her main tasks are primary neuronal cell cultures, toxicity assays, IHC & ICC and confocal microscopy. She supports scientists in different neurobiological projects.

Vanessa Vieira completed her master degree in Biochemistry at the University of Lisbon. She joined the INIMS in 2017 as a Research Technician applying a variety of methods in the context of neurobiological and immunological projects as well as carrying out general laboratory work. Apart from that she is also responsible for the organization and processing of human blood samples in the outpatient clinic.

Emily Furnari is currently our trainee for office management and supports Bärbel Müller in all administrative tasks such as human resources, accounting and events.

Stefan Gold studied psychology in Giessen and Hamburg and received his PhD from the University of Hamburg in 2003. He completed postdoctoral training in neuroimaging at New York University (NYU) and in neuroimmunology at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA). Stefan is a research group leader at the INIMS and Heisenberg Professor of Neuropsychiatry at Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin. He is interested in neuro-endocrine-immune regulation and its role in the pathogenesis of autoimmune and psychiatric disorders. His lab employs techniques from molecular biology, immunology, endocrinology, neuroimaging, and neuropsychology to study biological mechanisms of disease progression and neuropsychiatric symptoms in MS and other chronic disorders.

Caren Ramien completed her Bachelor studies of Cognitive Science at the University of Osnabrück and proceeded to study Medical Neuroscience at Charité Berlin where she received her Master’s degree in 2014. Her research interests are neuro- and psychoimmunology. Her current PhD project focuses on the role of altered T cell function in multiple sclerosis patients with co-morbid depression. She is also involved in projects exploring the modulation of immune function during pregnancy in MS.

Christoph Heesen studied medicine at the Universities of Marburg and Kiel and received his MD in 1993. He completed his neurology training at the General Hospital in Bremen –Ost and the Univeristy Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf. Since 1995 he is head of the MS outpatient unit and since 2004, he has been consultant neurologist. He was deputy director of the Institute of Neuroimmunology and Clinical MS Research (INIMS) from 2006–2010. In 2017 he became an endowed professor of clinical and rehabilitative MS research at the INIMS. His research focusses on behavioural interventions and strategies to enhance patient autonomy with a special interest in Ehealth interventions.

As administrative assistant of the MS Outpatient Clinic, Marile Miara supports the clinical team realising clinical research projects, e.g. registration at ethical review committees and contracts. Accordingly, she organises correspondence and meetings and assists in all administrative aspects regarding personnel, clinical case management, financial and purchase matters.

Said Farschtschi graduated from the Medical School of the Technical University Munich in 2011 and received his MD working in the experimental cardiology department of the Germen Heart Center Munich. From 2012 to 2019 he completed his neurology training at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf. Since 2012 he works as a research fellow in the Phakomatoses Research Center Hamburg and focuses on clinical research on pain, imaging and neuropathy especially in neurogenetic disorders. In 2017 he became chairman of the german lay organisation Bundesverband Neurofibromatose. Since 2020 he is working at the Multiple Sclerosis Outpatient unit and is interested in crosslinking research fields of neurogenetic and neuroinflammatory diseases with neurophysiological and imaging methods.

Thomas Lehnert studied sociology at the University of Leipzig and received his diploma in 2008. From 2009 till 2017 he worked as a research assistant at the Department of Health Economics and Health Services Research, which is part of the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE), where he completed research projects on obesity and long-term care. He received his PhD on „Health economic aspects of overweight and obesity“ from the University of Leipzig in 2015. His research interest centers on evidence-based treatment and quality of life in MS.

Jana Pöttgen studied psychology at the University of Hamburg and received her diploma in 2009. Since 2006 she is engaged in neuropsychological assessments and neuropsychiatric research in multiple sclerosis at the MS Day Hospital and INIMS. She is interested in cognitive behavioral interventions in multiple sclerosis and the development and validation of neuropsychiatric outcome parameter. She received her PhD on “Metacognitive and allday live relevant training for people with MS – Development and pilot study of a cognitive program to treat neuropsychiatric impairment in MS”. She currently develops training programs to treat specific neuropsychiatric impairment in multiple sclerosis (e.g. depression, fatigue, social cognition), and is involved in the development and research of online treatment of neuropsychiatric domains in multiple sclerosis as depression but also of fatigue.

