Scott Mellis, MD, PhD, has lived with secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (MS) for more than 20 years under the care of doctors at The Corinne Dickinson Goldsmith Center for Multiple Sclerosis at Mount Sinai. It has not always been easy.
He has one message for anyone diagnosed with the chronic condition: “Be hopeful, recognize that you can have a good and productive life despite the MS.”
For him, that has meant a successful career as a medical researcher and, more recently, an active life in retirement dedicated to his lifelong passion for birdwatching and stargazing and committed to expanding opportunities for others like him living with MS or other disabilities. This includes a project to make it easier for others to obtain special equipment so they can continue to enjoy hobbies such as observing nature and the stars.
For much of his adult life, Dr. Mellis, had no serious health concerns. But he experienced a dramatic change after he slipped and fell during the winter of 2005, and a few months later his left-hand fingers “felt like they were moving through molasses” while playing the guitar. A friend suggested he see a neurologist, and after an MRI, he was told he has MS.
“I was 51 years old when the diagnosis was made. A bit of a shock,” he recalls.
Soon after, he attended a Keystone Symposia on MS, a scientific conference that brings together researchers and clinicians to share advances in research and treatment. As a trained rheumatologist and immunologist whose medical career focused on treatments that could be helpful to people, he found the conference beneficial for understanding MS. Health care professionals he met there strongly recommended The Corinne Dickinson Goldsmith Center for Multiple Sclerosis. Aaron Miller, MD, the Center’s Medical Director, has been “my neurologist and counselor for 20 years,” he says.
“The sheer beauty of nature and birds, the awesomeness of celestial objects, provides a lot of comfort. People with MS have a lot of challenges, and a few moments of awe and wonder can really bring a lot of joy to one’s life.” — Scott Mellis, MD, PhD
How and when to disclose your MS to others is one of the first decisions people newly diagnosed have to encounter. Dr. Mellis kept his condition private for about a year. “I was fortunate to have a wonderfully supportive wife and family, and eventually I told my kids,” he says.
At Regeneron Pharmaceuticals in Tarrytown, New York, where Mellis headed the Department of Translational Medicine, he initially did not disclose his condition. But within a year “I became the guy riding around the office in the mobility scooter,” he recalls.
Colleagues were very supportive, and he was able to continue his leadership position researching and developing new drugs. Determined to not allow his progressive MS to hinder his career, he continued to work at Regeneron for another 15 years after his diagnosis.
Since retiring in early 2026, Dr. Mellis has pursued a mix of medically related work and his lifelong passions for birdwatching and stargazing. He was selected earlier this year to serve on the engagement coordination team of the International Progressive MS Alliance, a consortium of organizations from countries around the world that support MS research. In June, he traveled to Milan, Italy, for his first in-person meeting with the team, comprised of individuals who can share perspectives on living with MS and help advise the Alliance on deciding research priorities.
With his secondary progressive MS, he had to give up his favorite pastimes of cycling and playing tennis and squash.
“Once I developed MS, my new action sport became filling the bird feeder,” he says. “I liked to watch the birds at the feeder and started setting up binoculars to get a close-up view and try to take photographs of birds at the feeders.”
But he noticed that as his MS progressed, it became increasingly difficult to hold a pair of binoculars, or carry a tripod with a spotting scope that birders use, or set up a telescope to look at the stars.
Motivated to pursue his birdwatching and stargazing passions, he began to tinker at home with a parallelogram mount, an apparatus that uses a swing arm to position binoculars or a small telescope in front of your eyes and hold them there hands-free. “You can sit comfortably and enjoy a beautiful view of nature or the night sky,” he says.
Friends at the Audubon Society and the Westchester Amateur Astronomers club, two organizations he has long been active in were quick to help. For participants in the National MS Society’s Westchester Walk last May, the team set up six optic stations, a combination of binoculars and spotting scopes on parallelogram mounts as well as larger telescopes. “For people living with disability to be able to use these tools is really transformative” he says.
To share his knowledge and experience adapting equipment to appreciate nature, Dr. Mellis created an initiative called the Boundless Skies Alliance, and he is developing a website for people with MS or other disabilities to learn more about how to obtain and use readily available equipment to make these hobbies accessible. (Those seeking more information can contact him at sjmellis@gmail.com.)
“The sheer beauty of nature and birds, the awesomeness of celestial objects, provides a lot of comfort,” he says. “People with MS have a lot of challenges and a few moments of awe and wonder can really bring a lot of joy to one’s life.”
By Kenneth Bandler, a multiple sclerosis patient, advocate, and member of The Corinne Goldsmith Dickinson Center for Multiple Sclerosis Advisory Board.