Kenneth Johnson

Kenneth P. Johnson, MD, founder and past president of the Americas Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ACTRIMS), passed away on September 3, 2011 at the age of 79.  Ken was a leader in the field of multiple sclerosis. In 1995, he had a vision for a North American organization, which he called ACTRIMS (in harmony with its European counterpart ECTRIMS), with a mission to disseminate cutting-edge knowledge and attract young physicians and scientists to clinical and basic research in MS. The highlight of ACTRIMS was and continues to be an annual scientific meeting in North America that attracts young researchers and senior scientists in the field. In 2002, Ken led the first combined ACTRIMS/ECTRIMS meeting in Baltimore, MD, which attracted over 3000 attendees from the Americas and Europe. This joint meeting continues to occur every three years with resounding success in facilitating the spread of new knowledge in MS across the continents.

ACTRIMS is only one of the many contributions Ken made to multiple sclerosis. Early in his career, Ken made seminal contributions to the understanding of slow and persistent viral infections of the central nervous system, and the diagnostic significance of spinal fluid oligoclonal bands in MS. In the early 1980’s along with Hillel Panitch, MD, he conducted human clinical trials with Interferon-gamma that led to a paradigm shift in understanding the role of proinflammatory cytokines in MS.  As a principal investigator of two NIH center grants in demyelinating disease, Ken influenced the careers of many young faculty and trainees who chose MS as a research career.  Professionally, perhaps the most notable contribution he made is the leadership role he played in the development of two of the most commonly prescribed drugs for MS: interferon-beta and glatiramer acetate.  In 2000, in recognition of this contribution, the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and the American Academy of Neurology awarded him the John J. Dystel Prize for research in multiple sclerosis. Likewise, the Consortium of MS Centers (CMSC) awarded him their Life Achievement Award in 2010.    He served as the president of the CMSC from June 2004 to June 2005.

Ken was a gifted administrator. He chaired the Department of Neurology at the University of Maryland for almost 25 years, during which time he built strong educational and research programs. He always had a collaborative vision—exemplified by his ability to build strong clinical care and research relationships with VA Medical Centers. His approach to the VA was a model that many academic centers emulate even now; the latest of which is the support he provided to the establishment VA’s MS Centers of Excellence in the USA. 

Dr. Kenneth Johnson will be missed by his colleagues, family, friends, and certainly many of MS patients, whose lives were bettered by his contribution to treat multiple sclerosis.

–Suhayl Dhib-Jalbut, MD