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Christopher Hemond, MD,

Christopher Hemond, MD, Assistant Professor of neurology

Christopher Hemond, MD
Associate Research Director
Neuroimmunology, and MS Center
Principal Investigator of Hemond Lab
Christopher.Hemond@umassmemorial.org

Academic Appointment:
Christopher Hemond, MD, joined the UMass Chan Medical School faculty team in July, 2018. Hemond, MD, has received several NMMS pilot research awards as both PI (2019) and co-PI (2020). He is a recipient of a K23 NIH award as well. 

Hemond, MD, completed his medical school and residency at Stanford University Medical School in Palo Alto, CA, in 2012, which included an internship year at the University of Hawaii. Hemond went on to complete a clinical research fellowship at the Partners MS Center, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, in Boston specializing in MRI analysis, prior to joining UMass Chan.  

HemondLab Research: 
 -
Development and translation of MRI-based biomarkers of MS 
 - Qualitative MRI analysis of the brain and spinal cord using state of the art high resolution anatomic sequences
 - MS disease severity and progression, such as, “iron rim lesion”
 - New MS therapies
 - Qualitative Susceptibility Mapping, diffusing imaging, MR spectroscopy and fMRI.
 - Assessing the effects of mindfulness-based stress reduction on structural brain remodeling and potentially reducing neuroinflammation and cortisol levels in MS.
 - The exploration of immunological and metabolic factors that determine pathological rates of brain atrophy and neurodegeneration in multiple sclerosis.
 - Development of biomarkers related to brain atrophy and neurodegeneration in MS. 

 Hemond, MD, Clinical Experience: 
 -
Board-certified neurologist
 - Clinical subspecialty training in neuroimmunology and MSi
 - Running the mindfulness outreach component of the MS Clinic to bridge treatment and research by connecting individuals who benefit from education.experiential initiatives with grant funding, clinical trials.
 - Studying how the brain influences the inflammatory state of the immune system 

Hemond, MD, Educational Experience: 
 - Maintaining active grant funding from the NIH, the Worcester Foundation, the National MS Society, the Multiple Sclerosis Foundation, and the Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers. 

Active/Current Clinical Trials - Conquering Diseases - Search

Christopher Hemond, MD publications

  • Spinal cord imaging for multiple sclerosis: Advances, priorities, and opportunities

    Monday, June 01, 2026
    Author(s): Cornelia Laule,Julien Cohen-Adad,Atlee A Witt,Gabriele C De Luca,Cristina Granziera,B Mark Keegan,Anne Kerbrat,Eric C Klawiter,Shannon Kolind,Kristin P O'Grady,Jiwon Oh,Kurt G Schilling,Dinesh K Sivakolundu,Seth A Smith,Ceren Tozlu,Irene M Vavasour,Francesca Bagnato,Susan A Gauthier,Caterina Mainero,Eva Alonso-Ortiz,Rohit Bakshi,Erin S Beck,Matthew R Brier,Christopher C Hemond,Stephen Krieger,David Kb Li,Russell T Shinohara,Roland G Henry,North American Imaging in Multiple Sclerosis (NAIMS) Cooperative
    Source: Multiple sclerosis (Houndmills, Basingstoke, England)
    The spinal cord plays a central role in the pathophysiology and clinical manifestations of multiple sclerosis (MS), yet remains under-studied compared with the brain. This review summarizes key insights from the 2025 North American Imaging in MS Spinal Cord Imaging Workshop, highlighting recent advances, ongoing challenges, and future opportunities in MS spinal cord imaging. We review pathological studies and outline the clinical relevance of spinal cord lesions and atrophy for diagnosis,...
  • Filtered-phase imaging versus susceptibility-weighted imaging for paramagnetic rim lesion detection in multiple sclerosis: A head-to-head comparison

    Sunday, April 26, 2026
    Author(s): Chris Hollen,Carolina Garcia,Christopher C Hemond,Rebecca I Spain,Cole Crowson,Helen Wu,Elizabeth Silbermann
    Source: Multiple sclerosis (Houndmills, Basingstoke, England)
    CONCLUSIONS: Both techniques reliably detect PRLs with substantial inter-rater agreement. Filtered-phase imaging offers superior positive predictive value, while SWI provides better sensitivity and inter-rater reliability. Further development of a standardized training program for assessment of PRL and studies directly comparing susceptibility-sensitive sequences on different vendor platforms are warranted.
  • Generalizable spinal cord multiple sclerosis lesion segmentation across MRI contrasts, protocols, and centers

