The National MS Society has committed $19.4 million in multi-year funding to launch important new MS research projects. This is part of the Society’s ongoing effort to align the global MS research community around the most promising areas outlined in the
Pathways to Cures roadmap to stop MS, restore function and end MS.
The new projects include 15 new research grants, 29 new fellowships and early career awards to support the MS workforce, and two strategic initiatives to extend knowledge to be gained from two clinical trials which leveraged $24 million in previous investments from the federal government.
These are part of the Society’s annual investment of over $30 million for more than 200 new and ongoing MS research studies around the world, including support for the
International Progressive MS Alliance – a global effort to accelerate the development of effective treatments for people with progressive MS to improve quality of life worldwide.
Here are a few of the newly committed research projects:
STOPPING MS in its tracks:
• A team at Cleveland Clinic and collaborators are following up with participants from a previous clinical trial to identify a brain MRI marker that better predicts whether a therapy works in progressive MS.
• Researchers in Australia are looking for evidence of a role for diet in slowing MS progression.
RESTORING what’s been lost:
• A postdoctoral fellow and team at Johns Hopkins University are exploring the effect of a molecule produced in the gut on the brain and whether taking related dietary supplements may help restore nerve-insulating myelin that is damaged in MS.
• Researchers at the University of Colorado are testing whether electrical nerve stimulation can reduce fatigue in a clinical trial involving people with MS.
ENDING MS forever:
• A team in Toronto is mapping out the earliest signs of MS in people who had mononucleosis (mono) in the past, a viral infection that increases a person’s chances of developing MS.
• Stanford University scientists are exploring novel technology with an eye toward developing a vaccine that may prevent the Epstein-Barr virus from triggering MS.
Learn More…
Download a Full Summary of the Newly Funded Research Projects (.pdf)
Explore the Pathways to Cures for MS
Download a list of Society-supported research projects, sorted by location (.pdf)
Download a list of Society-supported research projects, sorted by topic (.pdf)