Chair

Francois Bethoux, MD
Director of Rehabilitation Services
Cleveland Clinic Mellen Center for Multiple Sclerosis and Treatment Research
Cleveland, OH

Francois Bethoux, MD, serves as the Director of Rehabilitation Services at the Cleveland Clinic Mellen Center. He was born in 1964 in Paris, France. He completed his medical studies and residency in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation in Lyon, France. After moving to the United States to complete a Neuroimmunology fellowship at the Mellen Center for Multiple Sclerosis Treatment and Research (affiliated with the Cleveland Clinic Foundation), he remained on staff and today serves as the Director of Rehabilitation Services.

Dr Bethoux's research interests include outcomes measurements in both general and multiple sclerosis (MS)-specific neurorehabilitation, gait analysis and evaluation of symptomatic therapies and rehabilitative interventions for spasticity in MS and other disorders of the central nervous system.

Faculty

Susan E. Bennett, PT, EdD, NCS
Clinical Associate Professor
Department of Rehabilitation Services
University at Buffalo
Buffalo, NY

Susan Bennett, PT, EdD, NCS, MSCS earned her MS and EdD in Health Behavioral Sciences from the University at Buffalo. Dr. Bennett holds appointments in the Department of Neurology, Rehabilitation Medicine, and Communicative Disorders at the University at Buffalo. She is active in the American Physical Therapy Association, Consortium of MS Centers (CMSC) and the National MS Society.

Dr Bennett's research interests are in rehabilitation in MS as it relates to neuroplasticity, and balance retraining. She is chair of the Rehabilitation Research Interest Group of the CMSC and is developing standardized outcome measures in MS rehabilitation.

DRAFT. Patricia Kennedy, RN, CNP, MSCN received her BSN degree from the University of Cincinnati, completed her training as a nurse practitioner in family planning at the University of Colorado Medical Center in Denver, and completed the adult/geriatric nurse practitioner program at the University of Colorado School of Nursing in Denver. She is a certified adult/geriatric nurse practitioner and an MS-certified nurse.

Ms. Kennedy has been involved with MS nursing and patient education since 1987. She currently serves as a Nurse Educator at The Heuga Center in Edwards Colorado. She worked for the Rocky Mountain MS Center for 10 years specializing in patient education and neurological care. Ms Kennedy recently was awarded the June Halper Award for Excellence in MS Nursing by the International Organization of Multiple Sclerosis Nurses.

Randall (Randy) T. Schapiro, M.D. was born and raised in Minnesota. After graduating from Occidental College (Los Angeles, CA) in Biology, he graduated from the University of Minnesota Medical School. He trained in internal medicine at the Wadsworth VA Medical Center (UCLA) in Los Angeles and then in neurology under A. B. Baker, M.D. at the University of Minnesota. Following a short stint as a faculty member and director of the MS Clinic at the University of Minnesota he founded the first comprehensive MS Center in 1977, The Fairview MS Center, which was renamed, The Schapiro Center for Multiple Sclerosis at the Minneapolis Clinic of Neurology in 2004. He was the first elected president of the Consortium of MS Centers, an organization which he helped found. He has participated in the development of the Heuga Center, a wellness center for MS based in Colorado and was given their “Can Do” award. He has been elected to the National MS Society Hall of Fame and has served on numerous advisory committees for them including the Medical Advisory Board. He recently was presented the prestigious Starfish Award by the National MS Society. He also serves on the International MS Society’s Medical Advisory Board. He has served five years on the National Board of the National MS Society as well as serving his 31st year on the local board of the NMSS. He has lectured and written extensively on all topics associated with MS Management nationally and internationally. While he has participated in numerous research studies he is best known for his educating and patient management style often using humor to teach some sensitive topics.