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Xavier Montalban Gairín

I am Chair of the Department of Neurology since 2012 and director of the Multiple Sclerosis Center of Catalonia (Cemcat) since 2007 at the Vall d'Hebron University Hospital. I am the head of the Neuroimmunology Research Group at Vall d’Hebron Research Institute (VHIR) since 1995. I am Professor of Neurology at the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) since 2006 and at the University of Vic - Central University of Catalonia (UVic-UCC) since 2021.

Institutions of which they are part

Head of group
Clinical Neuroimmunology
Vall Hebron Institut de Recerca
Neurology
General Hospital
Director
Multiple Sclerosis Centre of Catalonia

Xavier Montalban Gairín

Institutions of which they are part

Head of group
Clinical Neuroimmunology
Vall Hebron Institut de Recerca
Neurology
General Hospital
Director
Multiple Sclerosis Centre of Catalonia

I am Chair of the Department of Neurology since 2012 and director of the Multiple Sclerosis Center of Catalonia (Cemcat) since 2007 at the Vall d'Hebron University Hospital. I am the head of the Neuroimmunology Research Group at Vall d’Hebron Research Institute (VHIR) since 1995. I am Professor of Neurology at the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) since 2006 and at the University of Vic - Central University of Catalonia (UVic-UCC) since 2021.

I obtained my MD (1983) and PhD (1990) from UAB, and I completed my postgraduate fellowship at St. Thomas' Hospital and the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery in London. I obtained a Diploma in Comprehensive of Healthcare Institutions Management from ESADE (2005).

In addition to the positions I currently hold, between 2017 and 2020 I served as Professor of Medicine and Director of the Division of Neurology at the University of Toronto and as Director of the MS Center at St Michael's Hospital in the same city.

Since January 2023 I am the chair of the International Advisory Committee on Clinical Trials in Multiple Sclerosis sponsored by ECTRIMS and the National Multiple Sclerosis Society (NMSS), one of the most influential Committee in MS worldwide.

Regarding other leadership roles I am past President (2014-2016) and current Honorary Member of the Council of the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ECTRIMS). I’m also Board Member of the European Charcot Foundation, as well as serving on numerous local, national and international boards and committees.

My scientific production acrues over 800 scientific papers published in peer-reviewed journals, amounting? more than 52,000 citations and a Scopus H-Index of 101. Over the last consecutive five years I have ranked among the Clarivate most cited researchers.

I have been the Principal Investigator (PI) or Collaborator in more than 35 competitive Projects and have participated as PI in more than 150 clinical trials.

Of Note, I am the recipient of the 2022 John Dystel Prize for MS Research, awarded jointly by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society (NMSS) and the American Academy of Neurology (AAN). I’m the winner of the 2023 Charcot Award granted by the Multiple Sclerosis International Federation (MSIF), which recognises a lifetime of achievement in outstanding research into understanding and treating MS.

Projects

TACTIC: Explorando soluciones a los retos de salud mediante ciencia disruptiva, terapias avanzadas y medicina de sistemas