Dr. Anne Rahn trained as a nurse until 2004 and studied health sciences, education and history at the Universities of Hamburg and York (MSc in Health Sciences). From 2013 till 2017, she realised her PhD project at the INIMS and the Unit of Health Sciences and Education (University of Hamburg) in the conduction of a trial on decision coaching on immunotherapies in MS. She also participated in the „European Academy of Nursing Science“ (EANS) summer school for doctoral studies. Her main research interests are evidence based patient information and decision coaching. Further areas of interest are the conduction of systematic reviews and mixed methods research.

Karin Riemann-Lorenz studied nutritional sciences in Gießen and Mönchengladbach and got her diploma in 1991. Since then she has been working as a freelance nutritionist, in adult education and a nutrition expert for a consumer organization. Alongside her profession, she has completed master´s degrees in Adult Education and Public Health. Since 2016, she has been a member of the ‘Heesen Group’ at the INIMS. Her research interests are: To assess the evidence of lifestyle (diet and physical activity) on MS disease course; to develop evidence-based patient information on these topics; to promote health literacy in general; to find out what works to facilitate behaviour change. In her PhD project she is looking at barriers and facilitators of long-term physical activity in MS patients.

Insa Schiffmann studied Medicine at the University of Freiburg and Sevilla and started her residency in 2017 at the MS day hospital and outpatient clinic of the University Medical Center Hamburg Eppendorf (UKE). In her thesis she examined the effects of epigenetic drugs on histone modifications in Non-small cell lung cancer. She is a member of the research team of Prof. Heesen focusing on evidence-based medicine and patient information in MS.

Anna Barabasch studied ‘Health Promotion’ (B.Sc.) at the University of Applied Sciences (HS Fulda) in Fulda and ‘Health Sciences’ (M.Sc.) at the University of Applied Sciences (HAW) in Hamburg. Since 2017, she has been a member of the ‘Heesen Group’ at the INIMS. Currently, she is working as a PhD student on a project aiming to assess multiple sclerosis patient experiences in everyday life and multiple sclerosis therapies in oder to develop a patient decision aid website with experiencial information.

Nicole Krause studied Health Sciences (M.Sc.) at the Hamburg University of Applied Sciences (HAW Hamburg) and received her master‘s degree in 2018. After her studies, she was working as a research assistant at the HAW. She is working as a PhD student at the INIMS of the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE) since October 2018. As a member of the ‘Heesen Group’, she is investigating the influence of a web-based behavioural intervention on the inflammatory disease process in early multiple sclerosis patients.

Susan Seddiq Zai studied psychology at the University of Kiel and received her diploma in 2019. Since 2017 she is engaged in neuropsychological assessments and neuropsychiatric research in multiple sclerosis at the MS Day Hospital and INIMS. Currently, she is working as a PhD student on a project aiming to validate a driving simulator for patients with multiple sclerosis.

Julia Peper completed her training as a medical assistant in 2011 and studied Health Sciences (B.Sc.) at the University of Hamburg. She received her bachelor’s degree in 2018. Currently, she is studying Health and Nursing Sciences (M.Sc.) at the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg and has been a member of the 'Heesen Group' at the INIMS since 2018. There she is working as an assistant in a project about a web- and evidence-based educational programme on relapse management.

Lisa Wenzel completed her training as a physiotherapist in 2011 and studied Physiotherapy (B.Sc.) at the University of Applied Sciences and Arts in Hildesheim. On a part-time study basis, she completed her master’s degree in Management for Nursing and Health Care Professions at the Hochschule Hannover - University of Applied Sciences and Arts in 2018. Since 2019 she is a member of the ‘Heesen Group’ at the INIMS. She is working as a PhD student on a project investigating the influence of a web-based educational programme on relapse management for people with multiple sclerosis.

