Meet our international team of researchers
Professor Alon Kalron
Alon Kalron (Ph.D., PT) is a Senior Lecturer at the Chair of the Department of Physical Therapy, Sackler Faculty of Medicine and the Sagol School of Neuroscience, Tel-Aviv University, Israel and Head of the Movement & Brain Interaction Research Lab (https://www.alonkalron.sites.tau.ac.il/). Alon also serves as head of the Physical Rehabilitation Researc h Unit, The Center of Multiple Sclerosis, Sheba Medical Center, Israel. Dr. Kalron has worked as a physical therapist since 1995 with a strong clinical and scientific background in neurological rehabilitation. He has also served as a clinical instructor for many physical therapy students. His main research has focused on physical activity, cognition, gait and balance in the neurological population, particularly, people with MS. His research interest involves the use of neuroimaging and biological markers to better comprehend the impact of interventions on neural function and structure. Furthermore, Dr. Kalron's work involves creating and testing new rehabilitation treatments that promote brain plasticity and restore lost mobility functions. He challenges conventional thinking by combining new technologies as Virtual Reality (VR) while tracking the impact via advanced motion sensors in/outside the laboratory environment focusing on real-life situations. He has networked both nationally and internationally with clinical leaders in the field of MS. Dr. Kalron has published over 100 articles in international peer-review journals and has presented his work at national and international scientific conferences. Funding has been received from the National MS Society, Ministry of Science and Technology, Ministry of Justice, National Insurance Institute, and the pharmacological industry.
Professor Lars Hvid
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Senior Researcher (The Danish Multiple Sclerosis Hospitals, Ry and Haslev, Denmark)
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Associate Professor (Exercise Biology, Dept. of Public Health, Aarhus University, Denmark)
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Executive Board Member (Rehabilitation in Multiple Sclerosis - RIMS)
Main domain of research
Lars Hvid is an exercise physiologist with a background in aging research, although he shifted towards multiple sclerosis research in 2017. Lars Hvid has been working on how the neuromuscular system changes with multiple sclerosis, aging, exercise, and disuse, but also on which underlying mechanisms that are involved (e.g., neurotrophic factors, neurophysiological and -structural adaptations). The translational aspects have been a focal point of his research (e.g., how exercise-induced improvements in neuromuscular function translates into improvements in physical function). Currently, his main research aims concerns (1) the effects of multi-disciplinary rehabilitation in MS, (2) the interaction between MS and aging and how this influences neuromuscular function, physical function, fatigue, and quality of life, along with (3) how exercise can be of used as ‘treatment’ to counteract the deleterious effects induced by MS and aging (e.g., eliciting neuroprotection).
Professor Massimilano Pau
Massimiliano Pau is full professor of Bioengineering and head of the “Laboratory of Biomechanics and Industrial Ergonomics” at the University of Cagliari, italy. In the last decade he performed extensive research on mobility issues of people with Multiple Sclerosis (pwMS) using state-of-the-art techniques for human movement analysis (i.e., motion capture system, force platforms, wearable inertial sensors, surface electromyography, etc.). In particular, his work is focused on providing clinicians reliable and accurate quantitative data about gait, balance, upper limb function and physical activity of pwMS while, at the same time, trying to facilitate the integration of instrumental analysis in the clinical routine. Due to the strict connection with one of the largest specialized MS centers in Italy, M. Pau has been able to lead a series of research activities focused on the characterization of gait impairments of pwMS as a function of different individual’s features like disability level, presence of spasticity and sex, by means of kinematic, kinetic and muscular activation parameters. Of note, together with the group he leads, he’s been involved in the analysis of specific non-conventional gait aspects like smoothness, symmetry and coordination which are relatively less explored, thus being able to provide important insights on the mechanisms underlying gait alterations originated by MS. Such approaches were successfully applied to assess the effectiveness of pharmacologic and rehabilitative treatments. He is also interested in the use of wearable sensors not only as “low-cost” and “easy-to-use” tool to facilitate the introduction of quantitative measurements in a clinical setting, but above all to obtain valuable information about mobility of pwMS under free-living conditions, thus overcoming the typical “snapshot” effect associated with laboratory measurements which are usually carried out at few discrete points across the disease course. In this context, he explored the possibility to employ wrist-worn accelerometers not only to objectively assess quantity and intensity of the performed physical activity, but also to investigate the use of upper limbs during activities of daily living. Data obtained from accelerometers have been also employed to understand possible differences in the performed physical activity associated with sex of pwMS and correlated with the results of laboratory-based tests. M. Pau is member of the Editoria Boards of the journals “Ergonomics” (Taylor and Francis) and “Bioengineering” (MDPI) and leading author or co-author of 168 publications indexed in the SCOPUS platform (H-index = 26).
