Looking for overlap between MS and type 1 diabetes

Summary

Dr Parnell’s post-doctoral fellowship will investigate the overlap between MS and type 1 diabetes (T1D). The emphasis of this fellowship will be to undertake a research project conducted using existing available information on the genetics of immune-related diseases. The first stage of Dr Parnell’s research will make use of genetic techniques to characterise the function of different types of immune cells in people with MS or T1D.

Dr Parnell will also use cutting edge genetic technology to determine genetic changes in families with both MS and T1D. This genetic information, taken together with the detailed disease histories in these families and information about environmental factors relating to lifestyle will allow Dr Parnell to identify interactions between genes and the environment in both diseases.

While the scientific component of this fellowship will focus on genetics of MS and T1D, another objective of Dr Parnell’s fellowship will be to investigate other potential areas of overlap between the two diseases and generate new ideas for future collaborative research. It is hoped that this fellowship marks the start of a range of cross-disease research projects for MS and T1D.

Updated: 1 April 2015