Research Spotlight

The MS Task Force has 15 members and we would like to highlight some of them in this newsletter:

Dr. Lauren Strober’s research focuses on issues pertaining to psychological well-being and quality of life (QOL) for those living with multiple sclerosis (MS). Specifically, she examines the phenomenological experience of secondary factors associated with MS and other neurological conditions (e.g., depression, fatigue, sleep disturbance, personality changes) and the influence of secondary factors on cognitive functioning, psychological well-being, and QoL. Dr. Strober is interested in the identification of person-specific factors (e.g., self-efficacy, personality) that account for various outcomes (e.g., unemployment) following illness or injury. She is also focused on the development of clinical interventions aimed at ameliorating the disease and person-specific factors found to account for detriments in functioning and well-being for those with MS.

Here are links to some of Dr. Strober’s research:

• Fatigue in multiple sclerosis: a look at the role of poor sleep
• Role of Positive Lifestyle Activities on Mood, Cognition, Well-Being, and Disease Characteristics in Multiple Sclerosis
• Symbol Digit Modalities Test: A valid clinical trial endpoint for measuring cognition in multiple sclerosis

Ali Yavuz Karahan is an Associate Professor at Usak University Medical School, Department of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine, Usak, Turkey. He finished his medical training in 2004 and residency in 2011 at the Selcuk University Konya, Turkey. Since 2018, he has been entitled as an Associate Professor. His main areas of interest comprise rehabilitation in stroke and multiple sclerosis. Nowadays, he focuses on building sustainable exercise programs as an essential part of rehabilitation. He has also delivered several lectures on this topic at national meetings. He is currently the secretary of the Turkish Stroke Study Group. He received the Traveling Fellow of the Year Award from the Japanese Association of Rehabilitation Medicine in 2017. He has authored over 40 publications in various international journals indexed by SCI/SCI”Exp.  He is also a reviewer for 27 international journals indexed by SCI/SCI”Exp.

• Which swallowing difficulty of food consistency is best predictor for oropharyngeal dysphagia risk in older person?
• Superb Microvascular Imaging of the Median Nerve in Carpal Tunnel Syndrome: An Electrodiagnostic and Ultrasonographic Study
• Incidence and anatomical variability of accessory and sesamoid bones of the foot

Dr. Jacob Sosnoff is a Professor and Director of the Motor Control Research Laboratory in the Department of Kinesiology and Community Health, College of Applied Health Sciences at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His professional background and training are in motor control and gerontology. He earned his PhD in Kinesiology from Pennsylvania State University where he was a National Institute of Aging pre-doctoral fellow. Dr. Sosnoff’s research focuses on predictors, prevention and consequences of walking, mobility and balance impairments across a range of clinical populations.  Currently, his research group is participating in several randomized control trials designed to minimize fall risk and incidence, and several other investigations that involve mobility-related outcomes. His research is funded by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, National Institute of Health, National Institute of Disability, Independent Living and Rehabilitation, and industry sponsors. In addition to his research, he is the director of the Illini Fall Prevention Clinic, a community resource for identifying people’s individualized fall risks and developing personalized strategies to reduce those risks.

• Monitoring Gait in Multiple Sclerosis With Novel Wearable Motion Sensors
• Combined exercise training can improve walking mobility in Multiple Sclerosis: Results of a pilot study
• Fall Risk Prediction in Multiple Sclerosis Using Postural Sway Measures: A Machine Learning Approach