Mindy Eisenberg, MHSA, C-IAYT, ERYT-500
Director and Founder of Yoga Moves MS

Mindy is the Founder and Director of Yoga Moves MS, a non profit 501(c (3) with the mission of improving the quality of life for individuals with MS, Parkinson’s Disease, and neuromuscular conditions through the provision of adaptive yoga and holistic health and wellness education.  Mindy has provided in person and virtual yoga therapy to individuals with mobility challenges for over seventeen years and thrives on building a strong, mighty community for her students, families, and care partners. She is the author of Adaptive Yoga Moves Any Body, created for individuals with MS and neuromuscular conditions and Adaptive Yoga Cards, daily yoga moves for all ages and abilities. She has trained hundreds of students with her Adaptive Yoga Moves Any Body Teacher Training and is a Qualified Mindfulness-Based Stress reduction teacher, Reiki Master, and Certified Buteyko Breathing Instructor. Her experience as a health care administrator at the University of Michigan Medical Center contributes to her ability to bring the Yoga Moves philosophy of healing to the health care arena. She created the cutting edge annual Virtual Holistic Health and Wellness Forum for MS, presents for corporate, academic, and yoga therapy organizations, and offers small group and private therapeutic yoga, breathing, and meditation sessions. She lives with her husband and pets, Felix and Oscar in Michigan, and loves to visit her daughter and son, Julia and Noah, in NYC.

Dr. Taylor Gonyou

Taylor Gonyou is a graduate of Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine where she graduated at the top of her class. She completed her neurology residency through the Beaumont Health System and Michigan State University Statewide Campus System. During her neurology training, she developed a sincere interest and passion for helping patients with the diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis and related disorders. She made the decision to dedicate her career to helping patients with MS both from a clinical and research perspective. She is currently completing her fellowship in Multiple Sclerosis at the Michigan Institute for Neurological Disorder’s Comprehensive MS Center.

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Betsy Hartman, MT-BC
Music Therapist-Board Certified
Neurologic Music Therapist, Fellow

Betsy will present how music therapy plays a role in the three of levels of wellness for people living with MS and their caregiver(s). She will provide an overview of music therapy including education, training, recent research, and the role of a music therapist – speaking specifically to the music therapy program at the MS Center. If time permits, she will lead an experiential exercise to showcase how music therapy addressed physical and psychosocial health.

Betsy is a board-certified music therapist with extensive experience working with people living with cancer, multiple sclerosis (MS), and their families. She founded PNW Music Therapy (Seattle) in 2014 and since that time has partnered with Swedish Medical Group (Seattle) to build and lead its flagship music therapy program at Swedish Cancer Institute and Swedish MS Center. Betsy is passionate about developing tools and resources to help reduce pain and anxiety, improve coping skills and wellness, and enhance motor, speech, and cognitive health. In addition to her clinical work, she partners with companies to develop resources, tools, and content which improve access to and awareness of music therapy. Betsy participated in developing the award-winning music therapy resource, MS in Harmony, The Power of Music as Therapy video, and is a guest speaker for podcasts such as MS Journeys on IHeartRadio and RealTalk MS.

The Power of Music as Therapy in MS
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Ilana Katz Sand, MD
Associate Professor of Neurology
Kahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Dr. Katz Sand received her undergraduate degree from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, where she was elected to the Beta Gamma Sigma Honor Society. She obtained her MD degree from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons where she was elected to the AOA Honor Society, the Arnold P. Gold Humanism in Medicine Honor Society, and received the Helen Sciarra Prize in Neurology. She completed her neurology residency at Columbia University Medical Center, where she was elected chief resident in her final year and was recognized by the Arnold P. Gold Humanism Foundation Circle of Excellence in Teaching. She then pursued a two-year fellowship in Multiple Sclerosis at the Corinne Goldsmith Dickinson Center for MS at Mount Sinai, funded by a Sylvia Lawry Fellowship Training Grant from the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. She joined the faculty at Mount Sinai following completion of her fellowship in 2013.

Dr. Katz Sand is currently the Associate Director of the CGD Center for MS. She cares for patients with Multiple Sclerosis, Neuromyelitis Optica, and other neuroimmunological conditions. She received a Cullman Family Award for Excellence in Physician Communication in 2016 and 2022. She is heavily involved in research, and is currently the Principal Investigator on several studies at the Center with a focus on clinical and translational research and a particular interest in how environmental factors, especially diet, affect prognosis. Recent and current studies include a pilot clinical trial of a dietary intervention for MS, observational studies related to diet and other lifestyle factors in MS, an investigation of the role of the gut microbiome in MS, a study on the mechanisms of neuronal degeneration in progressive MS, and a pilot clinical trial of cetirizine as an add-on for NMO. Her work has been funded by the National MS Society, the US Department of Defense, and the Guthy Jackson Charitable Foundation. She is a member of the National MS Society’s Wellness Research Working Group and the Co-Director of the CGD Center’s MS Wellness Program.

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James Voci, MD
Chair, Yoga Moves MS

Dr. James M. Voci received his undergraduate training at Haverford College in Philadelphia followed by Medical School at the University of Pennsylvania. There, his interest in Neurology was nurtured by a strong faculty which included Dr. Robert Lisak who later became Chairmen of Neurology at DMC in Detroit. His residency in Neurology was performed at University Hospitals of Cleveland/Case Western Reserve University where he served as Chief Resident in his final year. Upon completion of his training, he served on the faculty there as Assistant Professor Of Neurology, performing both research in molecular biology as well as the instruction of new residents. In 1996 he left for private practice and eventually arrived in the metro Detroit region in 1999 where he has remained since. Dr. Voci currently serves as the Director of Neurology at St. Francis Hosp in Evanston. He is actively involved in the care of Multiple Sclerosis patients both clinically and with clinical research studies. And, yes, he actively practices Yoga. He has been the Chair of Yoga Moves MS since 2014.

Dr. Emmanuelle Waubant, MD, PhD
Neurologist, University of California San Francisco Weil Institute for Neuroscience
Dr. Waubant will present about the microbiome as it relates to MS.

Emmanuelle L. Waubant, MD, PhD, received her medical degree at the University of Lille, France. She then trained in France as well as at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) in adult neurology, neuroimmunology and MS clinical research.  She is currently Professor of Neurology and Pediatrics at UCSF. She has served as the Race to Erase MS medical director since 2001. She also directs the Regional Pediatric MS Center at UCSF and is the president-elect of the Americas Committee on Treatment and Research in MS. Dr. Waubant serves or has served on the clinical care, fellowship and research grant review, and research programs advisory committees of the National MS Society. She is the Chair of the Clinical Trial Task Force of the International Pediatric MS Study Group and a Steering Committee member of the US Pediatric MS Network and International Pediatric MS Study Group. She also directs translational research projects and mentors junior investigators on various clinical, research and career development aspects in the field of MS and related diseases. In 2018, Dr. Waubant started an international consortium (international Women in MS) to foster diversity and community spirit among clinicians and scientists from all over the world, promote diversity in professional organizations and mentor junior women in the field of MS.

Dr. Waubant’s specific interests include the translation of promising agents from the bench to bedside to advance patients’ care, and risk factors for MS susceptibility and disease modification in pediatric and adult MS.

Powerpoint Slides