MS Australia funds 3 innovative MS projects to address unmet needs
Grants will aid work on social issues, biomarkers, using AI to predict disease
Three innovative projects aimed at addressing unmet needs in multiple sclerosis (MS) and fostering new perspectives on the disease have received incubator grants from the nonprofit MS Australia.
Totaling AU$74,813 (or about $48,700), the grants will support one-year projects that focus on MS social needs, disease biomarkers, and using artificial intelligence (AI) to predict MS progression. The goal is to advance early research to improve care and the quality of life for those living with MS.
“With MS on the rise and early diagnosis crucial, these projects will investigate a range of ways to improve outcomes for those living with the disease, hopefully leading to full-scale projects in the future,” Julia Morahan, PhD, MS Australia’s head of research, said in a press release.
MS social needs
Isabelle Weld-Blundell from the University of Melbourne received AU$24,813 to investigate existing tools to assess social needs in people with MS. In the project, “Screening for social needs in people with MS,” she and her team will work to determine how well existing tools can help understand patients’ individual circumstances, such as domestic violence, employment opportunities, access to safe housing, food, and exercise facilities, and affordable healthcare.
Screening tools have been used in other diseases to assess social needs and connect patients with health or social services, but there’s still little focus on MS patients and evaluating or managing their social needs isn’t routinely done, despite their impact on health.
Weld-Blundell will review scientific and nonscientific literature to better understand existing tools, and her team will also engage with patients, caregivers, and doctors to better understand how they’re relevant and how they could be adapted for MS.
“I am incredibly thankful to be awarded this incubator grant, which will enable us to work towards addressing social factors — like employment, housing, and social inclusion — in MS care,” Weld-Blundell said.
New biomarkers and using AI
A grant for AU$25,000 was awarded to Xin Lin, PhD, from the University of Tasmania, for the project, “Finding biological markers of MS for better diagnosis and treatment,” wherein researchers will work to find and validate new MS biomarkers that may help diagnose the disease or develop new treatment approaches.
Using modern technologies to measure thousands of molecules from a single biological sample, the researchers will use large international datasets to validate disease biomarkers identified during Lin’s doctorate research. They’ll also seek to identify new proteins that provide a better understanding of MS biology.
“This incubator grant will support a pilot study in which my team and I will measure and evaluate thousands of proteins as potential biological markers of MS,” Lin said.
The research team will also examine how the identified molecules interact with other MS-associated proteins and contribute to MS risk, which may offer insights toward diagnostic tools or new targets for therapeutic interventions.
The third grant, also for AU$25,000, was awarded to Dongang Wang, PhD, from the University of Sydney for his project, “Using large language models to predict MS disease progression.” The research team will explore whether AI can predict MS progression from electronic health records and brain imaging data.
“Leveraging AI to advance the prediction of disease progression in MS could contribute to early intervention strategies, personalized treatments, and ultimately enhance patient outcomes and advance our overall understanding of MS,” Wang said.
Using data from MSBase, the largest registry of MS clinical data, and cutting-edge AI technologies, Wang hopes to develop a tool to identify people at greater risk of MS progression so they can receive more effective treatment approaches early in their disease course.
Des Graham, president MS Australia, thanked the donors and participants of the organization’s The May 50K event, “which sees every dollar raised go to MS research.” Over 50 years, MS Australia has committed more than AU$54 million to over 360 MS research projects.
“I eagerly await the outcomes [of the newly awarded projects] as they have the potential to bring us another step closer to our ultimate goal of stopping MS in its tracks,” said Rohan Greenland, MS Australia’s CEO.
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