Rhonda R. Voskuhl, MD
(she/her)
About
Rhonda Voskuhl, M.D. is a Professor of Neurology at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), the Director of the UCLA Multiple Sclerosis Program, and holds the Jack H. Skirball Chair in MS Research. She is the Founding Neurologist for the UCLA Comprehensive Menopause Program and the Inventor for UCLA patents licensed by CleopatraRX for a brain protective menopause hormone treatment selected in Fall of 2025 as the #17 top invention by UCLA in the 21st century. She is the PI of a National Institutes of Health R35 Research Program Award in Neuroscience (2023-2031), one of 10-15 selections per year nationwide in the field of neuroscience. In 2024, Voskuhl received the John Dystel Prize in MS Research from the American Academy of Neurology, the most prestigious global award in the field of MS. In 2023, she was awarded the inaugural Rachel Horne Prize in Women’s Health Research in MS from the European and American Committee for Research and Treatment in MS, in 2019 the Kenneth P. Johnson Keynote Award for the American Committee for Research and Treatment in MS, and in 2018 received the Berlin Institute of Health (BIH) Excellence Award for Sex and Gender Aspects in Health Research.
Dr. Voskuhl’s research focuses on the study of sex hormone and sex chromosome effects to discover neuroprotective treatments. Her career was profiled in Lancet Neurology in 2024 and in Biology of Sex Differences in 2026. In the UCLA Neurology Clinic in Westwood, Dr. Voskuhl sees healthy women with cognitive issues of menopause focusing on novel treatment strategies, as well as patients with MS focusing on the initial diagnosis of MS as well as possible changes in MS disease modifying treatments.
Languages
Education
Medical Board Certification
Fellowship
Residency
Internship
Degree
Recognitions
- Super doctors, Southern California, 2026
- Super Doctors® Southern California, 2024 - 2026
- Dystel Prize Winner, The American Academy of Neurology (U.S., Canada, Europe), 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
Westwood Neurology
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
Itoh, N., Itoh, Y., Patil, R., Till, C., Smith, M., Schwartz, J., Davis, B., Oberman, E., Romeroso, B.D., Voskuhl, R.R., Targeting Hormone Treatment for the Brain in Menopause. 2026
In the News
Insurance
- Aetna
- Anthem Blue Cross
- Blue Shield of California
- Centivo
- Cigna
- First Health
- Health Net of California
- Interplan (part of HealthSmart)
- Medicare Advantage
- MultiPlan
- UFCM Health System
- Prime Health Services
- Private Healthcare Systems (PHCS)
- TRICARE
- UnitedHealthcare
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Recognitions
- Super Doctors® Southern California, 2024 - 2026
- Dystel Prize Winner, The American Academy of Neurology (U.S., Canada, Europe), 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