2023 Winner
Professor Rhonda Voskuhl
Professor of Neurology at the University of California (UCLA), holder of the Jack H Skirball Chair for Multiple Sclerosis Research, Director of the UCLA Multiple Sclerosis Programme.
Professor Rhonda Voskuhl is the winner of the 2023 Rachel Horne Prize for her for her work looking at sexual differences in susceptibility and progression in MS and identifying potential therapies to improve outcomes.
Dr Rhonda Voskuhl describes her research as a “Bedside to Bench to Bedside” approach – taking observations made in clinical settings to the laboratory to investigate relevant biological mechanisms and then designing clinical trials to benefit patients.
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"Dr Voskuhl has dedicated her career to unravelling the impact of sex hormones and genes on biological processes that modulate MS phenotype and progression, leading to new treatment targets for patients. Her
25-year outstanding track record of sex related research has paved the way to advance women’s health in particular.”
Professor Emmanuelle Waubant, Chair of International Women in MS which oversaw the review and judging process.
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"Dr Voskuhl is such a deserving recipient of the prize due to her ground-breaking work into why women are three times more likely to get MS compared to men, and how to target treatments to modify disease progression.”
Rachel Horne, founder of the prize.
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"Women make up the majority of MS patients. Only now are we beginning to fully appreciate the role of estrogens and X chromosome genes in disease pathogenesis. It has taken women in positions of influence in clinics, laboratories, newsrooms, and politics to embrace the invaluable clues revealed by sex differences research. The remaining unmet need is to translate findings to novel treatments optimally tailored for women. I hope this prize raises awareness and advances the goal of developing such treatments. It is such an honour to be recognized in the name of Rachel Horne given her esteemed accomplishments in news and journalism.”
Professor Rhonda Voskuhl.
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