We received numerous nominations for the 2025 Giants of Multiple Sclerosis® recognition program and were proud to honor seven outstanding inductees across a wide range of disciplines—including advanced practice, mental health, neurology, nursing, pharmacy, rehabilitation, and research.

In addition, we presented the June Halper Visionary Award to a trailblazer in MS care.

The contributions of these honorees to the field of multiple sclerosis are exemplary. Their dedication and hard work continue to shape the future of MS care and improve the lives of patients and their families.

Ralph H.B. Benedict, PhD, ABPP-CN, is a SUNY Distinguished Professor of Neurology at the University at Buffalo’s Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, with additional appointments in Psychiatry and Psychology. A board-certified clinical neuropsychologist, he is internationally recognized for pioneering work in the neuropsychological assessment and treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS). 

Since 2001, Dr. Benedict has maintained an active clinical role at the Jacobs MS Center, while leading a prolific research program focused on cognition in MS. He is the author of over 360 peer-reviewed publications, cited more than 40,000 times, and has developed several cognitive assessment tools used globally. His work on the Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT) established it as the gold standard cognitive outcome in MS clinical trials. He also played a central role in the development and validation of the Minimal Assessment for Cognitive Function in MS, Brief International Cognitive Assessment for MS (BICAMS) and the MS Neuropsychological Questionnaire (MSNQ). He was among the first to report the strong association between cognitive decline and gray matter atrophy in MS, particularly the role of thalamic atrophy. Dr. Benedict has also advanced the understanding of how personality traits influence the progression of cognitive impairment in MS.  He is currently leading efforts to digitize testing of auditory information processing speed, accessible for patients with severe MS.  

In addition to research, Dr. Benedict is a dedicated clinician, mentor, and educator, and has trained generations of students and residents in neuropsychology and behavioral neurology. Most importantly, his work has advanced the integration of clinical neuropsychology into the routine care of MS patients. 

Dr. Francois Bethoux, physiatrist, currently serves as Chair of the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation in the Cleveland Clinic Neurological Institute. He is also director of rehabilitation services at the Mellen Center for MS Treatment and Research, and medical director of the Arts and Medicine Program at the Cleveland Clinic. He holds an appointment as Professor of Medicine in the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine at Case Western Reserve University. He has served as the editor-in-chief of the International Journal of MS Care since 2014. Dr. Bethoux received his medical degree from Claude Bernard University in France. After his residency training in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, he completed a research fellowship in the Functional Electrical Stimulation Center at MetroHealth Medical Center/Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, and a clinical neuroimmunology fellowship at the Mellen Center.

Amy Perrin Ross, APN, MSN, CNRN, MSCN, is the Neuroscience Program coordinator at Loyola University Medical Center and is board certified as a neuroscience nurse. As an Advanced Practice Nurse (APN), she has coordinated numerous clinical research trials . 

She is a Past President of the International Organization of Multiple Sclerosis Nurses and recipient of the June Halper Award for Excellence in MS Nursing, representing leadership and creativity in the care of people with MS and their families, an award that signifies an energy of purpose to provide the most up-to date comprehensive care possible. Amy is a current board member of the Consortium of MS Centers and chairperson of the Scientific Program Committee.  

Ms. Perrin Ross has authored articles and book chapters on multiple sclerosis. In addition, she has been a clinical nurse consultant with the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and a member of the Health Care Advisory Council for the Multiple Sclerosis Association of America. Amy is a current member of the Steering Committee for MS PRO an international MS Nursing group.  She has been an invited speaker at national and international meetings and conferences. 

Kottil W. Rammohan, MD, is Professor Emeritus of Neurology and Emeritus Director of the Multiple Sclerosis Center at the University of Miami, Miami, FL.  He is also an Emeritus Professor of Neurology and the founding director of the MS Center at The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio.  He is board certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine, and the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology with special competence in Neurology.   

A graduate of Madras Medical College in Chennai, India, Dr. Rammohan completed an internship at the Cook County Hospital in Chicago and trained as a resident in Internal Medicine and Neurology at The Ohio State University.  He was a Fellow and Senior Clinical Associate at the National Institutes of Health where he trained in the fields of Neurovirology and Neuroimmunology under the tutelage of the late Drs. Henry McFarland, and Dale McFarlin.   

A participant in a number of investigator and industry initiated clinical trials, Dr. Rammohan’s main research interest is in understanding the pathogenesis and treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS). In particular, he has been involved in understanding mechanisms of fatigue, and designing treatments for this disabling symptom.   He had special interests in understanding MS by magnetic resonance imaging, specifically, imaging MS brain abnormalities at Ultra high field strength (8 tesla). His contributions include developing novel and simple techniques for examination of abnormalities in the cerebrospinal fluid in MS. At a basic level, his interests include exploring autoimmunity to ion channels in MS and exploring mechanisms of action of the presently used disease modifying therapies in multiple sclerosis. 

Integrally involved in the study of MS, Dr. Rammohan has served the National Multiple Sclerosis Society as a member of both the Medical Advisory Board and the Clinical Care Committee.  He chaired the Clinical Advisory Committee at the National level. He is a member of a number of data safety monitoring and Steering committees for national and international Phase 2 and 3 clinical trials.  

