About Patient Health Alliance

At the same time, Daniel designed and developed the operational side of the foundation as its director, overseeing daily operations and planned actions to enhance efficiency and productivity. His strength is to bring multiple programs and projects to the intended outcome, with an eye on budget outcomes, data collection, and reporting. Daniel has served as a collaborator with multiple Pharmaceutical companies in grant writing, developing budgets and overseeing grants from conception to completion.

On a personal note, Daniel has a sincere appreciation not only for patients but for the caregivers and doctors as well. His father lost his 16-year battle with Parkinson’s in 2022, but Daniel had the privilege of being his morning caregiver for the last four years of his life. This combined with the amazing people he has met in the Neuromyelitis Optica community through The Guthy-Jackson Charitable has cemented his heart in creating an alliance of patients, caregivers, and doctors.

Her specific expertise is in leadership, program development, budget planning and management. She worked with three launch teams at NASA centers for over a decade, including researchers, engineers, and public information officers. There she refined processes and protocols for reaching out to stakeholders through the Internet, national conferences, print materials, and media applications. Prior to joining the foundation, Mrs. Behne served as senior director of a research and education program at Scripps Research Institute.

He develops engaging content that reflects the latest advancements and initiatives within PHA, working to share important stories from the NMOSD community. Noah also produces and distributes video series such as Adaptability and Hear My Voice, which spotlight individuals and their journeys with NMOSD. 

One of her lifelong missions has been to work with underserved communities to educate in areas of health, fitness, and independence. She has over 30 years of communication skills in Radio and TV as well as a 25+ year career as a Personal Fitness Trainer. Kim’s expertise in multiple areas along with her personal patient perspective as a woman living with the challenges of NMOSD will help to grow advocacy programs to serve our patient and caregiver community.

She brings more than 25 years of patient-support experience, blending her background as a caregiver, rare disease advocacy leader, and former business owner with a deep commitment to equity, connection, and patient-centered care.

Cori has led national and international programs supporting the rare disease community, including educational events, volunteer leadership development, peer mentoring initiatives, and wellness-centered programming. She is also a frequent guest speaker at national conferences, industry-sponsored events, and educational programs, known for her ability to moderate robust, inclusive discussions that amplify the patient and caregiver perspective.

Prior to her role at Patient Health Alliance, Cori served as the Director of Patient Advocacy at The Guthy-Jackson Charitable Foundation, where she helped build and implement successful initiatives and multi-organization collaborations.

Cori works closely with international neurologists and researchers, nonprofit organizations, community partners, and industry leaders to bridge the gap between individuals living with rare disease and the scientific, clinical, and advocacy ecosystems that support them, ensuring patient experience informs progress, innovation, and meaningful change.

Her work centers on strengthening support systems, improving equitable access to resources, empowering patient leadership, and cultivating spaces where all individuals feel seen, supported, and connected.

Michael serves as Chair Medical Advisor to Patient Health Alliance. He teaches immunology, vaccinology, microbial pathogenesis & antibiotic stewardship in the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, and is sought to lecture nationally and internationally. He is a founder of NovaDigm Therapeutics, Inc., Tegos Therapeutics, LLC, ImmunoTx, LLC and Metacin, Inc. Michael is also an accomplished composer and performer of music that has been acclaimed by the Los Angeles Times and other venues. His releases are available on iTunes and other digital storefronts.

Dr. Wingerchuk is the principal investigator for several research trials of treatments of both neuromyelitis optica and multiple sclerosis, and he studies diagnosis, symptoms and outcomes of these diseases. Dr. Wingerchuk is also active in medical student and resident education and is the director of the Mayo Clinic Arizona Evidence-Based Research, Training, and Informatics (MERIT) Center, which focuses on teaching and application of evidence-based medicine principles to neurological clinical practice and research.

She directs the Partners Pediatric Neuroimmunology and Multiple Sclerosis Center at the Massachusetts General Hospital and serves on the steering committee of several national and international boards and committees for MS research and management, including positions of the Chair of the International Pediatric MS Study Group (IPMSSG) (2010-2018), Executive Committee of the U.S. Network of Pediatric MS Centers (2006-), and ACTRIMS forum meetings co-chair (2018-2020). Additionally, she serves as the Director of the Translational Neuroimmunology Research Center (TNRC) and the Comprehensive Longitudinal Investigations in MS at Brigham (CLIMB Study) at the Ann Romney Center, Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Dr. Chitnis leads a neuroimmunology laboratory group, clinical research and database team, biostatistics and bioinformatics-analytics group, with the goal of identifying new biomarkers, algorithms and therapeutic targets with the goal of bench to bedside translation for neuroimmunological diseases. Dr. Chitnis has led several clinical trials in MS including recent phase III trials in pediatric MS, including the PARADIGMS study which led to the first FDA approved treatment for pediatric multiple sclerosis. She has published over 250 peer reviewed articles in the neuroimmunological and demyelinating diseases field, and she has received funding awards from the Department of Defense, NIH, National MS Society, and other foundations to support her research.