Brett Thomas Lund, PhD

Dr. Lund is an Associate Professor in the Department of Neurology in Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles. He received his Bachelor of Science, honors degree, in Biochemistry from the University of Dundee, Scotland and a Ph.D. in Veterinary Immunology and Pathology from the Royal “Dick” Veterinary College at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland. He trained with world-renowned immunologists during his post-doctoral fellowship in viral immunology at the BBSRC Pirbright Laboratory in Woking, England. Dr. Lund was recruited to the USC Department of Neurology to the study efficacy of a novel vaccine for the treatment of Multiple Sclerosis and has run an independent, continuously funded, research laboratory for over 25 years.

In his research, Dr. Lund focuses on the role of the immune system, not only in the pathogenesis and accrual of pathology in the central nervous system, but also in tissue repair and neuroplasticity. His work is conducted both in animal models of disease and with MS patients. Currently funded research is assessing the efficacy of therapeutic intervention of the protective arm of the renin-angiotensin system on disease progression in MS and animal models, and assessing the effect of exercise intervention in disease modification and recovery. Dr. Lund is also actively involved in numerous clinical trials and studies with colleagues within the Department of Neurology assessing possible modes of action of new and approved MS therapies, and studying the effects of MS drugs on the immune system in MS patients. His laboratory has served as the blood processing and immunology core for the Alliance for Research in Hispanic MS (ARHMS) since its inception and plays an important role in the continued recruitment for this study.

The US Department of Defense, National Multiple Sclerosis Society, USC-CTSI, Race to Erase MS along with numerous pharmaceutical companies and private foundations have supported Dr. Lund’s research. He was a long-standing member of the British Society for Immunology, the Society for General Microbiology and the Federation of Clinical Immunology Societies and served as a member of the University of Southern California, Radiation Safety Committee and the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee.

• Amezcua, Lilyana
• Zlokovic, Berislav
• Azevedo, Christina
• Beringer, Paul
• Thompson, Paul
• Bernstein, Kenneth