Core Team Members

Because of the complexities of transverse myelitis, the JHTMC is comprised of a team of several neurologists within the Neuroimmunology Division and other experts who have a specialized knowledge of this rare and oftentimes difficult disorder. These neurologists include the following:

Daniel Becker
Head of Pediatric Restoration Therapy, International Center for Spinal Cord Injury (ICSCI)

Dr Becker is a neuro-rehabilitation specialist and faculty at the International Center for Spinal Cord Injury (ICSCI) at Kennedy Krieger Institute and focuses on evaluation and treatment of long-term effects of transverse myelitis and neuro-rehabilitation.

Julius Birnbaum, MD
Assistant Professor of Medicine, Division of Rheumatology
Assistant Professor of Neurology

Dr Julius Birnbaum has the unique expertise of rheumatology and neuroimmunology, as he was trained in both specialties. Dr Birnbaum focuses on patients who have transverse myelitis as a result of some underlying rheumatologic conditions, such as Sjogren's disease or systemic lupus erythematous.

Peter Calabresi, MD
Professor of Neurology
Director of the Johns Hopkins Multiple Sclerosis Center

Dr Peter Calabresi focuses on the assessment of those patients suspected of having demyelinating syndromes that can present as transverse myelitis. His research interests lie in studying neurodegeneration and neuroprotection in demyelinating disorders. He is also interested in the assessment of novel biomarker technologies such as ocular coherence tomography (OCT), a new non-invasive technique used in the assessment of axonal and retinal damage produced in neuroimmunological disorders.

Daniel Harrison, MD
Assistant Professor of Neurology

Dr Daniel Harrison focuses on myelitis, myelopathies, and demyelinating disorders that can present as transverse myelitis. He has expertise in neuroimaging technology in neuroimmunological disorders.

Michael Levy, MD
Assistant Professor of Neurology

Dr Michael Levy focuses on neuromyelitis optica and neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders, including recurrent transverse myelitis and longitudinally-extensive transverse myelitis. Dr Levy is the Director of the NMO Clinic at Hopkins and is not only dedicated to the diagnosis and management of NMO but also is devoted to research of this TM-related disorder.

Justin McArthur, MD
Professor of Neurology, Immunology, and Epidemiology
Director, Department of Neurology

Dr Justin McArthur has a longstanding interest in patients with neuroinfectious disorders including viral diseases associated with transverse myelitis such as herpes infections, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), or other viruses that may affect the spinal cord.

Ellen Mowry, MD
Assistant Professor of Neurology

Dr. Ellen Mowry focuses on assessment of those patients with partial TM, who may be suspected of having demyelinating syndromes. Her research interests lie in the role of vitamin D in demyelinating disease, and she is launching a multicenter randomized controlled trial of vitamin D supplementation in MS.

Scott Newsome, MD
Assistant Professor of Neurology

Dr Scott Newsome focuses on assessment of those patients suspected of having demyelinating syndromes that can present as transverse myelitis. His research focuses on the use of new quantitative clinical outcome measures and imaging techniques such as ocular coherence tomography which may improve the precision of disability measurements. He is also a leader of several clinical trials at Johns Hopkins.

Carlos Pardo-Villamizar, MD
Associate Professor of Neurology and Pathology

Dr Carlos Pardo-Villamizar, Director of the Johns Hopkins Transverse Myelitis Center, focuses on the management of acute idiopathic transverse myelitis, as well as evaluation and treatment of sub-acute and chronic myelopathies associated with neurosarcoidosis and other etiologies.

John Ratchford, MD
Assistant Professor of Neurology

Dr John Ratchford focuses on myelitis, myelopathies, and demyelinating disorders that can present as TM. He has expertise and is the primary investigator of several clinical trials in neuroimmunological disorders.

Arun Venkatesan, MD
Assistant Professor of Neurology
Director of the Johns Hopkins Encephalitis Center

Dr Arun Venkatesan focuses on patients with transverse myelitis as a result of an infectious disorder. Furthermore, his research interest involves promoting repair to a damaged nervous system.

Learn more about our extended health care team members.