Barancik Prize Awarded to Dr. Ruth Ann Marrie at ACTRIMS 2023

The National Multiple Sclerosis Society announced that Ruth Ann Marrie, MD, PhD, a neurologist and researcher at the University of Manitoba, has received the Barancik Prize for Innovation in MS Research. This prestigious award recognizes exceptional innovation and originality in scientific research for multiple sclerosis (MS). Dr. Marrie will receive the prize at the Americas Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ACTRIMS) Forum 2023 on February 24, 2023, where she will deliver the prize lecture.

Marrie is being honored for her important discoveries that deepen the understanding of how and when MS evolves and could pave the way to more personalized medicine. Just one of the notable accomplishments over the course of her 20+ years in MS research is the publication in 2012 of a landmark paper that documented increased healthcare utilization of individuals with MS prior to diagnosis, which led to the recognition of the MS prodrome.

“Dr. Marrie brings her perspective as a neurologist to ask research questions that are very relevant to improving people’s quality of life and providing answers that will increase our ability to stop and even prevent MS in the future,” said Bruce Bebo, PhD, executive vice president of research programs, National MS Society. “She is also incredibly generous and very effective as a volunteer who provides critical leadership to MS research initiatives on a global scale.”  

Dr. Marrie is Professor of Medicine and Community Health at the University of Manitoba. She received both her undergraduate degree in chemistry and medical degree from Dalhousie University, followed by neurology training at McGill University, a fellowship in MS at the Cleveland Clinic, and a PhD in epidemiology from Case Western Reserve University.