Dr. Giampaolo Brichetto joined the Italian MS Society Foundation (FISM) on March 2009, where he currently holds the position of Coordinator of Research in Rehabilitation. Giampaolo is 44 years old and has 17 years of Research in Rehabilitation experience in the field of neuro-rehabilitation: Parkinson’s disease, stroke, traumatic brain injury and multiple sclerosis; he worked as Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation MD and then as PhD in Neurosciences for the Department of Neurological Sciences, University of Genova, from 2000 to 2007 and then as Head of Traumatic Brain Injury Unit for Ottavia Ferrero Hospital from 2007 to 2009. His whole carrier effort aimed at improving neurorehabilitation strategies both by integrating traditional rehabilitation techniques with bio-tech devices and cognitive rehabilitation strategies and by improving rehabilitation outcome measures for clinical and research purposes. He is author of more than 41 papers in extenso, published on international peer reviewed journals and more than 100 abstracts published in peer reviewed journals.

Louise Connell is Professor of Neuro-Rehabilitation. She works as a clinical- academic in a partnership post between the University of Central Lancashire and East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust. Her interest is in implementation research, and she is undertaking a programme of research into neurological rehabilitation. Her current research focuses specifically on implementation research for increasing intensity after stroke. She is a physiotherapist, and is particularly passionate about improving research capacity and capability of allied health professionals. Her work has been recognised by being awarded a Fellowship of the Association of Chartered Physiotherapists In Neurology.

Miguel D’haeseleer is a Belgian neurologist who graduated in 2014 and obtained a PhD in medical sciences with research focusing on the role of cerebral hypoperfusion in the disease process of multiple sclerosis. He currently holds a position as clinical staff member, with a special expertise in demyelinating disorders, at the neurology department of both the Nationaal Multiple Sclerose Centrum Melsbroek (as head of the neurology department) and the Universitair Ziekenhuis Brussel. In addition, he is appointed as professor at the Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel. Miguel D’haeseleer is the first/senior author of multiple papers published in high-impact Q1 journals, including Lancet Neurology, Proceeding of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America and Multiple Sclerosis Journal. In 2012, he won the prestigious first prize at the Young Investigators Awards for Multiple Sclerosis Research of the European Charcot Foundation with work related to his PhD. His current scientific interests, regarding multiple sclerosis, involve the pathophysiology of disease progression, biological markers of neurodegeneration and development of telemedicine. He is a member of the Belgian Study Group for Multiple Sclerosis, has participated in several academic/industrial clinical trials and has served as international grant request/manuscript reviewer on numerous occasions.

After obtaining her medical degree magna cum laude at the University Leuven (June 1984), Marie B D’hooghe started her Neurology training under supervision of Prof H Carton (Leuven) and Prof GC Ebers (London Ontario, Canada). She became board certified in Neuropsychiatry in 1990. While working at the National MS Center, Melsbroek, Belgium, she obtained extensive experience in the multidisciplinary, long-term follow-up of multiple sclerosis patients. She was principle investigator in multiple clinical trials and epidemiological studies. In April 2012, she obtained her PhD in medical sciences, at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (promotor Prof Dr Jacques De Keyser). Her thesis “Factors associated with disability progression in multiple sclerosis” included 6 peer-reviewed papers. Marie B D’hooghe is member of the Academic Staff of the Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, Vrije Universiteit Brussel. She obtained national (KBS - MS society, FWO grant G0383.18N) and international grants (2015, Global MS Registry Research Fellowship) and published over 70 full length peer reviewed papers as author or co-author. Her main research interests are the modifiable factors that affect progression of disability in MS, including pregnancy and the impact of invisible symptoms. She is member of the Medical Advisory Board of the National MS Society in Belgium.

Marieke de Gier studied Health Sciences at the Maastricht University and has been working as a health psychologist and cognitive behavioral therapist in various hospitals in The Netherlands since 2002. She specialized in treating sleeping disorders during her work in the Sleeping Center in Haaglanden MC, before she started her current position as a health psychologist at the department of Medical Psychology at the VU Medical Center in 2010. Although she mainly focused on patient care, she was involved as a clinician in several research projects, such as TREFAMS-CBT studying effectiveness of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for MS-related fatigue, but also BEWARE, studying effectiveness of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy in treating anxiety in Parkinson’s disease. This lead to increasing interest in conducting research herself and she was very pleased with the opportunity to start a PhD project, developing online CBT for MS-related fatigue and testing its non-inferiority to f2f CBT. Within this project she also focusses on underlying psychological mechanisms in fatigue in chronic conditions and factors influencing effectiveness of CBT for fatigue.

Bénédicte Dubois is head of the department of Neurology at the University Hospitals Leuven in Belgium. Her main clinical interest is multiple sclerosis (MS). She performed her clinical training as neurologist under supervision of professor H. Carton in Leuven and professor A. Thompson and G. Giovannoni in London. In 2000 she obtained a PhD, entitled The disease-promoting role of gelatinase B/MMP-9 in inflammation of the central nervous system. The current research of Bénédicte Dubois focusses on translational research in MS. This means thatthe research projects start from important clinical questions that are first investigated in the laboratory, and then aim at translating results back to improved health care for MS patients. The focus of the research is the genetic architecture of the susceptibility and the heterogeneity of MS. Besides clinical and research activities, Bénédicte Dubois is also the head of the medical clerkships centers of the Faculty of Medicine at KU Leuven, and member of several internal and external commissions related to education and scientific research.

