Cincinnati Business Courier - October 6, 2006

Mark Bowen | Courier
Dr. Bibiana Bielekova is director of the Waddell Center for MS at the University of Cincinnati. She has volunteered on medical missions several times a year to treat the poor in the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Peru, Honduras and India.
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Dr. Bibiana Bielekova believes that chance helps those who are looking.

What she is looking for is a cure for multiple sclerosis. But with Bielekova putting in 12-plus hours a day as the director of the Waddell Center for MS at the University of Cincinnati, she doesn't seem to be leaving much to chance.

Thirty-seven year-old Bielekova joined the department of neurology at UC in September 2005. Her research there focuses on understanding the progression of MS and developing new treatments for it. She has faith that there will be a cure for the disease, in which a person's immune system attacks the brain and spinal cord.

In addition to her research, Bielekova has several other roles: She sees patients, teaches and, with other doctors at the Waddell Center, she is setting the center's vision and mission.

Dr. Joseph Broderick, director of UC's Department of Neurology, said Bielekova is an important part of his team.

"Bibi's passionate about making a difference for patients with multiple sclerosis, both by research in finding new treatments, as well as by caring for patients right now with the best available approaches," he said.

The Bratislava, Slovakia, native graduated summa cum laude from medical school at Comenius University in 1993. She completed her neurology residency at Boston University in 1997 and funded her postdoctoral training with a competitive fellowship award in neuroimmunology from the National Institutes of Health, where she performed MS research for eight years.

Since 1999, Bielekova has volunteered on medical missions several times a year to treat the poor in the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Peru, Honduras and India. Now a Mount Washington resident, Bielekova said she enjoys both the clinical care and research aspects of her work.

And she's optimistic about the future for patients with MS.

"If you look back to 15 years ago, we had nothing," she said. "Now we have treatments and therapies in the pipeline. We're learning more and more, and we will have a cure. Maybe not today, or for the rest of your life. But we will keep coming up with something better."

-- Lisa Daumeyer, Courier Contributor

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