Dr. Stanley Cohan founded Providence Multiple Sclerosis Center and serves as its medical director. Formerly professor and chairman of the Department of Neurology at Georgetown University School of Medicine, Dr. Cohan was one of the investigators in the pivotal trial of interferon beta-1a (Avonex), leading to its approval for multiple sclerosis treatment. Read more
Mark Morrow, M.D.
Associate Medical Director
Contact: Marcia Cave
Dr. Mark Morrow serves as associate medical director of Providence Multiple Sclerosis Center. A neuro-ophthalmologist and neurotologist, he has special expertise in treating the vision and balance problems that MS patients frequently face. Read more
Chiayi Chen, R.N., Ph.D.
Pacific Northwest MS Registry and Network Program Manager chiayi.chen@providence.org
Dr. Chiayi Chen earned her doctoral degree in nursing from UCLA with a focus in health services research in 2007. Prior to joining Providence, she was a research nurse at UCLA and Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. Read more
Tara De Graff serves as the clinical trial coordinator and facilitates all aspects of clinical trials in the Providence Multiple Sclerosis Center. She has prior experience coordinating stroke, asthma, and allergy clinical trials investigating new drug and device therapies. Tara received her Bachelor's degree from Oregon State University.
Two nationally noted neurologists serve patients at Providence Multiple Sclerosis Center. They work with a team of nurses, therapists, researchers and administrators who are dedicated to improving the quality of life for MS patients through comprehensive, multidisciplinary care.
Stanley Cohan, M.D., Ph.D.
Dr. Stanley Cohan founded Providence Multiple Sclerosis Center and serves as its medical director. Formerly professor and chairman of the Department of Neurology at Georgetown University School of Medicine, Dr. Cohan disregards the notion that MS cannot be controlled.
"This notion of simply accepting fate ignores the availability of the excellent medications that are now available to MS patients," says Dr. Cohan. "We can't always reverse symptoms or slow the disease…but we always try, and often we succeed."
He believes successful MS treatment requires commitment both from patients and physicians. Patients must keep appointments, have routine injections and tolerate side effects from the medications. In exchange, Dr. Cohan believes physicians should provide assertive, comprehensive and compassionate care.
"Patients are sick now. They deserve care now," he states emphatically.
Dr. Cohan is spreading this philosophy of assertive disease management through the development of a regional network of high-quality MS centers. The project is starting with a small number of physicians who agree on treatment protocols and priorities. They will use information technology and the Internet to communicate with physicians throughout the region to advise, consult and, if requested, take over the care of MS patients.
"Our smaller Oregon and Washington communities cannot support an MS clinic, but MS patients who live in small or remote communities shouldn't have to drive to Portland for leading-edge treatment," he says.
Before joining Providence, Dr. Cohan held an internship at The Cornell University-New York Hospital and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Memorial Hospital. He performed his medical residency in neurology at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, and served for two years at the Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute before joining the faculty at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., in 1973.
Mark Morrow, M.D.
Dr. Mark Morrow joined Providence Multiple Sclerosis Center in 2005, where he now serves as associate medical director. A neuro-Ophthalmologist and neurotologist, he has special expertise in treating the vision and balance problems that MS patients frequently face.
Dr. Morrow has broad experience in this rare field:
Prior to joining Providence, he served for five years as director of the Neuro-ophthalmology and Dizziness and Balance Disorders Clinics at the Hattiesburg Clinic in Mississippi.
From 1998 to 2000, he was director of the Neuro-Ophthalmology Unit at University Hospitals of Cleveland and associate professor of neurology and ophthalmology at Case Western University Reserve School of Medicine.
Before moving to Cleveland, Dr. Morrow was an associate professor of neurology at University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) School of Medicine and spent nine years as chief of the Department of Neurology at Olive View-UCLA Medical Center in Sylmar, California.
Dr. Morrow received his medical degree from Boston University. He completed an internship and residency in neurology at UCLA along with a three-year fellowship in neuro-ophthalmology at the Toronto Hospital and Playfair Neuroscience Unit at the University of Toronto.
Chiayi Chen, R.N., Ph.D.
The goals of the MS registry are to obtain an accurate estimate of the number of patients with MS in the region and to form a database for MS research and advocacy. Through the development of the MS Network, we hope to share up-to-date information with healthcare professionals to optimize medical care for individuals living with MS, especially underserved patients who have limited access to specialized care for MS.
