Founders
The consortium was founded by leaders in epigenetics and preventive health, united by a commitment to advancing multiple sclerosis research.
Ryan Smith
Ryan Smith is the founder of TruDiagnostic, a CLIA-certified laboratory and health-data company focused on DNA methylation and preventive medicine. He studied biochemistry at Transylvania University and trained in medicine before turning to translational research. Earlier work in pharmaceutical compounding convinced him that the field needed better tools to measure health and aging — the idea that led him to found TruDiagnostic in 2020. Since then he has helped build one of the world's largest epigenetic datasets, spanning more than 100,000 individuals, and supported dozens of clinical studies developing methylation-based measures of aging, inflammation, immune function, and disease, in collaboration with researchers at Duke, Harvard, Yale, UCSF, and Ohio State. Ryan's commitment to multiple sclerosis is personal: his partner lives with MS, and that experience drives his belief that better, less invasive biomarkers can transform how the disease is diagnosed, monitored, and treated. He founded the Multiple Sclerosis Biomarker Consortium to direct philanthropic support toward that goal.
Emily Yates, MBA, MLS(ASCP)CM
Emily Yates is a Doctor of Clinical Laboratory Science (DCLS) candidate at the University of Texas Medical Branch and a certified Medical Laboratory Scientist with more than a decade of experience in clinical laboratory science and laboratory leadership. She holds a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Business Administration, combining a strong scientific foundation with extensive experience in healthcare operations and leadership. Throughout her career she has held progressive leadership roles spanning laboratory operations, regulatory compliance, quality improvement, strategic planning, test utilization, and the implementation of new laboratory technologies and processes. Her DCLS training has deepened her focus on evidence-based laboratory medicine, clinical research, and the role laboratory data can play in answering complex clinical questions and improving patient care.
Her involvement in multiple sclerosis advocacy and research is deeply personal. Living with MS herself and having family members affected by the disease, Emily understands that behind every laboratory result, research dataset, and clinical outcome is a person waiting for better answers — a perspective that strengthens her commitment to advancing meaningful, scientifically rigorous research toward a better understanding of MS and better options for the people and families affected by it.