IP: Begoña Benito Villabriga
Collaborators: Carmen Escudero Iriarte, Ventura i Expósito, Laia, Susana Otero Romero, Ibane Abasolo Olaortua, Ignacio Ferreira González, José Antonio Barrabés Riu, Carlos Nos Llopis, Pablo Velasco Puyó, Jose Fernando Rodríguez Palomares, María Rosario Pérez- Torres Lobato, Sunny Malhotra Sareen, Perez Dueñas, Belen, Jaume Sastre Garriga, Joan López Hellin, Antonia Sambola Ayala, Jordi Rio Izquierdo, Nuria Rivas Gandara, Jordi Perez Rodon, Aroa Soriano Fernández, Manuel Comabella Lopez, Antonio Rodríguez Sinovas, Gisela Teixido Tura, Antonia Pijuan Domenech, Roser Ferrer Costa, Joaquin Seras Franzoso, Carmen Tur Gomez, Maria Cristina Díaz de Heredia Rubio, Laia Yañez Bisbe, Julia German Cortes, Maria Jose Pérez García, Miguel Segura Ginard, Diego Baranda Martínez-Abasca, Cristina Auger Acosta, Neus Bellera Gotarda, Herena Eixarch Ahufinger, M Mar Mañu Pereira, Deborah Pareto Onghena, Lorena Valero Arrese, Aitor Uribarri Gonzalez, Jordi Bañeras Rius, Alex Rovira Cañellas, Mar Tintore Subirana, Bruno García del Blanco, Maria Teresa Salcedo Allende, Marisol Ruiz Meana, Ana Belén Méndez Fernández, Xavier Montalban Gairín, Simon Schwartz Navarro, Anna Llort Sales, Carmen Espejo Ruiz, Raquel Hladun Alvaro, Angels Alcina Mila, Sandra Mancilla Zamora, Zamira Vanessa Diaz Riascos, Ana Zabalza de Torres, Ariadna Boloix Amenós, Marc Miquel Moltó Abad, Javier Inserte Igual, Luciana Midaglia Fernandez, Elizabeth Pando Rau, Gabriela Guillén Burrieza, Cazurro Gutierrez, Ana Laura, Gómez Andrés, David, Alvaro Cobo Calvo, Alvaro Calabuig Goena, Joaquin Castillo Justribo, Lydia Dux-Santoy Hurtado, Lucas Moreno Martín-Retortillo, Andres Miguez Gonzalez, Josep Roma Castanyer, Laura Dos Subirá, Nicolás Miguel Fissolo, Maria Nazarena Pizzi, Tian Tian, Bou Teen, Diana, Fernanda Raquel Da Silva Andrade, Diana Fernandes de Rafael, Andrea Guala
Funding agency: Instituto de Salud Carlos III
Funding: 2494527.53
Reference: FORT23/00034
Duration: 01/01/2024 - 31/12/2027

Convocatoria Juan Rodés (Preliminar: Enfermedades neurológicas mediadas por anticuerpos antineuronales)

IP: Mar Tintore Subirana
Collaborators: Genoveva Arqueros Sánchez, Xavier Montalban Gairín, Helena Ariño Rodríguez, Miriam Izquierdo Sans
Funding agency: Instituto de Salud Carlos III
Funding: 180000
Reference: JR22/00071
Duration: 20/02/2023 - 19/02/2026

Incorporación al CIBER de enfermedades neurodegenerativas como grupo de esclerosis múltiple

IP: Manuel Comabella Lopez
Collaborators: Jordi Rio Izquierdo, Carmen Tur Gomez, Xavier Montalban Gairín, Luciana Midaglia Fernandez, Joaquin Castillo Justribo, Rucsanda Pinteac, Nicolás Miguel Fissolo
Funding agency: Instituto de Salud Carlos III
Funding: 48000
Reference: CB22/05/00047
Duration: 13/12/2022 - 12/12/2023

ResEM Project - Desarrollo de un modelo global de reserva funcional y estructural del sistema nervioso central en esclerosis múltiple

IP: Jaume Sastre Garriga
Collaborators: Cristina Auger Acosta, Carme Santoyo Medina, Manel Alberich Jordà, M Jesus Arevalo Navines, Xavier Montalban Gairín, Lucía Gutiérrez Ruiz, Neus Mongay Ochoa
Funding agency: Instituto de Salud Carlos III
Funding: 157300
Reference: PI22/00750
Duration: 01/01/2023 - 31/12/2025

Related news

In total, different projects of six research groups will be promoted, focusing on precision medicine and advanced therapies.

Dr. Carmen Espejo and Dr. Georgina Arrambide, researchers at Cemcat and Vall d'Hebron Research Institute, are the first authors of the article.

The research findings propose to modify the McDonald 2017 criteria, only in those in whom diagnosis using the current criteria is not possible.

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