Ralf Gold MD, PhD

Prof. Ralf Gold was head of the clinical research group for multiple sclerosis at the University Neurology Clinic in Würzburg. In autumn 2003, he then moved to the Department of Human Medicine at the University of Göttingen. There he took up the chair for experimental and clinical neuroimmunology and set up the Institute for Multiple Sclerosis Research, funded by the Hertie Foundation. Since August 1, 2006, he has taken over the chair for neurology at the Ruhr University, St. Josef Hospital Bochum.

His work focuses on the clinical care of MS patients, including participation in therapy studies, as well as basic research to improve specific immunotherapies for MS. His working group has carried out many years of basic work on glatiramer acetate, laquinimod, and fumarate in the sense of translational medicine. In particular, his working group succeeded in elucidating the neuroprotective mechanism of action of fumarates, and he led one of the two approval studies and published it in the New England Journal. The role of dietary components in the form of short/long-chain fatty acids on the activation or regulation of the immune system was then investigated. This publication was published in the journal Immunity in autumn 2015. Other work examines neurobiological susceptibility factors for the course of multiple sclerosis, as well as the importance of blood purification procedures in MS attacks.