Scott S. Zamvil, Professor of Neurology and Faculty, Program in Immunology at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), specializes in care of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), neuromyelitis optica (NMO) and MOG antibody-associated disease (MOGAD). His group's research has advanced our understanding of how antigen-specific T cells participate in these diseases and contributed to the development of widely used models for central nervous system (CNS) autoimmunity.
Dr. Zamvil received his MD and PhD in immunology from Stanford University. After completion of his neurology residency at the Brigham and Women's Hospital, he joined the Harvard neurology faculty, when he was awarded the National MS Society (NMSS) Harry Weaver Neuroscience Scholar Faculty Award. Since 1998, he has been on the faculty at the University of California, San Francisco, having appointments in neurology and immunology. In 2014, Dr. Zamvil was named the Donnie Smith Chair in MS Research.
His research is devoted to understanding how autoantigens are recognized by T cells and how MS therapies modulate T cell activation. Using the MS model, EAE, Dr. Zamvil demonstrated for the first time that autoantigen-specific T cell clones can cause autoimmunity. His group discovered many of the epitopes of CNS antigens in MS, NMO, and MOGAD and their corresponding animal models, the latter providing a foundation permitting in vivo studies by all investigators using those models. When studying how the MS therapy Copaxone works, Dr. Zamvil's group provided the initial demonstration that anti-inflammatory myeloid ("M2") cells can cause T cell regulation in vivo, now a central theme in innate immunity and therapy. His research showing that cholesterol-lowering statins can cause T cell modulation provided the foundation for testing statins in autoimmune diseases, including the first placebo-controlled trial testing a statin in MS, a trial led by Dr. Zamvil. Currently, his group is investigating how B cells activate T cells in MOGAD and NMO and how to modulate those responses therapeutically.
Dr. Zamvil is Deputy Editor of Neurology® Neuroimmunology and Neuroinflammation. Previously, he served on the Editorial Boards of The Journal of Clinical Investigation, The Journal of Immunology, Neurotherapeutics, The Journal of Neurological Sciences, and Frontiers in Immunology. His research and that of his fellows have been funded by the NMSS, National Institutes of Health and several philanthropic organizations. Dr. Zamvil has served on committees for the AAN, NMSS, American Committee on Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis, the International Society for Neuroimmunology and the Myelin Repair Foundation.