Chitra Krishnan to Serve on The Transverse Myelitis Association Medical Advisory Board

The Transverse Myelitis Association is pleased to announce that Chitra Krishnan is the newest member of the TMA Medical Advisory Board. Chitra received her Bachelor of Science in Life Sciences and Biochemistry at St. Xavier’s College, University of Mumbai, India in 1997. She obtained her Master's in Health Sciences (MHS) from the Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health in 2001.

Chitra Krishnan serves as the Research Coordinator for the Johns Hopkins Transverse Myelopathy Center (JHMTC). Chitra coordinates all basic and clinical science research activities at the JHTMC. She has been trained in the diagnosis and treatment of patients with TM, epidemiology, biostatistics and design and implementation of research studies and clinical trials. While a student at the School of Public Health, she developed a comprehensive health questionnaire and evaluation strategy for following patients with TM. She then created a database for this information and has managed that database for the past three years. This has allowed her to assist with management of TM patients throughout the world as they are diagnosed. As Johns Hopkins has the only TM Center in the world, Chitra has developed a very specialized expertise in TM and recurrent TM. Besides the physicians on our medical advisory board, no one has seen more cases of TM, worked with more patients, or performed more research on TM than Chitra. Chitra is extensively published in the area of the neuroimmunologic disorders, and particularly Transverse Myelitis and Recurrent Transverse Myelitis.

Chitra’s title does not accurately convey either the breadth of her work for the Center, nor her commitment and impact on the TM community. In addition to her research, Chitra has become the vital link between The Transverse Myelitis Association and the Johns Hopkins TM Center. She regularly responds to information requests from the TM community. More importantly, Chitra facilitates the critical care for patients who have been recently diagnosed and in the acute phase of a demyelinating episode. As it is not possible for all of the patients with TM to make it to the Johns Hopkins Medical Center, Chitra coordinates care between the physicians at the JHTMC with physicians from around the country and around the world who are treating adult and pediatric cases of TM in the acute phase. Her work in this area has provided many patients with an opportunity for treatment that they might not otherwise receive.

Chitra has also taken on a vital role in assisting the TMA in educating the TM community about their conditions, symptom management practices and novel treatment therapies. As TM and the other neuroimmunologic disorders are quite rare and little understood by the medical community, this education is critical in ensuring that our members become informed advocates for their medical care. Chitra is regularly involved in the development of articles for the TMA newsletters and in the planning of TMA and JHTMC symposia and workshops. Chitra is a regular presenter at the workshops and symposia. She also participates in the important moderated discussions and question and answer sessions that take place at all of the TMA symposia between our membership and our Medical Advisory Board.

Chitra has taken on a very active and critical role in The Transverse Myelitis Association. Chitra regularly assists the TMA in developing its goals and policies and in organizing and planning activities through which these goals may be achieved. Chitra is in frequent contact with the TMA Board of Directors.

Chitra has developed a very personal care and concern for the TM community. She is a member of the TMA and the TM community. Chitra has made herself available to this very special and vibrant community seven days a week and 52 weeks a year. Her work for the TM community has evolved into an effort that goes well beyond a job or a career. She demonstrates a commitment and motivation that reflects a personal desire to make a difference.

You can pay a person to learn; you can pay a person to perform research and to write reports and apply for grants. You can pay a person to facilitate communications with patients and between physicians. There is no amount of money you can pay a person to make them care. The qualities that Chitra brings to her position have a value that is neither quantifiable nor measurable in dollars and cents. Her commitment to the TM community goes well beyond the responsibilities defined by her job.

Chitra provides a critical service to The Transverse Myelitis Association. Chitra has become an important member of the TM community, and we are proud to have her on our Medical Advisory Board.