Role of Biomarkers in MS ResearchHonoring Ben Barres
On December 27, 2017 Ben Barres, MD, PhD, passed away. Ben was a key member of the MRF team from our earliest days. I met Ben in February 2002 at the Gordon Research Conference on Myelin in Ventura. From that first meeting he was equally excited about the great science that he felt MRF’s collaborative approach could foster and the opportunity to pioneer MRF’s ARC model to accelerate basic science, translational medicine and ultimately treatments for patients. Ben helped attract stellar scientific advisors to MRF and discoveries made in his lab were fundamental to the fact that many pharmaceutical companies now have research programs underway to develop myelin repair treatments. I, along with the entire MRF team, feel fortunate to have known and worked with Ben.
Scott Johnson
Founder of MRF
Below are links to obituaries that attest to Ben's brilliance and impact:
- Stanford Medicine: Neuroscientist Ben Barres, who identified crucial roles of glial cells, dies at 63
- Forbes: Mourning Ben Barres, The Transgender Scientist Who Changed Neuroscience
- The Washington Post: ‘A towering legacy of goodness’: Ben Barres’s fight for diversity in science
- The New York Times: Ben Barres, Neuroscientist and Equal-Opportunity Advocate, Dies at 63
Focus on Biomarkers
The Myelin Repair Foundation is identifying biomarkers to help accelerate myelin repair treatments.