Mark S. Freedman HBSc, MSc, MD, CSPQ, FANA, FAAN, FRCPC

Dr. Freedman is currently professor of medicine in the field of neurology at the University of Ottawa, as well as director of the Multiple Sclerosis Research Unit at the Ottawa Hospital, General Campus and a Senior Scientist at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute.  A graduate of the University of Toronto, Dr. Freedman holds his Masters Degree in Molecular Neurochemistry and continued his postgraduate work specializing in neurology and neuroimmunology.   His specialized training took him to the Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel; The National Hospital, Queen Square, London UK, as well as the Montreal Neurological Institute, where he subsequently was an Assistant Professor. He then joined the University of Ottawa in 1993 where he rose through the ranks to a Full Professor in 1998. He holds his specialist certification in Quebec CSPQ and all of Canada FRCP(C) and is a Fellow of both the American Neurological Association (FANA) and the American Academy of Neurology (FAAN).

Dr. Freedman has published over 300 papers, 500 abstracts as well as numerous books and book chapters and has been invited to give hundreds of lectures and presentations nationally and internationally.  His extensive research includes the area of molecular neurochemistry, cellular immunology, neuroimmunology, cell-based therapeutics and clinical studies in MS.  His current research is focused still on cell-based therapies as well as biomarkers for MS.  He was the lead investigator in the Canadian Bone Marrow Transplant Study in MS, is currently the head of the Canadian Mesenchymal Stem Cell Transplantation in MS study (MESCAMS) and co-director of the International Mesenchymal Stem Cell Transplantation in MS Study Group.

Dr. Freedman has over 35 years of experience in the management of patients with multiple sclerosis and has been the principal investigator on over a hundred clinical trials with new therapeutic agents for MS.  He has experience from serving on several research study steering committees as well as data safety monitoring boards.  He serves on the editorial boards for several journals including the Multiple Sclerosis Journal and Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders. He has also served on several national and international committees, was past-President of the Canadian Network of MS Clinics and is currently the President-Elect of the Americas Committee for Treatment and Research in MS (ACTRIMS).