BIOGRAPHY

Prof. Amit Bar-Or MD, FRCPC
Melissa and Paul Anderson President’s Distinguished Chair
Professor, Department of Neurology
Chief, Division of Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders
Director, Centre for Neuroinflammation and Experimental Therapeutics
University of Pennsylvania and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP)
Philadelphia (PA), USA

Dr. Bar-Or holds the Melissa and Paul Anderson Presidents Distinguished Chair at the University of Pennsylvania and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, where he Directs the Centre for Neuroinflammation and Experimental Therapeutics (CNET) and serves as Chief of the Division of Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and related disorders. His clinical focus is on neuroinflammatory disorders, principally MS, and he runs a cellular and molecular Neuroimmunology lab directed at understanding general principles of immune regulation, immune-neural interactions, and their contributions to inflammation, injury and repair of the human central nervous system. Particular areas of focus have involved elucidation of cellular mechanisms by which human T cell, B cell, and myeloid cell subsets functionally interact, modulate one another, and interact with brain cells to mediate both normal and abnormal inflammation in the CNS. His studies provide unique windows into the roles of inflammation in normal brain development and across a growing range of neurological, neurodevelopmental and psychiatric conditions, help elucidate mode-of action of emerging therapies, and develop clinically meaningful biomarkers in advancing precision medicine.

Bar-Or is past President of the Canadian Network of MS Clinics (CNMSC), Past President of the International Society for Neuroimmunology (ISNI) and served on the Board of Directors of the Americas Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ACTRIMS) and the Federation of Clinical Immunology Societies (FOCIS), where he continues as a long-standing member of the Education Committee. He currently serves on the International Advisory Committee on Clinical Trials in Multiple Sclerosis and on the Steering Committee of the NIH Immune Tolerance Network (ITN) and is co-PI of the NIH Autoimmunity Center of Excellence (ACE), and member of the Leadership Council of the Colton Center for Autoimmunity at the University of Pennsylvania.  Bar-Or is recipient of multiple awards including the prestigious 2021 Barancik Prize for Innovation in MS, has published over 300 peer-reviewed publications, led multiple national and international collaborative research initiatives and is considered a highly sought-after speaker. He is a passionate educator and mentor, having trained over 80 students at both pre- and post-doctoral levels with emphasis on clinician-scientist trainees in neuroimmunology.