    Friday, April 24, 2026
    Author(s): Pierre-Louis Benveniste,Laurent Létourneau-Guillon,David Araujo,Lydia Chougar,Dumitru Fetco,Masaaki Hori,Kouhei Kamiya,Steven Messina,Charidimos Tsagkas,Bertrand Audoin,Rohit Bakshi,Elise Bannier,Daniel Blezek,Jean-Christophe Brisset,Virginie Callot,Erik Charlson,Michelle Chen,Olga Ciccarelli,Sarah Demortière,Gilles Edan,Massimo Filippi,Tobias Granberg,Cristina Granziera,Christopher C Hemond,B Mark Keegan,Anne Kerbrat,Jan Kirschke,Shannon Kolind,Pierre Labauge,Lisa Eunyoung Lee,Yaou Liu,Caterina Mainero,Julian McGinnis,Nilser Laines Medina,Mark Mühlau,Govind Nair,Kristin P O'Grady,Jiwon Oh,Russell Ouellette,Alexandre Prat,Daniel S Reich,Maria A Rocca,Timothy M Shepherd,Seth A Smith,Leszek Stawiarz,Jason Talbott,Roger Tam,Shahamat Tauhid,Anthony Traboulsee,Constantina Andrada Treaba,Paola Valsasina,Zachary Vavasour,Marios Yiannakas,Hervé Lombaert,Julien Cohen-Adad
    Source: Multiple sclerosis (Houndmills, Basingstoke, England)
    CONCLUSIONS: The proposed model can achieve accurate and reliable spinal cord MS lesion segmentation across heterogeneous MRI data, addressing a key barrier to clinical translation. The model is available in the Spinal Cord Toolbox v7.2 and higher.Code repository: https://github.com/ivadomed/seg-sc-ms-lesion-multicontrast.
  • Deep cervical lymph node volume decreases following B-cell depletion therapy

    Thursday, August 28, 2025
    Author(s): Nikhil Lele,Sathish K Dundamadappa,Christopher C Hemond
    Source: Multiple sclerosis journal - experimental, translational and clinical
    The deep cervical lymph nodes (dCLNs) are sites of immune presentation and B-cell maturation from the brain, and potentially involved in mechanisms of neuroinflammation. We hypothesized a reduction in dCLN volume following B-cell depletion therapy. In a retrospective cohort, we segmented bilateral dCLN from T2-FLAIR MRI at "prebaseline," "baseline," and "post-B-cell depletion" timepoints. Using a multivariable mixed-effect regression model, we find no changes in dCLN volumes between prebaseline...
  • Paramagnetic rim lesions are highly specific for multiple sclerosis in real-world data

    Wednesday, June 11, 2025
    Author(s): Christopher C Hemond,Sathish K Dundamadappa,Mugdha Deshpande,Jonggyu Baek,Robert H Brown,Carolina Ionete,Daniel S Reich
    Source: Brain communications
    Paramagnetic rim lesions (PRLs) are an emerging biomarker for multiple sclerosis representing chronic, low-grade intraparenchymal brain inflammation. In addition to associating with greater disease severity, PRLs may be diagnostically supportive. Our aim in this study was to determine PRL specificity and sensitivity for discriminating multiple sclerosis from its diagnostic mimics using real-world clinical diagnostic and imaging data. This is a retrospective, cross-sectional analysis of a...
  • Paramagnetic rim lesion formation is predicted by the initial gadolinium-enhancing lesion diameter

    Friday, January 17, 2025
    Author(s): Mustafa Al Gburi,Maria Mazzola,Martina Absinta,María I Gaitán,Daniel S Reich,Sathish K Dundamadappa,Christopher C Hemond
    Source: Multiple sclerosis (Houndmills, Basingstoke, England)
    CONCLUSIONS: The long-axis diameter of a CEL is the best translational predictor of subsequent PRL formation at follow-up. This measure holds promise as a method to identify patients at high risk of chronic active lesion formation during the acute inflammatory window.
  • Paramagnetic Rim Lesions are Highly Specific for Multiple Sclerosis in Real-World Data

    Monday, October 07, 2024
    Author(s): Christopher C Hemond,Sathish K Dundamadappa,Mugdha Deshpande,Jonggyu Baek,Robert H Brown,Carolina Ionete,Daniel S Reich
    Source: medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences
    CONCLUSIONS: PRL convey high specificity for MS and can aid in the diagnostic evaluation. Modest sensitivity limits their use as single diagnostic indicators. Including lesions with lower confidence ("possible" PRL) rapidly erodes specificity and should be interpreted with caution given the potential harms associated with misdiagnosis.
  • New Imaging Markers in Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders: Smoldering Inflammation and the Central Vein Sign

    Friday, June 28, 2024
    Author(s): Christopher C Hemond,María I Gaitán,Martina Absinta,Daniel S Reich
    Source: Neuroimaging clinics of North America
    Concepts of multiple sclerosis (MS) biology continue to evolve, with observations such as "progression independent of disease activity" challenging traditional phenotypic categorization. Iron-sensitive, susceptibility-based imaging techniques are emerging as highly translatable MR imaging sequences that allow for visualization of at least 2 clinically useful biomarkers: the central vein sign and the paramagnetic rim lesion (PRL). Both biomarkers demonstrate high specificity in the discrimination...
  • A single-arm, open-label pilot study of neuroimaging, behavioral, and peripheral inflammatory correlates of mindfulness-based stress reduction in multiple sclerosis