Jan-Patrick Stellmann studied medicine at the Universities of Düsseldorf and Hamburg and completed his neurology training in 2009. In 2010 he joined the INIMS as a clinical research fellow. He earned his MD at the University of Hamburg in 2011 and performed a post-doctoral training at the University of Marseille from 2016–2017. His research activities include imaging outcomes (OCT and MRI), cohort studies (MS and NMOSD) as well as ecological valid measurements of mobility and vision. A special focus is the development of functional and structural brain connectivity as read-out for neurodegeneration and neuroplasticity.

Vivien Häußler studied medicine at the Universities of Hamburg and Trondheim and started her residency in 2013 at the Department of Neurology at the University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf. She completed her MD thesis in the area of postischaemic inflammation and first focused on basic science in the context of ischaemic stroke. Her clinical interests lie in the field of neuroimmunology and in 2018 she joined the INIMS becoming a clinical research fellow as well as working in the MS day hospital and outpatient clinic. Her scientific aims address the natural history of MS and NMO with a special focus on prognostic criteria and treatment response and she is in charge of clinical MS cohorts and the German NMO register NEMOS at our center.

Arzu Ceylan Has studied Physics Engineering at Hacettepe University, Turkey. Then she received her master degree from the department of Nanotechnology and Nanomedicine in the same university. She started her PhD at the INIMS in 2018. She is investigating structural and functional organizations of brain related with the progressions of clinical disability and cognitive impairments over up to five years in MS.

Svenja Bechtel has been working at the Multiple Sclerosis Outpatient Clinic since June 2019. Her main task is the recording of patient-related data in the internal hospital systems. She also maintains the MS patient database and is responsible for correspondence between doctors and patients.

Heike Ellerich has been recruited for the POWER@MS research project at the multiple sclerosis out patient clinic in April 2019. She is a qualified medical assistent and study nurse. She is responsable for the imaging data of prospective cohorts, RCTs and fMRI task acquisition. Furthermore she takes care of the German NMO register NEMOS and assists in other clinical trials.

Since 2008 Kristina Grentzenberg has been working in the multiple sclerosis day clinic. She is a qualified nurse for intensive care and a study nurse. She coordinates the day clinic and is involved in patient education programmes, specifically the DECIMS (Decision Coach in MS)-project.

Since May 2017 Kathrin Harnisch is working at the multiple sclerosis out patient clinic. Her main function is the admission of patients and to enter patient-related data into the Hospital System. She also maintains the MS Patient Database and is responsible for the correspondence between doctors and patients.

Susanne Heyer-Borchelt starts working at the multiple sclerosis out patient clinic in October 2018. She is a qualified nurse, specialist nurse for multiple sclerosis and study nurse. Her workspace includes taking care of patients treatment and some clinical trials.

Stephanie Lau studied education at the University of Cologne. After her degree she completed a journalism traineeship and worked as a journalist for several TV stations. Since 2010, she has been working in the MS Outpatient Clinic, mainly in charge of neuropsychiatric assesments and the development and realisation of educational research projects for MS patients.

Since 1998 Andrea has been working at the multiple sclerosis out patient clinic and was involved in setting up the structures of the clinic. She is a qualified nurse and as a study nurse is responsible for most of the multicenter phase 2 and 3 clinical trials.

Since 2009 Sabine Nagel has been working in the multiple sclerosis out patient clinic. She is a qualified administrative assistant in public service. Her main function is the admission of patients and to enter patient-related data into the hospital system. She also coordinates the day clinic.

Tanja Steffen is a certified Study Nurse and is currently working in the MS outpatient clinic for the POWER@MS Project since May 2019. Prior to this current project Mrs. Steffen assisted in multiple clinical research trials, including phases I-IV, in the areas of HIV, hepatitis and oncology.