Jagannadha ‘Jay’ Avasarala, MD, PhD

Dr. Jay Avasarala is a neurologist with extensive experience in the diagnosis and treatment of multiple sclerosis. He completed his neurology residency training at New York Medical College/St. Vincent’s Catholic Medical Centers and his fellowship training in multiple sclerosis at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis as a recipient of the National MS Fellowship Award. Following his fellowship training, he went on to become a faculty member at Wake Forest School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, N.C. He has a particular interest in studying MS in African Americans as well as the role of vitamin D and bone health in MS, particularly among whites. Additionally, he is working to track disease changes and develop new diagnostic criteria based on changes in the retina as seen on optical coherence tomography, an imaging technique of the retinal layers helpful in determining the progression of MS. His goals include making fundus imaging – retinal photography useful in diagnosing MS – a routine diagnostic tool in outpatient neurology.