Dr. Afsaneh Shirani was born and raised in Tehran, Iran, where she obtained her medical degree at Tehran University of Medical Sciences. During her medical training, she developed a fascination with brain-immune interactions and completed her MD thesis on serum prolactin levels in people with multiple sclerosis (MS) under the mentorship of Dr. Mohammad Hossein Harirchian and Dr. Mohammad Ali Sahraian.

In 2009, she joined the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, as a postdoctoral research fellow under the mentorship of Dr. Helen Tremlett, focusing on investigating the long-term impact of beta-interferons on MS disability progression in real-world practice settings, along with other MS-related pharmacoepidemiological projects. Dr. Shirani also benefited from the mentorship of Dr. Emmanuelle Waubant during a short-term research visit at the University of California, San Francisco.

In 2013, Dr. Shirani moved to Texas for her neurology residency training at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, where she remained actively involved in MS research under the mentorship of Dr. Olaf Stuve and Dr. Darin Okuda. Passionate about utilizing neuroimaging as a translational tool to advance personalized medicine approaches in MS, she pursued her post-residency fellowship at Washington University in St. Louis. There, she worked under the primary mentorship of Dr. Anne Cross and co-mentorship of Dr. Victor Song, while also obtaining a Master of Science in Clinical Investigation with summa cum laude honors.

Dr. Shirani has received numerous awards, including the Clinician Scientist Development Award from the US National MS Society, the Clinical Research Training Scholarship from the American Academy of Neurology, the Postdoctoral Fellowship Award from the MS Society of Canada, and the Jacqueline Du Pre Award from the MS International Federation, among others.

In 2019, she joined the faculty at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, where she was the recipient of a two-year Physician Scientist Program Award. Dr. Shirani is committed to using her expertise and resources to advocate for people with MS and a wide variety of neuroimmunological disorders, and to improve clinical care, particularly for those from medically underserved areas.

In January 2025, Dr. Shirani joined Saint Luke’s Marion Bloch Neuroscience Institute in Kansas City, Missouri, where she serves as the Associate Director of Neuroscience Research and Medical Education. She also holds a faculty appointment as a Clinical Associate Professor of Neurology at the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine. Dr. Shirani is board-certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology and is a Certified Specialist in Multiple Sclerosis and Rare Neuroimmunologic Disorders through the Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers. She also serves as the Vice Chair of the Multiple Sclerosis Section of the American Academy of Neurology. Dr Shirani holds active medical licenses in 14 U.S. states and is also certified through the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact.