Darin Okuda, M.D.
Professor

Darin T. Okuda, M.D., is a Professor in the Department of Neurology at UT Southwestern Medical Center. He is a clinician-scientist specializing in multiple sclerosis and other demyelinating disorders of the central nervous system. 

Dr. Okuda serves as Director of the Neuroinnovation Program and Multiple Sclerosis and Neuroimmunology Imaging Program.

Born and raised in Hawaii, Dr. Okuda earned his undergraduate, graduate, and medical degrees at the University of Hawaii. He completed his residency training in neurology at the Barrow Neurological Institute and performed his fellowship in neuroimmunology at the University of California-San Francisco Multiple Sclerosis Center.

Dr. Okuda’s is nationally and internationally recognized for his recent work in defining and investigating the radiologically isolated syndrome. His current research focuses on creating next generation healthcare by designing innovative connections between patients and providers, developing new diagnostic and clinical surveillance metrics, and transforming medical decision-making. He is actively involved in end-to-end dynamic approaches for the design, creation, and implementation of extreme healthcare concepts aimed at delivering care more accurately, efficiently, and intelligently.

Dr. Okuda is a Diplomate of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology Inc., a Fellow of the American Academy of Neurology, a Fellow of the American Neurological Association, and a member of the American Academy of Neurology Committees on Neuroimaging and Ethics.

Dr. Okuda’s work has been published in the Annals of Neurology, Neurology, Human Molecular Genetics, Brain, Journal of NeuroImaging, Proceedings of the National American Academy of Sciences, and Science.

Medical School

University of Hawaii at Manoa John A. Burns School of Medicine (2000)

Internship

St. Joseph's Hospital & Medical Center (2001), Internal Medicine

Residency

St. Joseph's Hospital & Med. Ctr. (2004), Neurology

Fellowship

UCSF Multiple Sclerosis Center (2006), Neuroimmunology

• 3-Dimensional Conformation
• Artificial intelligence
• Multiple sclerosis
• Neuroimaging
• Neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder
• Radiologically isolated syndrome
• Software development

Featured Publications

Risk Factors and Time to Clinical Symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis Among Patients With Radiologically Isolated Syndrome.

Lebrun-Frénay C, Rollot F, Mondot L, Zephir H, Louapre C, Le Page E, Durand-Dubief F, Labauge P, Bensa C, Thouvenot E, Laplaud D, de Seze J, Ciron J, Bourre B, Cabre P, Casez O, Ruet A, Mathey G, Berger E, Moreau T, Al Khedr A, Derache N, Clavelou P, Guennoc AM, Créange A, Neau JP, Tourbah A, Camdessanché JP, Maarouf A, Callier C, Vermersch P, Kantarci O, Siva A, Azevedo C, Makhani N, Cohen M, Pelletier D, Okuda D, Vukusic S, JAMA Netw Open 2021 Oct 4 10 e2128271

Utility of shape evolution and displacement in the classification of chronic multiple sclerosis lesions.

Okuda DT, Moog TM, McCreary M, Bachand JN, Wilson A, Wright K, Winkler MD, Ramos OG, Blinn AP, Wang Y, Stanley T, Pinho MC, Newton BD, Guo X, Sci Rep 2020 11 10 1 19560

African Americans experience disproportionate neurodegenerative changes in the medulla and upper cervical spinal cord in early multiple sclerosis.

Moog TM, McCreary M, Stanley T, Wilson A, Santoyo J, Wright K, Winkler MD, Wang Y, Yu F, Newton BD, Zeydan B, Kantarci O, Guo X, Okuda DT, Mult Scler Relat Disord 2020 Oct 45 102429

Radiologically Isolated Syndrome: 10-Year Risk Estimate of a Clinical Event.

Lebrun-Frenay C, Kantarci O, Siva A, Sormani MP, Pelletier D, Okuda DT, Ann. Neurol. 2020 Jun

Three-Dimensional Lesion Phenotyping and Physiologic Characterization Inform Remyelination Ability in Multiple Sclerosis.

