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Darin Okuda, M.D.

Darin Okuda, M.D.

Professor

School
Medical School
Department
Neurology

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For more information on the doctor and patient care, please visit the clinical profile.

  • Biography

    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 GeneticsBrainJournal of NeuroImagingProceedings of the National American Academy of Sciences, and Science.

  • Education
    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
  • Research Interest
    • 3-Dimensional conformational metrics
    • Artificial intelligence
    • Multiple sclerosis
    • Myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibody-associated disease
    • Neuroimaging
    • Neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder
    • Radiologically isolated syndrome
    • Software development
  • Publications
    The diagnostic workup of children with the radiologically isolated syndrome differs by age and by sex
    Author Collaboration ob, Makhani N, Lebrun-Frenay C, Siva A, Shabanova V, Wassmer E, Santoro JD, Narula S, Brenton JN, Mar S, Durand-Dubief F, Zephir H, Mathey G, Rojas JI, de Seze J, Tenembaum S, Stone RT, Casez O, Carra-Dallière C, Neuteboom RF, Ahsan N, Arroyo HA, Cabre P, Gombolay G, Inglese M, Louapre C, Margoni M, Palavra F, Pohl D, Reich DS, Ruet A, Thouvenot E, Timby N, Tintore M, Uygunoglu U, Vargas W, Venkateswaran S, Verhelst H, Wickstrom R, Azevedo CJ, Kantarci O, Shapiro ED, Okuda DT, Pelletier D Journal of neurology 2024 Jul 271 4019-4027
    Radiologically isolated syndrome in the spectrum of multiple sclerosis
    Okuda DT Multiple Sclerosis Journal 2024 May 30 630-636
    The diagnostic value of the central vein sign in radiologically isolated syndrome
    Landes-Chateau C, Levraut M, Okuda DT, Themelin A, Cohen M, Kantarci OH, Siva A, Pelletier D, Mondot L, Lebrun-Frenay C Annals of Clinical and Translational Neurology 2024 Mar 11 662-672
    Reduced resting beat-to-beat blood pressure variability in females with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis
    Kissell CE, Young BE, Jarrard CP, Huang M, Allen DR, Okuda DT, Smith SA, Fadel PJ, Davis SL Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders 2024 Mar 83
    Time to move past typical syndromes in the diagnosis of multiple sclerosis
    Lebrun-Frenay C, Okuda DT Multiple Sclerosis Journal 2024
    Investigating the link between regional oxygen metabolism and cognitive speed in multiple sclerosis: Implications for fatigue
    Zuppichini MD, Sivakolundu DK, West KL, Okuda DT, Rypma B Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders 2023 Dec 80
    Reply: Do we need new MRI criteria for the diagnosis of radiologically isolated syndrome?
    Lebrun-Frenay C, Kantarci OH, Siva A, Pelletier D, Okuda DT Brain 2023 Nov 146 E104-E106
    Treatment transitions in neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder increase risk for disease advancement
    Okuda DT, Moog TM, McCreary M, Cook K, Burgess KW, Smith AD Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders 2023 Nov 79
    Radiologically isolated syndrome
    Lebrun-Frenay C, Kantarci O, Siva A, Azevedo CJ, Makhani N, Pelletier D, Okuda DT The Lancet Neurology 2023 Nov 22 1075-1086
    Teriflunomide and Time to Clinical Multiple Sclerosis in Patients with Radiologically Isolated Syndrome: The TERIS Randomized Clinical Trial
    Lebrun-Frénay C, Siva A, Sormani MP, Landes-Chateau C, Mondot L, Bovis F, Vermersch P, Papeix C, Thouvenot E, Labauge P, Durand-Dubief F, Efendi H, Le Page E, Terzi M, Derache N, Bourre B, Hoepner R, Karabudak R, De Seze J, Ciron J, Clavelou P, Wiertlewski S, Turan OF, Yucear N, Cohen M, Azevedo C, Kantarci OH, Okuda DT, Pelletier D JAMA neurology 2023 Oct 80 1080-1088
  • Books

    Featured 

    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).

  • Honors & Awards
    • 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)
    • Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society
      (2019)
    • 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 Medical Society Research Fellowship
      Research fellow within the field of vascular surgery (1997)
  • Professional Associations/Affiliations
    • American Society of Neuroimaging (2008)
    • Fellow, American Academy of Neurology (2014)
    • Fellow, American Neurological Association (2014)
    • Fellow, British Medical Journal (2009)
    • New York Academy of Sciences (2016)