Dr. Matthew Herring
Dr. Herring is a world leader in exercise psychology who is responsible for the most rigorous evidence over the last 15 years for the influence of physical activity and exercise on mental health, particularly symptoms of anxiety, depression, and fatigue, among adults with chronic illness and/or anxiety and depressive disorders. As Founding and Acting Director of the Exercise is Medicine® Ireland National Centre, he also has demonstrated expertise and leadership in the integration of physical activity into healthcare across the continuum from assessment and prescription in General Practice, to the implementation, efficacy, and evaluation of laboratory-based, community-based, and home-based exercise interventions, and translation to enhance guidelines and physical activity messaging regarding physical activity and exercise for mental health. He has published 107 peer-reviewed articles (h-index: 42) in high impact journals across psychiatry, medicine, exercise science, and public health, successfully funded his research program for the past decade, and provided primary evidence for the World Health Organization Guidelines (WHO) on Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior, Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, the Annual Report of the UK Chief Medical Officer, the World Federation of Societies of Biological Psychiatry Guidelines, and Guidelines from the German Association of the Scientific Medical Societies.
Dr. Herring brings to the proposed research his expertise and experience in mental health, the design, management, implementation, and oversight of laboratory- and field-based definitive trials of exercise interventions, including trials of home-based exercise among people with Multiple Sclerosis, trials of non-traditional exercise modalities of relevance to populations with mobility limitations (i.e., resistance exercise training, Pilates training), quantification of exercise dose, adherence, and compliance, and effective translation and dissemination. Particularly relevant to the proposed research, Dr. Herring is responsible for the only available definitive trials of home-based Pilates training for mental health among people with Multiple Sclerosis and resistance exercise training for signs and symptoms among adults with subclinical and clinical Generalized Anxiety Disorder, each demonstrating clinically meaningful improvements in mental health. Further, Dr. Herring’s recent work has reinforced the safety of exercise training among people with Multiple Sclerosis, and his active Health Research Board funded research recently showed that lower physical activity doses than those recommended by WHO guidelines are protective for Major Depression and Generalized Anxiety Disorder among middle-aged and older adults with and without chronic illnesses.
Professor Susan Coote
Susan is a Physiotherapist specialising in neurological rehabilitation. Her current focus is on optimising symptoms and quality of life for people living in the community with neurological conditions. Current projects are funded by the Health Research Board, MS Ireland (through the Ireland Fund) and the Irish Research Council. She has over 60 peer reviewed journal publications and has supervised 11 postgraduate students to completion.
She was appointed as Lecturer in Physiotherapy at University of Limerick in 2003,Senior Lecturer in 2015 and Associate Professor in 2016 and teaches and researches in the area of neurological rehabilitation at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. She is the director of the MS Research team at UL and a member of the Health Research Institute and Center for Physical Activity and Health Research.
She leads a programme of work in close collaboration with Multiple Sclerosis Ireland, with whom UL formalised a memorandum of understanding in 2011. Collaborations with Sports Science, Psychology, Kinesiology, Occupational Therapy and Electronic Engineering in Ireland, the USA and Canada allow a convergent and multidisciplinary approach to the pertinent issues. This work is supported by her involvement in RIMS (Rehabilitation in MS, the European Network for Research and Best Practice) and through the PIMS (Physiotherapists Interested in MS) group.
Dr. Guilia Casu
Giulia Casu is a research assistant at the Department of Mechanical, Chemical, and Materials Engineering of the University of Cagliari (Italy), currently working at the Laboratory of Biomechanics and Industrial Ergonomics, led by Prof. Massimiliano Pau. She obtained her Bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Engineering at the University of Cagliari in 2018 and later her Master’s degree in Bioengineering, with a focus on Biomechanics and Biomaterials, at the Politecnico di Milano in 2021. In 2025, she earned a Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering, with research topic based on the use of new technologies for the assessment and reduction of biomechanical risk in working environments. Specifically, her work focused on the use of innovative techniques for human movement analysis (i.e., motion capture system, force platforms, wearable inertial sensors, surface electromyography, etc.), applied in the ergonomic sector at first, but also in clinic and sport settings. In the clinic sector, G. Casu has been involved in different research activities aimed to quantitatively analyse gait, balance, upper limb function, muscular strength and physical activity in people affected by neurological impairment and mobility issues, including people with Multiple Sclerosis (pwMS). Such approaches were applied to assess the effectiveness of pharmacologic and rehabilitative treatments, exploring the use of innovative techniques, including wearable technology and virtual reality.
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