Rhonda R. Voskuhl, MD
Suite B200
Los Angeles, California 90095
About
Rhonda Voskuhl MD is a Professor of Neurology at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), the Jack H. Skirball Chair, the Director of the UCLA Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Program, and faculty in the UCLA Comprehensive Menopause Care Program. She has over 25 years of clincal experience treating patients. She is an expert in multiple sclerosis, menopause and estrogen treatments. Her research focuses on finding neuroprotective treatments to repair neurological disabilities. Dr. Voskuhl translated findings in her lab to four clinical trials of novel hormone treatments, estriol for women and testosterone for men. Phase 2 trial findings included a decrease in cortical atrophy, improvement in cogntive processing speed, and a decrease in a blood biomarker of neurodegeneration during treatment with estriol as compared to placebo in MS women. At the basic research level, Dr. Voskuhl was the first to use a cell-specific and region-specific transcriptomics approach to investigate the molecular basis for disability-specific disease progression in a preclinical model of neurodegenerative disease. Dr. Voskuhl is also an internationally recognized expert in sex differences research, demonstrating roles for sex hormones and sex chromosomes in the immune system and the central nervous system. The Voskuhl lab was the first to show that estrogen receptor (ER) alpha and ER beta ligands were neuroprotective in MS models, acting via different mechanisms. ER alpha ligation targeted astrocytes, while ER beta ligation induced remyelination by direct effects on oligodendrocytes and indirectly by downregulation of innate immunity in microglia/macrophages. Her sex chromosome research discovered X-dosage and parental imprinting effects on autoimmunity. Dr. Voskuhl is the immediate Past-President of the Organization for the Study of Sex Differences (OSSD), an international academic organization aiming to optimize treatments for each sex during health and disease. Dr. Voskuhl received her MD from Vanderbilt University, completed neurology residency at University of Texas Southwestern and a postdoctoral fellowship at the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Voskuhl’s career mission is to use a region-specific, cell-specific, and sex-specific approach to identify novel treatment targets tailored for females and males in preclinical models of MS, Alzheimer's disease, and brain aging, then translate her discoveries back to the bedside as clinical trials using biomarkers of neurodegeneration as clinical efficacy outcomes. Dr. Voskuhl sees MS patients in the neurology clinic and sees otherwise healthy women with cognitive issues during menopause as faculty in the UCLA Comprehensive Menopause Care Program. Dr. Voskuhl mentors at the faculty, postdoctoral, graduate, and undergradate levels.
Languages
Education
Medical Board Certification
Fellowship
Residency
Internship
Degree
Recognitions
- Rachel Horne Prize Winner, 2023
- National Institutes of Health, NINDS, Research Program Award (R35) to discover new treatment targets to prevent neurodegeneration based on brain region, sex, and aging, 2023
- UCLA’s Innovation Award for discovery of an new estrogen receptor beta ligand treatment for neuroprotection, 2019 See More
Locations
Hospital Affiliations
Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center
Areas of Focus
Research
Interests
Dr. Voskuhl does translational research focused on finding new treatments for neurodegenerative diseases as well as brain atrophy and cogntive decline in otherwise healthy individuals during aging. She leverages sex differences in the effect of being female or male on neurologic disabilities to discover treatments optimized for women and men. She has been the Principle Investigator of four clinical trials testing new treatments based on work in her laboratory at UCLA. They generated Phase 2 trial data in support of promise for neuroprotection using clinical outcomes and biomarkers of neurodegeneration.
Publications
Link to Dr. Voskuhl's PubMed publications
Publication in press in Nature Communications:
Estrogen receptor beta in astrocytes modulates cognitive function in mid-age female mice.
Original draft posted on Nature Portfolio's Reaserch Square Preprint, Sept 29, 2021. Mind the Gap: Estrogen receptor beta in astrocytes is a therapeutic target to prevent cogntive problems at menopause. (Source: researchsquare.com)
In the News
- Dr. Rhonda Voskuhl Wins Inaugural Rachel Horne Prize for Women’s Research in MS (source: ectrims.eu)
- 2023 Rachel Horne Prize Winner
- August 16, 2023: The University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) launches its Comprehensive Menopause Care Program. Dr. Rhonda Voskuhl is the neurologist in the area of cognitive issues of menopause. She works within the larger group of UCLA gynecologists and other experts in areas of bone, breast, cardiovascular, and genitourinary health, among others.
- August 10, 2023: Dr. Voskuhl discusses with Dr. Elisabeth Celius of Oslo, Norway the need for treatments to prevent disability worsening during menopause in women with MS, including the potential use of a unique estrogen (estriol). This is a Podcast in anticipation of the European Committee for Treatment and Research in MS (ECTRIMS) in Milan, Italy in October of 2023.
- June 17, 2023: The pregnancy hormone estriol was found to reverse damage in the brain in a model of neurodegeneration. The research article by Dr. Rhonda Voskuhl and others at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) was featured in a UCLA press release, with extended distribution by FOX news, Neuroscience News, Science daily, Yahoo News, and Technology Network, among others.
- June 13, 2023: Forbes Magazine interviews Dr. Rhonda Voskuhl and other experts from across the U.S. to discuss the need for better treatments for multiple sclerosis in women, with Dr. Voskuhl discussing the need to prevent of disability worsening that aligns with menopause.
- May 1, 2023: UCLA Newsroom announces that Dr. Rhonda Voskuhl was awarded a $7.3 million Research Program Award (R35) from the National Institute of Health (NIH). Approximately 10 neuroscientists in the U.S. are selected each year for this award. Work in her laboratory at UCLA funded by this 8 year award will include how estrogen treatments can prevent cognitive decline by assessing gene expression in cells of the brain in regions involved in memory and information processing speed of females during aging and menopause. It will also discover specific targets to repair damage in brain regions aligned walking and visusal disabilities in MS.
Recognitions
- Rachel Horne Prize Winner, 2023
- National Institutes of Health, NINDS, Research Program Award (R35) to discover new treatment targets to prevent neurodegeneration based on brain region, sex, and aging, 2023
- UCLA’s Innovation Award for discovery of an new estrogen receptor beta ligand treatment for neuroprotection, 2019
- Kenneth P. Johnson Memorial Award by Americas Committee for Research and Treatment of MS (ACTRIMS), 2019
- Berlin Institute of Health Excellence Award for Sex and Gender Aspects in Health Research, 2018
- Jack H. Skirball Chair for Multiple Sclerosis Research, UCLA, 2006
- The Congressman Henry Waxman Honorary Grant by National Multiple Sclerosis Society, 2001
- Harry Weaver Neuroscience Scholar of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, 1997