At the 2025 Congress of the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ECTRIMS), held September 23–26 in Barcelona, Spain, BNAC faculty, students, and collaborators delivered a series of influential presentations underscoring the center’s global scientific reach.

In two platform talks, BNAC researchers contributed to multinational studies characterizing cognitive progression independent of relapses across multiple centers and assessing the long-term clinical relevance of isolated radiological activity in MS. These projects brought together investigators from North America and Europe, advancing our understanding of how to predict and respond to individual patients’ disease trajectories.

BNAC-led posters further highlighted cutting-edge imaging biomarkers. One study, led by BNAC PhD student Ashley Tranquille, linked perivascular diffusion imaging to chronic lesion evolution, reinforcing its potential as a marker of smoldering inflammation. Another, based on the large multicenter ENLIGHTEN trial, demonstrated associations of ventricular and medulla oblongata volumes with cognitive outcomes after one year of ozanimod treatment in early relapsing MS. Additional trial analyses explored how education, baseline function, and sex can influence cognitive trajectories.

Finally, BNAC contributed to international work evaluating the impact of a long-acting depot formulation of glatiramer acetate on disability in both relapsing and progressive MS.

These presentations emphasize BNAC’s leadership in advancing MS science through robust international collaborations and innovative imaging-driven approaches.