Mikael Simons, MD, is currently a professor for molecular neurobiology at the Technical University of Munich and at the Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) in Munich, Germany. He is a board-certified clinical neurologist specializing in neuroimmunological and neurodegenerative diseases. The main focus of his research is myelin, an insulating sheath whose main role is to speed electrical impulses as they travel throughout the nervous system. The destruction of myelin leads to several neurological diseases such as multiple sclerosis, and it is also associated with psychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders. His laboratory studies how myelin is formed, maintained and broken down in disease using molecular, biochemical and advanced microscopy techniques in pre-clinical models. In addition, he studies how the nervous system restores itself and how new myelin sheaths develop again after being damaged by demyelinating disease. The overall aim of his studies is to develop new strategies for nervous system repair in disease.