The MS International Federation (MSIF) is delighted to announce that Professor Giancarlo Comi is the 2015 winner of the Charcot Award, in recognition of his outstanding achievements in the fields of pathophysiology and treatment of MS.
Professor Comi is one of the world’s leading MS neurologists and a pioneer in the development of disease-modifying therapies in MS. Currently he is Professor of Neurology, Chairman of the Department of Neurology, and Director of the Institute of Experimental Neurology, at Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Scientific Institute San Raffaele, Milan.
Professor Comi has been instrumental in the search for new therapies in relapsing remitting MS, in particular in identifying and validating new therapeutic strategies based on early interventions. Several important papers on disease-modifying drugs in patients with clinically isolated syndromes or early MS have originated from his department in Milan.
Another of his important contributions has been to outline the role of cellular therapy in neuroprotection and recovery, and Professor Comi has authored guidelines for intense immunosuppression followed by autologous blood transplantation in MS.
He has been active in the development of MRI to identify disease activity and disease progression and to monitor the results of therapeutic interventions using both conventional and new techniques. Recently, he has used MRI to study the functional basis of fatigue. He has also studied the pathophysiology of cognitive deficits and pain in patients with MS.
Professor Comi has authored and co-authored more than 800 articles in peer-reviewed journals, and edited several books. He has been the invited speaker for more than 450 conferences, both nationally and internationally.
He is currently the President of the European Charcot Foundation (ECF) and a member of the Board of Administration of the Italian Multiple Sclerosis Foundation and the Scientific Committee of the Italian Multiple Sclerosis Association. He is the co-chair of the Scientific Steering Committee of the Progressive MS Alliance. He also sits on the executive boards of various scientific associations and on the editorial boards of Clinical Investigation, European Journal of Neurology and Multiple Sclerosis. He is the Associate Editor of the Neurological Sciences.
Professor Alan Thompson, Chair of the MS International Federation’s International Medical and Scientific Board (IMSB), said: ‘Giancarlo Comi is a true pioneer in the treatment of MS. He has been intimately involved in the development of clinical trials and has made a major contribution to the field of therapeutics over many decades.’
Prof Xavier Montalban, a member of the executive committee of the IMSB, said: ‘Professor Comi is a dedicated, knowledgeable clinician and has a clear vision of the future. He has built up a great MS team in his centre in Milano and has been absolutely key in the development of the concept of early treatment that is now recognised and applied worldwide.’
Professor Comi said: ‘It was a great emotion and honour to have been considered for this important award. I however think that it is a recognition of the work of the team of San Raffaele MS Center, which reached 30 years this year.’
MS Ireland congratulates Professor Giancarlo Comi on winning this pretigious award.
Further reading
- Multiple Sclerosis International Federation (MSIF) website
- The Charot Award
- Historical overview - Jean Martin Charcot (1825 -1893)
- Video interview with Professor Comi
