MS Research Australia is delighted to announce over $2 million in research funding for grants commencing in January 2018.
The twenty new grants will run for the next one to three years and include innovative pilot studies on novel areas of research funded through our small Incubator Grants, as well as major bodies of work supported by larger Project Grants.
Several scholarships, fellowships and travel awards will help develop the skills and collaborations of young researchers and clinicians while also allowing them to delve deep into the unsolved problems of MS.
Covering the breadth of scientific enquiry into MS, the grants range from studies into the fundamental genetics and immunology of MS, through to myelin repair and symptom management and rehabilitation.
As always, these grants were selected following a rigorous external expert review of applications which is overseen by our Research Management Council.
Each year the number and quality of the applications received continues to grow and MS Research Australia and the Research Management Council work incredibly hard to ensure that the strongest applications are funded.
Our goal is to support Australian researchers in the areas where they have the greatest strengths to contribute to the global efforts to solve MS. We do not, as yet, know exactly where the much hoped for cure for MS will come from. So continuing to explore a range of different avenues provides us with the strongest chance of reaching that ultimate goal. Along the way these projects will also reveal new ways to improve the treatment and management of MS.
‘Our goal is to support Australian researchers in the areas where they have the greatest strengths to contribute to the global efforts to solve MS’.
Progressive MS, one of the greatest areas of unmet need with currently only limited treatment options, is the focus of several of these grants. Two projects are exploring potential new drug approaches to protecting nerve cells to halt the progression of MS. Repairing myelin, with the goal of reversing the effects of MS, is another strong area of research in Australia – we have funded a number of projects that are pursuing promising methods to achieve this.
Reaching these goals takes time, so in the meantime identifying the best, evidence-based methods to help people manage the symptoms of MS cannot be neglected. We have funded several projects that address key symptoms of MS, including heat sensitivity, mood and thinking problems as well as rehabilitation for balance and swallowing.
We are incredibly grateful to all of our donors and supporters, and our funding partners, including the Trish MS Research Foundation and the National Health and Medical Research Council, for making it possible to fund these amazing researchers as they chase down every lead in the hunt for a cure for MS.
You can read about all 44 of the new and ongoing grants here.
MS Research Australia 2018 Research Snapshot