    Tuesday, June 18, 2024
    Author(s): Christopher C Hemond,Mugdha Deshpande,Idanis Berrios-Morales,Shaokuan Zheng,Jerrold S Meyer,George M Slavich,Steven W Cole
    Source: Scientific reports
    Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic neurological disease frequently associated with significant fatigue, anxiety, depression, and stress. These symptoms are difficult to treat, and prominently contribute to the decreases in quality of life observed with MS. The underlying mechanisms of these "silent" symptoms are not well understood and include not just the psychological responses to a chronic disease, but also biological contributions from bidirectional psycho-neuro-immune (dys)regulation of...
  • Multiple sclerosis can be diagnosed solely with dissemination in space: No

    Monday, April 15, 2024
    Author(s): Christopher C Hemond,Andrew J Solomon
    Source: Multiple sclerosis (Houndmills, Basingstoke, England)
    No abstract
  • Evaluating the Clinical Utility of Epstein-Barr Virus Antibodies as Biomarkers in Multiple Sclerosis: A Systematic Review

    Saturday, February 24, 2024
    Author(s): Abigail Bose,Farnaz Khalighinejad,David C Hoaglin,Christopher C Hemond
    Source: Multiple sclerosis and related disorders
    CONCLUSION: Heterogeneous methodology limited generalization and meta-analysis. EBV antibody levels are unlikely to represent prognostic biomarkers in MS. The areas of highest ongoing promise relate to diagnostic exclusion and pharmacodynamic/disease response. Use of EBV antibodies as biomarkers in clinical practice remains additionally limited by lack of methodological precision, reliability, and validation.
  • Imaging chronic active lesions in multiple sclerosis: a consensus statement

    Tuesday, January 16, 2024
    Author(s): Francesca Bagnato,Pascal Sati,Christopher C Hemond,Colm Elliott,Susan A Gauthier,Daniel M Harrison,Caterina Mainero,Jiwon Oh,David Pitt,Russell T Shinohara,Seth A Smith,Bruce Trapp,Christina J Azevedo,Peter A Calabresi,Roland G Henry,Cornelia Laule,Daniel Ontaneda,William D Rooney,Nancy L Sicotte,Daniel S Reich,Martina Absinta
    Source: Brain : a journal of neurology
    Chronic active lesions (CAL) are an important manifestation of chronic inflammation in multiple sclerosis and have implications for non-relapsing biological progression. In recent years, the discovery of innovative MRI and PET-derived biomarkers has made it possible to detect CAL, and to some extent quantify them, in the brain of persons with multiple sclerosis, in vivo. Paramagnetic rim lesions on susceptibility-sensitive MRI sequences, MRI-defined slowly expanding lesions on T1-weighted and...
  • Paramagnetic rim lesions are associated with pathogenic CSF profiles and worse clinical status in multiple sclerosis: A retrospective cross-sectional study

    Friday, June 24, 2022
    Author(s): Christopher C Hemond,Jonggyu Baek,Carolina Ionete,Daniel S Reich
    Source: Multiple sclerosis (Houndmills, Basingstoke, England)
    CONCLUSION: PRLs, an emerging noninvasive biomarker of chronic neuroinflammation, are confirmed to be associated with greater disease severity and newly shown to be preliminarily associated with blood-brain barrier disruption.
  • The impact of socioeconomic status on mental health and health-seeking behavior across race and ethnicity in a large multiple sclerosis cohort

    Saturday, December 25, 2021
    Author(s): Daniela A Pimentel Maldonado,Justin R Eusebio,Lilyana Amezcua,Eleni S Vasileiou,Ellen M Mowry,Christopher C Hemond,Raffaella Umeton Pizzolato,Idanis Berrios Morales,Irina Radu,Carolina Ionete,Kathryn C Fitzgerald
    Source: Multiple sclerosis and related disorders
    CONCLUSION: Higher SES was associated with a lower burden of psychiatric symptoms and with a higher likelihood of self-reported symptom recovery after receiving mental health treatment. Attitudes regarding mental health care delivery in MS varied according to racial and ethnic background. Future longitudinal studies in more diverse populations should assess whether co-location of mental health services with MS care helps to reduce the gap between access and need of mental health care in MS.
  • Paramagnetic Rim Lesions in Multiple Sclerosis: Comparison of Visualization at 1.5-T and 3-T MRI

    Wednesday, December 01, 2021
    Author(s): Christopher C Hemond,Daniel S Reich,Sathish K Dundamadappa
    Source: AJR. American journal of roentgenology
    BACKGROUND. Multiple sclerosis (MS) is characterized by both acute and chronic intrathecal inflammation. A subset of MS lesions show paramagnetic rims on susceptibility-weighted MRI sequences, reflecting iron accumulation in microglia. These para-magnetic rim lesions have been proposed as a marker of compartmentalized smoldering disease. Paramagnetic rim lesions have been shown at 7 T and, more recently, at 3 T. As susceptibility effects are weaker at lower field strength, it remains unclear if...