Rhonda R. Voskuhl, MD
(she/her) - Neurology
About
Dr. Rhonda Voskuhl is a Professor of Neurology at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) and the faculty neurologist for the UCLA Comprehensive Menopause Care Program. She holds the Jack H. Skirball Chair and is the Director of the UCLA Multiple Sclerosis Program. Dr. Voskuhl is the UCLA inventor for over 15 U.S. and European patents for an innovative and transformational hormone approach to treat cognitive issues of menopause licensed by CleopatraRX, now providing treatment that is commercially available across the United States. Dr. Voskuhl received her M.D. from Vanderbilt University, completed neurology residency at the University of Texas Southwestern, and did a fellowship at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Washington, DC. Her research at UCLA has had continuous funding for over 25 years from the NIH and other nonprofit organizations. Her laboratory focuses on determining how sex hormones and sex chromosomes cause sex differences in the onset and severity of neurodegenerative diseases. Dr. Voskuhl has over 200 publications, including those in prestigious journals such as Nature, Lancet Neurology, and the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. These include showing how estrogen protects the brain from cognitive decline and regional brain atrophy during health and disease. Dr. Voskuhl's career was profiled in the February 2024 issue of Lancet Neurology, the #1 Neurology journal in the world. In the neurology clinic at UCLA, she sees menopausal women with cognitive issues as well as patients with multiple sclerosis.
Dr. Voskuhl has won numerous national and international awards for her work in neuroprotective treatment drug discovery, most recently including: The John Dystel Prize in MS, 2024, from the American Academy of Neurology and the National MS Society, the most prestigious award in the field (U.S., Canada, Europe) and the Rachel Horne Prize for Women’s Research in MS, 2023, from the European and American Committees for Treatment and Research in MS (U.S., Canada, Europe). She was selected for a R35 Research Award Program from the NIH, 2023-2031, granted to only ten neuroscience researchers per year across the United States. She also received the Kenneth P. Johnson Award, 2019, from the American Committee for Treatment and Research in MS (U.S., Canada); and the Berlin Institute of Health Excellence Award, 2018, for research on the effect of being female versus male on health and diseases (Global). Dr. Voskuhl was the President of the Organization for the Study of Sex Differences (OSSD), an international organization of researchers focused on the discovery of optimally tailored treatments for women and men.
Languages
Education
Medical Board Certification
Fellowship
Residency
Internship
Degree
Recognitions
- Super doctors, Southern California, 2024
- Dystel Prize Winner, The American Academy of Neurology (U.S., Canada, Europe), 2024
- Super Doctors® Southern California, 2024
- Rachel Horne Prize Winner, The European & American Committees for Research and Treatment of MS (ECTRIMS/ACTRIMS) (U.S., Canada, Europe), 2023
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Locations
Hospital Affiliations
Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center
Medical Services
Areas of Focus
Research
Interests
Dr. Voskuhl does translational research focused on finding new treatments for neurodegenerative diseases as well as brain atrophy and cogntive decline in otherwise healthy individuals during aging. She leverages sex differences in the effect of being female or male on neurologic disabilities to discover treatments optimized for women and men. She has been the Principle Investigator of four clinical trials testing new treatments based on work in her laboratory at UCLA. They generated Phase 2 trial data in support of promise for neuroprotection using clinical outcomes and biomarkers of neurodegeneration.
Publications
Link to Dr. Voskuhl's PubMed publications
Publication in press in Nature Communications:
Estrogen receptor beta in astrocytes modulates cognitive function in mid-age female mice.
Original draft posted on Nature Portfolio's Reaserch Square Preprint, Sept 29, 2021. Mind the Gap: Estrogen receptor beta in astrocytes is a therapeutic target to prevent cogntive problems at menopause. (Source: researchsquare.com)
In the News
- Dr. Rhonda Voskuhl Wins Inaugural Rachel Horne Prize for Women’s Research in MS (source: ectrims.eu)
- 2023 Rachel Horne Prize Winner
- August 16, 2023: The University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) launches its Comprehensive Menopause Care Program. Dr. Rhonda Voskuhl is the neurologist in the area of cognitive issues of menopause. She works within the larger group of UCLA gynecologists and other experts in areas of bone, breast, cardiovascular, and genitourinary health, among others.
- August 10, 2023: Dr. Voskuhl discusses with Dr. Elisabeth Celius of Oslo, Norway the need for treatments to prevent disability worsening during menopause in women with MS, including the potential use of a unique estrogen (estriol). This is a Podcast in anticipation of the European Committee for Treatment and Research in MS (ECTRIMS) in Milan, Italy in October of 2023.
- June 17, 2023: The pregnancy hormone estriol was found to reverse damage in the brain in a model of neurodegeneration. The research article by Dr. Rhonda Voskuhl and others at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) was featured in a UCLA press release, with extended distribution by FOX news, Neuroscience News, Science daily, Yahoo News, and Technology Network, among others.
- June 13, 2023: Forbes Magazine interviews Dr. Rhonda Voskuhl and other experts from across the U.S. to discuss the need for better treatments for multiple sclerosis in women, with Dr. Voskuhl discussing the need to prevent of disability worsening that aligns with menopause.
- May 1, 2023: UCLA Newsroom announces that Dr. Rhonda Voskuhl was awarded a $7.3 million Research Program Award (R35) from the National Institute of Health (NIH). Approximately 10 neuroscientists in the U.S. are selected each year for this award. Work in her laboratory at UCLA funded by this 8 year award will include how estrogen treatments can prevent cognitive decline by assessing gene expression in cells of the brain in regions involved in memory and information processing speed of females during aging and menopause. It will also discover specific targets to repair damage in brain regions aligned walking and visusal disabilities in MS.
Insurance
- Aetna
- Anthem Blue Cross
- Blue Shield of California
- Centivo
- Cigna
- First Health
- Health Net of California
- Interplan (part of HealthSmart)
- L.A. Care
- Medicare Advantage
- MultiPlan
- UFCM Health System
- Prime Health Services
- Private Healthcare Systems (PHCS)
- TRICARE
- UnitedHealthcare
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Recognitions
- Dystel Prize Winner, The American Academy of Neurology (U.S., Canada, Europe), 2024
- Super Doctors® Southern California, 2024
- Rachel Horne Prize Winner, The European & American Committees for Research and Treatment of MS (ECTRIMS/ACTRIMS) (U.S., Canada, Europe), 2023
- National Institutes of Health, NINDS, Research Program Award (R35) to only 10 neuroscientists across the United States, to discover new treatment targets to prevent neurodegeneration based on brain region, sex, and age, 2023
- UCLA’s Innovation Award for discovery of an new estrogen receptor beta ligand treatment for neuroprotection, 2019
- Kenneth P. Johnson Memorial Award by American Committee for Research and Treatment of MS (ACTRIMS), (U.S. & Canada), 2019
- Berlin Institute of Health Excellence Award for Sex and Gender Aspects in Health Research, (Global), 2018
- Jack H. Skirball Chair for Multiple Sclerosis Research, UCLA, 2006
- The Congressman Henry Waxman Honorary Grant by National Multiple Sclerosis Society, 2001
- Harry Weaver Neuroscience Scholar of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, (U.S.), 1997