Professor Klaus Schmierer, MB BS, PhD, FRCP

Profile

Klaus Schmierer is a Professor of Neurology at the Blizard Institute, Queen Mary University of London, and Consultant Neurologist at The Royal London Hospital, Barts Health NHS Trust, where he is the Research Lead for Neurology, Clinical Lead of the Day Case Unit, and BartsMS.

MS has been a focus of Dr Schmierer’s clinical and research activities from the beginning of his training in Neurology at the Charité Hospital (Humboldt University Berlin), which followed undergraduate studies in Berlin and Jerusalem. In 2001 he moved to London to pursue a career in academic neurology, initially as a Research Fellow, and from 2005 as a Wellcome Intermediate Clinical Fellow at the UCL Institute of Neurology, and a Consultant Neurologist at The National Hospital, Queen Square. Here, he investigated histo-pathological correlates of quantitative MRI using standard and high-field MR systems to improve disease monitoring in people with MS. Following appointments in 2009 at Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) and The Royal London Hospital (Barts Health NHS Trust) his clinical academic work now includes:

• exploring the pathological substrate of disease deterioration in pwMS using MRI and quantitative histology;
• studies into the epidemiology and cause(s) of MS/the BartsMS Database;
• in vivo MRI studies to improve the differential-diagnosis of MS, and
• investigator-led and commercial clinical trials. Research by his group has been supported by the Higher Education Funding Council for England, the Wellcome Trust, Barts Charity, the Royal College of Radiologists, UK MS Society, the National MS Society (US), MRC, NIHR and the pharmaceutical industry.

From 2013-15 Dr Schmierer served as a member of the Association of British Neurologists’ MS & Neuroinflammation Specialist Subcommittee which published the latest UK disease modifying treatment guidelines for people with MS. He has been the Deputy Director of the Research & Development Board in the Emergency Care & Acute Medicine Clinical Academic Group of Barts Health NHS Trust. He is the Past-Chair of the White Matter Study Group of the International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine, and serves on the MS Society’s Clinical Trials Network, their Consortium for progressive MS, as well as the review board of the MS Register. Dr Schmierer is the sub speciality lead for MS at the NIHR North Thames Clinical Research Network, and acts as an advisor to the EMA, MHRA and NICE on new drugs for MS.

Websites

• LinkedIn: Klaus Schmierer
• YouTube channel
• BartsMS Blog
• BartsMS Charity
• ChariotMS
• AssistMS
• AttackMS

Teaching

Research

Research Interests:

Ever since starting his career in neurology, Professor Schmierer has maintained a focus on inflammatory demyelination, including research into the pathology, pathophysiology, MRI detection and measurement, and disease control in people with Multiple Sclerosis (MS), the (differential) diagnosis and monitoring of MS, and investigator-led and commercial clinical trials. He advocates a proactive treatment approach at all stages of MS.

Professor Schmierer is the Lead for MS at the National Institute of Health Research North Thames Clinical Research Network and serves on the Scientific Strategy Committee of the UK MS Register.

He is a member of the steering committee of MAGNIFY-MS, and the chief investigator of ChariotMS, a national UK multi-centre trial of cladribine in people with advanced MS (www.chariotMS.com). His research has been supported by HEFCE, Wellcome Trust, Barts Charity, Royal College of Radiologists, UK MS Society, National MS Society (US), MRC, NIHR and collaborations with industry.

Research Group

Research Lead for Neurology; Clinical Lead of the Day Case Unit, and BartsMS.

Publications

• Baker D, Herrod SS, Alvarez-Gonzalez C, Giovannoni G, Schmierer K. Interpreting lymphocyte reconstitution data from the pivotal phase 3 trials of alemtuzumab. JAMA Neurol 2017;74:961-9.
• Petrova N, Carassiti D, Baker D, Scaravilli F, Schmierer K.  Axonal loss in the multiple sclerosis spinal cord revisited. Brain Pathol 2017 Apr 12. doi: 10.1111/bpa.12516. [Epub ahead of print]
• Carassiti D, Altmann DR, Pakkenberg B, Scaravilli F, Schmierer K.  Neuronal loss, demyelination and volume change across the multiple sclerosis neocortex. Neuropathol Appl Neurobiol 2017 Apr 18. doi: 10.1111/nan.12405. [Epub ahead of print]
• Campion T, Smith RJP, Altmann DR, Brito GC, Turner BP, Evanson J, George IC, Sati P, Reich DS, Miquel ME, Schmierer K. FLAIR* to visualize veins in white matter lesions: A new tool for the diagnosis of multiple sclerosis? Eur Radiol 2017 Apr 13. doi: 10.1007/s00330-017-4822-z. [Epub ahead of print]
• Baker D, Marta M, Pryce G, Giovannoni G, Schmierer K. Memory B cells are major targets for effective immunotherapy in relapsing multiple sclerosis. EBioMedicine 2017;16:41-50.
• Pakpoor J, Disanto G, Altmann DR, Pavitt S, Turner BP, Marta M, Juliusson G, Baker D, Chataway J, Schmierer K. No evidence for higher risk of cancer in patients with multiple sclerosis taking cladribine. Neurol Neuroimmunol Neuroinflamm 2015;2:e158.
• Davis AG, Dobson R, Kaninia S, Espasandin M, Berg A, Giovannoni G, Schmierer K.  Change practise now! Using atraumatic needles for prevention of post lumbar puncture headache. Eur J Neurol 2014;21:305-11.
• Schmierer K, Parkes HG, So P-W, An SF, Brandner SA, Ordidge RJ, Yousry TA, Miller DH. High field (9.4 Tesla) magnetic resonance imaging of multiple sclerosis cortical grey matter lesions. Brain 2010;133:858-67.
• Schmierer K, Wheeler-Kingshott CAM, Boulby PA, Scaravilli F, Altmann DR, Barker GJ, Tofts PS, Miller DH. Diffusion tensor imaging of post mortem multiple sclerosis brain. NeuroImage 2007;35:467-77.
• Schmierer K, Scaravilli F, Altmann DR, Barker GJ, Miller DH. Magnetization transfer ratio and myelin in postmortem multiple sclerosis brain. Ann Neurol 2004;56:407-415.
• Schmierer K, Irlbacher K, Grosse P, Röricht S, Meyer B-U. Correlates of disability in multiple sclerosis detected by transcranial magnetic stimulation. Neurology 2002;59:1218-24.
• Schmierer K, Niehaus L, Röricht S, Meyer B-U. Conduction deficits of callosal fibres in early multiple sclerosis. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 2000;68:633-8.

All Publications