Dr. Rammohan is the founding director of the North American Registry for Care and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (NARCRMS) that linked MS Centers in the United States and Canada and recruited over 1,000 patients with MS to understand the natural history of MS in the era of disease modifying therapies.  As the director of NARCRMS he also served on the Board of Governors of the Consortium of MS Centers (CMSC) 

Dr. Rammohan was recognized for his support of MS with the following national honors: The Hope Award, The Spirit Award, Outstanding Physician Recognition Award, MS Society Volunteer Hall of Fame, and Best Doctors in America. 

Moira Baynes, RN, MSN, is a senior nurse at the Johns Hopkins Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Center in Baltimore, MD, where she has been involved in the multidisciplinary care of patients with MS for 18 years. She began her nursing career at St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center in Boston in the neurology/neurosurgery unit and later was involved in the start up of the MS Center at St. Elizabeth’s with Dr. Ellen Lathi. 

She completed an associate’s degree in nursing at Quinsigamond community college in Worcester MA, and later obtained a bachelor’s of nursing at the university of Virginia in 2009 and a master’s degree in nursing at Johns Hopkins university in 2016. 

Her interests specific to MS include patient wellness and education. Also, healthcare advocacy especially for newly diagnosed patients navigating the health care system and accessing care in a timely manner. 

She is a past recipient of the IOMSN LiveWiseMS in 2017 and winner of Baltimore magazine’s 2020 Excellence in Nursing winner for Neurology.                                                                                                                                    

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 ~400 papers, >550 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, biomarkers 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, 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. He was also the lead on all versions of the Canadian Treatment Optimization Recommendations.   

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 now the recent Past President of the Americas Committee for Treatment and Research in MS (ACTRIMS).  

S. Ross Tingen, PharmD, BCPS, MSCS is the clinical pharmacy specialist in Multiple Sclerosis (MS)/Neuroimmunology at VCU Health in Richmond, Virginia. She received her Doctor of Pharmacy degree from Campbell University College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences prior to completing her PGY1 Pharmacy Practice Residency at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, Michigan. In addition to Board Certification in Pharmacotherapy (BCPS), Ross has earned the Multiple Sclerosis Certified Specialist (MSCS) certification through the Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers. Over the last 8 years caring for patients with MS, Ross has continued to integrate clinical pharmacy services in the MS clinic and actively assists in the management of starting disease modifying therapy (DMT), safety monitoring and symptomatic management. Her interests in MS-related quality and research projects have included the impact of tobacco cessation in patients with MS, factors related to DMT changes, and the perceived impact on the role of the clinical pharmacist in the MS clinic. She has served on several committees and presented on the “Ask an Expert” podcast with the National MS Society and is on the Executive Committee for the Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers (CMSC). As an adjunct clinical instructor with VCU School of Pharmacy, she provides the MS Therapeutics didactic lecture to 3rd year pharmacy students and offers a MS clinical rotation for 4th year pharmacy students as well as VCU Health pharmacy residents. Furthermore, she is completing a Master of Public Health degree, focused on Health Equity, through Boston University.  

Fred D. Lublin, M.D. is the Saunders Family Professor of Neurology at The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and Director of the Corinne Goldsmith Dickinson Center for Multiple Sclerosis at that institution. 

Dr. Lublin received his medical degree in 1972 from Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, PA. He completed his internship in Internal Medicine from the Bronx Municipal Hospital, Albert Einstein Medical Center, and his neurology residency at the New York Hospital, Cornell Medical Center. 

As a neuroimmunologist, Dr. Lublin has a special interest in immune functions and abnormalities affecting the nervous system. He has been involved in both basic science and clinical research. He and his colleagues were among the first in the country involved with studies of Interferon beta-1b, which was approved by the Food & Drug Administration in 1993 to treat the relapsing-remitting form of Multiple Sclerosis. He has since been involved in the development of nearly all of the currently available agents to treat MS. At present, He is involved with several new clinical research protocols on promising agents for treating various aspects of MS. He was chairman of the National MS Society (USA) advisory committee on clinical trials of new drugs in Multiple Sclerosis and the National Multiple Sclerosis Society’s Research Programs Advisory Committee. He was a member of the National MS Society National Board of Directors. He is past Chair of the New York City/Southern New York Chapter of NMSS Clinical Advisory Committee. He was a member of the International Medical & Scientific Board of the Multiple Sclerosis International Federation. Dr. Lublin and his colleagues at the National MS Society have re-defined the clinical course definitions of MS, updated in 2014. He has chaired a task force on the ethics of placebo-controlled trials in MS. Dr. Lublin is a member of the international panel that periodically redefines the diagnostic criteria for MS (McDonald Criteria). Dr. Lublin is chair of the National Institute of Neurological Diseases and Stroke MS Common Data Element committee and a member of their steering committee. He was a Co-Chief and founding Editor of the journal Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders. He is the director of the Mount Sinai MS Center fellowship program. 

Dr. Lublin has published numerous scientific articles and is a member of many professional societies and scientific advisory boards. Dr. Lublin has served as a consultant to the National Institutes of Health and to many pharmaceutical/biotech companies in all phases of new drug development and in preparation for presentation to the FDA and their advisory panels. He was the Principal Investigator of the NIHsponsored multicenter Combination Therapy study in Multiple Sclerosis (CombiRx). Dr. Lublin has received the June Halper Lifetime Achievement Award from the Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers and the Hope Award from the National MS Society.