Jenny Freeman is a Professor in Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation within the Faculty of Health and Human Sciences at Plymouth University. Her research programme in MS centres on the development and evaluation of complex rehabilitation interventions; reflecting the priority given by health services to providing evidence based management. A key focus is on the rehabilitation of impaired mobility and balance. Her research is grounded on her longstanding clinical expertise in neurological physiotherapy, for which she has an ongoing clinical commitment. She is a member of the executive board of RIMS.

Carlotte Kiekens is a Physical and Rehabilitation (PRM) physician (MD). She is since January 2020 Director of the Spinal Unit at the Montecatone Rehabilitation Institute in Imola (Bologna, Italy). Before she was head of clinic at the PRM department of the University Hospitals Leuven and she is currently still affiliated with UZ Leuven and KU Leuven. She was a member of the Executive Board of the National Multiple Sclerosis Centre (Melsbroek, Belgium) from 2004 till 2019. She is the Co-Director of Cochrane Rehabilitation which she cofounded in 2016. She is the chair of the International Society of PRM-WHO Liaison committee and a member of the European Academy of Rehabilitation Medicine. She is a Belgian delegate at the European Society of PRM and chair of the Professional Practice Committee at the UEMS PRM Section Her domains of expertise are: Spinal Cord Injury, Spina Bifida, Peripheral Nerve Disease, Polytrauma, Burns, Amputation, Sexuality and Fertility, Spasticity Management, Organizational and Ethical Aspects or Rehabilitation Medicine, Insurance Medicine and Medical Expertise, Evidence based medicine in rehabilitation practice.

Daphne Kos graduated as occupational therapist (OT) and movement scientist. She worked as OT practitioner, lecturer and researcher and studied fatigue management and assessment in people with multiple sclerosis in her PhD project. Currently she is coordinator of scientific research in the rehabilitation department of the National MS Center Melsbroek and professor and co-manager of the OT master programme in KU Leuven (interuniversity programme with Ghent, Hasselt and Antwerp). Her research domain is situated in the area of fatigue, occupational performance, life balance, goal setting and assessment, mainly in multiple sclerosis (in all stages). Daphne Kos is president of Rehabilitation in MS (RIMS).

Prof. Stefano Negrini, MD is Professor in Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine (PRM) at University “La Statale” of Milan and Rehabilitation Research Coordinator of the Care & Research Institute (IRCCS) Istituto Ortopedico Galeazzi. He is Director of Cochrane Rehabilitation, Chief-Editor of the “European Journal of PRM”, and Scientific Director of ISICO (Italian Scientific Spine Institute) in Milan. He is listed Top Italian Scientist and is academician of the European Academy of Rehabilitation Medicine (EARM). He is Chair of the Raise of Awareness on Rehabilitation - ROAR Task Force of the International Society PRM (ISPRM), Italian delegate of the PRM Section of the European Union Medical Specialists, in the Advisory Board of the international Society On Spinal Orthopaedic and Rehabilitation Treatment (SOSORT). He has been coordinator of the 3rd Edition of the White Book on PRM in Europe He founded Cochrane Rehabilitation and SOSORT. He has been President and Scientific Secretary of SOSORT and of 21 Meetings, promoter and Chair of the International on-line and the Italian live Masters on Spinal Deformities conservative treatment. He won 16 Awards including the AAP DeLisa Lecture. He published >320 PubMed/Medline papers, gave >100 Invited Lectures and had >400 abstracts in International Meetings.

Liesbet is the chair of the MS Data Alliance initiative. She is a data scientist at the Biomedical Research Institute and Data Science Institute of Hasselt University (Belgium). She is a member of the ELIXIR community focussing on constructing a sustainable infrastructure for the sharing of biological information throughout Europe. Her research focuses on developing big data sharing procedures and artificial intelligence algorithms with a specific focus on real-world evidence. She is a core group member the #DataSavesLives.

Menno Schoonheim is a neuroscientist, currently working as an assistant professor at the department of Anatomy and Neurosciences of the Amsterdam UMC in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. He received his PhD in 2014, based on his thesis entitled “Are you connected? A network perspective on cognitive dysfunction in early multiple sclerosis”. His research mainly focuses on understanding and predicting disease progression in MS, both in the form of cognitive decline as well as physical disability. His work centers around advanced imaging, studying functional and structural brain networks and brain atrophy patterns using techniques like MRI and magnetoencephalography. He is currently the head of the steering committee of IMSCOGS, the international MS cognition society.

Pieter was diagnosed with MS in 2006 and is an active member of the European Multiple Sclerosis Platform (EMSP). In addition to his extensive work with EMSP, he is a self-employed freelance trainer and consultant, with broad professional experience as a speaker. Pieter feels that MS is sometimes misunderstood as, often on the outside, there are no physical symptoms, but mobility and fatigue can play a large role in day-to-day life for people with MS. Through his advocacy work, he hopes to help raise awareness of MS and improve patients’ experiences and empower others. Pieter has been an active member of the MS in the 21st Century Steering Group since 2016. He is proud to be one of the authors on the first MS21 patient-HCP co-authored manuscript and over the years he has presented at a number of different international congresses representing EMSP, MS in the 21st Century and himself as a PwMS.