Sivakolundu DK, Hansen MR, West KL, Wang Y, Stanley T, Wilson A, McCreary M, Turner MP, Pinho MC, Newton BD, Guo X, Rypma B, Okuda DT, J Neuroimaging 2019 May

Oligoclonal bands increase the specificity of MRI criteria to predict multiple sclerosis in children with radiologically isolated syndrome.

Makhani N, Lebrun C, Siva A, Narula S, Wassmer E, Brassat D, Brenton JN, Cabre P, Carra Dallière C, de Seze J, Durand Dubief F, Inglese M, Langille M, Mathey G, Neuteboom RF, Pelletier J, Pohl D, Reich DS, Ignacio Rojas J, Shabanova V, Shapiro ED, Stone RT, Tenembaum S, Tintoré M, Uygunoglu U, Vargas W, Venkateswaren S, Vermersch P, Kantarci O, Okuda DT, Pelletier D, Mult Scler J Exp Transl Clin 2019 Jan-Mar 5 1 2055217319836664

The multiple sclerosis prodrome is just unspecific symptoms in radiologically isolated syndrome patients - No.

Tremlett H, Okuda DT, Lebrun-Frenay C, Mult Scler 2021 Sep 13524585211035951

Outcome measures assisting treatment optimization in multiple sclerosis.

Pardo G, Coates S, Okuda DT, J Neurol 2021 Aug

BOLD signal within and around white matter lesions distinguishes multiple sclerosis and non-specific white matter disease: a three-dimensional approach.

Sivakolundu DK, West KL, Zuppichini MD, Wilson A, Moog TM, Blinn AP, Newton BD, Wang Y, Stanley T, Guo X, Rypma B, Okuda DT, J. Neurol. 2020 May

Real-World Safety and Effectiveness of Dimethyl Fumarate in Black or African American Patients with Multiple Sclerosis: 3-Year Results from ESTEEM.

Williams MJ, Amezcua L, Okai A, Okuda DT, Cohan S, Su R, Parks B, Mendoza JP, Lewin JB, Jones CC, Neurol Ther 2020 May

 Featured Books

Contemporary Topics in Multiple Sclerosis. In Neurologic Clinics, Multiple Sclerosis

Okuda, DT (Ed.) (2018).

Primary Angiitis of the Central Nervous System. In MR Imaging in White Matter Disease of the Brain and Spinal Cord

Okuda DT, Vollmer TL (2006).

Enough of the Fear: An Insider's Guide to Understanding, Managing, and Living Well with Multiple Sclerosis

Wright, K, Winkler M, Okuda DT (2019).

Radiologically Isolated Syndrome: MR Imaging Features Suggestive of Multiple Sclerosis Prior to First Symptom Onset. In Advances in Imaging of Multiple Sclerosis

Okuda, DT (2017).

Immunosuppressive Treatments in Multiple Sclerosis. In Handbook of Clinical Neurology, Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders

Okuda, DT (2014).

• Mimics Innovation Award 2020
  North and South America Finalist (2020)
• STRATASYS Neuroscience Innovation Award
  Advancing neuroscience through the study of changes in 3-dimensional conformation (2020)
• American Academy of Neurology, Brainstorm: A Competition for the Innovator in All of Us, Grand Prize Winner
  Innovation Award (2018)
• International Congress on Advanced Treatments & Technologies in Multiple Sclerosis
  Best Abstract Award (2018)
• Merck KGaA: Multiple Sclerosis Innovation Award
  Award for 3-dimensional modeling in multiple sclerosis (2018)
• Reality Science: DeeperMind Innovation Award
  Innovative approach towards understanding MS through augmented reality. (2018)
• Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society Research Fellowship
  Research fellow within the field of vascular surgery (1997)

• New York Academy of Sciences (2016)
• Fellow, American Academy of Neurology (2014)
• Fellow, American Neurological Association (2014)
• Fellow, British Medical Journal (2009)
• American Society of Neuroimaging (2008)