News

Recent advancements in multiple sclerosis (MS) research, including improved diagnostic criteria and novel MRI techniques, have been highlighted in a new Lancet paper by researchers from the Buffalo Neuroimaging Analysis Center (BNAC) and the Jacobs MS Center for Treatment and Research.

On October 5th Buffalo Neuroimaging Analysis Center celebrated the opening of its new headquarters located at the University at Buffalo's Downtown Gateway Building.

At MSMilan 2023, the joint ECTRIMS-ACTRIMS meeting, held October 11-13, in Milan, Italy, Tom Fuchs, MD, PhD, presented in a scientific session on the effects of MS on cognition, including cognitive progression independent of relapse activity.

Buffalo Neuroimaging Analysis Center presents the Grand Opening of our New Offices on October 5th, 2023.

The massive 5.5-ton Philips MR 7700 that was installed in June in the Center for Biomedical Imaging (CBI) in UB’s Clinical and Translational Research Center (CTRC) is now operational.

The June delivery of a Philips MR 7700 to the Clinical and Translational Research Center (CTRC) was called “a major advance in our translational research environment” by University at Buffalo Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) Director Timothy F. Murphy, MD. And for researchers at the University at Buffalo and Buffalo Translational Consortium, the impact of the 5-ton, 3-Tesla magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner looks to be momentous.

Associate Professor of Neurology, Radiology, and Biomedical Engineering at the University at Buffalo, Ferdinand Schweser, Ph.D, is a member of BNAC’s leadership team and continues to make significant contributions to the field of neuroimaging. His expertise lies in the MRI technique called quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM) and its application in studying the relationship between brain iron and MS.

Retinal nerve fiber thickness may serve as a potential biomarker for cognitive impairment in people with MS, possibly predicting future cognitive decline.

A recent study conducted by a BNAC research team led by Alexander Bartnik showed that, in people with multiple sclerosis, the brain networks involved in more complex thinking were more impaired than networks related to basic senses, like vision and hearing.

BNAC Researcher Niels Bergsland recently led a new study that indicates inflammation in the choroid plexus – a complex network of capillaries that produces cerebrospinal fluid in the brain – may affect disease progression and disability in people living with MS. 

Robert Zivadinov, MD, Ph.D., has been named a SUNY Distinguished Professor – the highest faculty honor in the State University of New York (SUNY) system.

BNAC researchers develop a novel MRI technique that predicts staging of Paramagnetic Rim Lesions, a biomarker of chronic brain inflammation believed to be associated with progressive MS. They presented their work at ACTRIMS Forum 2023.

Groundbreaking BNAC study shows that keys to severe disability in multiple sclerosis are cortical, deep gray matter, and spinal cord damage rather than lesions.

Each year, we share highlights of our patient-centered research, news about our scientists, core laboratory services, and our many collaborations at the Buffalo Neuroimaging Analysis Center. Thank you for taking an interest in our work. As always, we welcome your inquiries, comments, and suggestions and invite you to stay in touch with our progress on the developments that matter most to you.

Smart. Creative. Indefatigable. Optimist. There certainly are more ways to describe BNAC’s long-time friend and fundraising consultant, Linda J. Safran. Yet none may be more descriptive than commitment. 

Neuroimaging researchers, providers and people with MS collaborated to develop novel guidelines on how to communicate about brain atrophy .

Recently, several members of the BNAC team and their mentees have been honored by colleagues, the University at Buffalo, and the broader scientific community for exceptional work.

BNAC researchers and students join in celebrating the life and work of the late Lawrence Jacobs, BNAC founder and a brilliant and visionary biomedical researcher whose research changed forever how multiple sclerosis was treated around the world. 

Atrophy or volume loss of the brain’s deep grey matter, and thalamic atrophy specifically, are strong drivers of worsening clinical disability and cognitive decline in people with multiple sclerosis (PwMS). A  BNAC, investigator initiated study co-authored by Niels Bergsland, Ph.D., entitled, “Time course of lesion-induced atrophy in multiple sclerosis,” now provides a more precise understanding of when some of these impacts occur, improving our understanding of the pace of MS pathology.