April 15, 2024 News by Andrea Lobo, PhD Kessler scientists using $700K grant to study primary fatigue in MS A team of Kessler Foundation researchers has been granted more than $700,000 by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society for work that seeks to better understand the brain networks associated with primary fatigue in people with multiple sclerosis (MS). The grant, totaling $722,602, was awarded to Glenn Wylie, PhD,…
October 24, 2022 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Trethera Awarded $1.6M to Develop TRE-515 as Optic Neuritis Treatment Trethera has been awarded a $1.6 million grant to further develop TRE-515 as a potential treatment for optic neuritis ā inflammation of the nerves that transmit data from the eyes to the brain ā which also is a common symptom of multiple sclerosis (MS). TRE-515 is a first-in-class…
February 18, 2022 News by Patricia Inacio, PhD MS Australia Funds Research to Block Inflammatory T-cells From Brain A researcher at the University of Adelaide, in Australia, has received an AU$390,000 grant (about $280,000) to investigate how inflammatory T-cells reach the blood and brain of people with multiple sclerosisĀ (MS). The 3-year fellowship grant was awarded to Iain Comerford, PhD, for his project, titled “Stopping T cells…
December 10, 2021 News by Marisa Wexler, MS National MS Society Funds 13 New Research Projects The National MS Society has announced it is funding 13 new research projects that seek to better understand the risk factors involved in multiple sclerosis (MS) development and progression. The funding ā nearly $7 million in total ā also will go to “rescue” 22 MS-related research projects that…
December 2, 2021 News by Patricia Inacio, PhD $100K Grant Awarded to Study How Patients Are Adhering to Oral DMTs A researcher at the University of Houston has received a $100,000 grant to investigate adherence to oral disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) among people with multiple sclerosis (MS), and correlations between adherence patterns and disease outcomes over time. The one-year grant from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality was awarded…
November 11, 2021 News by Marta Figueiredo, PhD North American MS Societies Targeting Earliest MS Predictors The Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada (MSSC) has partnered with the National Multiple Sclerosis Society (NMSS) to support a Canadian-led study investigating the earliest predictors of multiple sclerosis (MS) during the so-called prodromal period across diverse groups. A prodrome is a set of signs or symptoms that…
August 24, 2021 News by Marisa Wexler, MS New Research Project Will Study Nerve Cell-Glia Communication A new research project, funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), aims to better understand how different types of cells in the nervous system ā specifically neurons and glia cells ā communicate with each other and ultimately affect both motor and non-motor functions. Its findings may have important implications…
May 13, 2021 News by Patricia Inacio, PhD Conversational Bot to Promote COVID-19 Vaccination Among Patients A conversational bot is being developed at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) to promote COVID-19 vaccinations among people with multiple sclerosis (MS) who are hesitant to take the vaccine. The project is meant to provide accessible digital health information about the vaccines to more vulnerable populations…
November 13, 2020 News by Teresa Carvalho, MS Start2Cure Foundation Awards Grant to MS Gene Therapy Project Start2Cure Foundation is funding a research project that will investigate the potential of a gene therapy approach to treatĀ multiple sclerosis (MS). MS is an autoimmune disease characterized by the damage and loss of myelin ā the protective layer around nerve fibers, or axons, that is crucial to the…
September 22, 2020 News by Marta Figueiredo, PhD NIH Awards $2.3M to Bioengineer to Advance Diagnosis, Treatment of Autoimmune Diseases TheĀ National Institutes of HealthĀ (NIH) awarded a $2.3 million grant to a bioengineer at Indiana Universityās Luddy SchoolĀ of Informatics, Computing and Engineering to improve diagnosis and treatment of autoimmune diseases, such as multiple sclerosisĀ (MS). The project aims to find ways to detectĀ disease-associated cells based on their ability…
June 11, 2020 News by Marisa Wexler, MS NIH Backs Project Examining Failure of Immune Tolerance Leading to Autoimmune Disease A new research project will seek to understand the development of immune cells that drive autoimmune diseases such asĀ multiple sclerosis (MS). The project will be led by Leszek Ignatowicz, PhD, a professor in the Institute for Biomedical Sciences at Georgia State University, and will be funded by…
June 19, 2019 News by Alice MelĆ£o, MSc Duet, an Innovative Device and App, Wins Lyfebulb-Celgene 2019 MS Innovation Challenge Kinza Kasher from LeoPlus USA was selected from a list of 10 finalists to receive the $25,000 grant for āAddressing Unmet Needs in MS: An Innovation Challenge,ā Lyfebulb and Celgene announced. This initiative’s goal is to encourage the development of innovative solutions to help those…
May 17, 2019 News by Joana Carvalho, PhD Lyfebulb and Celgene Announce 2019 Innovation Challenge Finalists Lyfebulb and Celgene have announced the 10 finalists who will compete for a $25,000 grant to support the development of their innovative proposals that address an unmet need in multiple sclerosis (MS).Ā The Lyfebulb-Celgene 2019 “Addressing Unmet Needs in MS: An Innovation Challenge,” will take…
February 28, 2019 News by Alice MelĆ£o, MSc National MS Society Grants $50,000 to Kessler Researchers to Study Processing Speed in MS Kessler Foundation researchers Ekaterina Dobryakova, PhD, and Pei-Pei Liu, PhD, have been awarded a $50,000 grant by the National Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Society to studyĀ the speed at which MS patients processĀ information during social interactions. A better understanding of how MS affects the way a person learns from others’…
December 11, 2018 News by Alice MelĆ£o, MSc WUSTL Team Receives $6.3 Million Grant to Develop PET Scan Tracers The Washington University School of Medicine in St. LouisĀ (WUSTL) will create a new research center to investigate and advance the development of tracers for positron emission tomography (PET) scans. The center, which will be established at WUSTLās Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology (MIR), is going to focus on the…
September 18, 2018 News by Ashraf Malhas, PhD Grant Awarded to Research New Method to Treat Cognitive Dysfunction in Progressive MS The Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada and the Multiple Sclerosis Scientific Research Foundation have awarded a $410,000 grant to fund research based on a new method for treating cognitive dysfunction in patients with progressive multiple sclerosis (MS). About 70% of progressive MS patients suffer from cognitive abnormalities that…
September 17, 2018 News by Mary Chapman MS Society of Canada Backs Study of Exercise and Rehabilitation in Aiding Cognition in Progressive Patients With a $5 million grant, the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada (MSSC) will support an 12-week international study to determine the effects of cognitive rehabilitation and aerobic exercise on those with progressive multiple sclerosis (MS), it was announced in a news release. The investigation is being touted as…
April 3, 2018 News by Patricia Inacio, PhD Study Receives $1.7M from NIH to Research New Therapeutic Strategies for MS, Others A new project aimed at boosting the development of new therapies for multiple sclerosis (MS) and other demyelinating diseases recently won $1.7 million in funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). In the five-year study, a research team at theĀ University at BuffaloĀ (part of the State University…
January 12, 2018 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Researcher Wins National MS Society Grant to Study Patients’ Emotional Processing Challenges A $44,000Ā National Multiple Sclerosis SocietyĀ grant will allow a researcher at theĀ Kessler FoundationĀ to advance her work on multiple sclerosisĀ patients’Ā emotional processing challenges. Dr.Ā Helen Genova, Kessler’s assistant director of neuropsychology and neuroscience research, has been studying cognitive dysfunction in people with various diseases, including MS. In addition to neurological problems,…
November 9, 2017 News by Alice MelĆ£o, MSc Longevity Receives $316,000 Grant to See if Its Nerve-cell-protecting Therapy Will Work in MS Longevity BiotechĀ has received a $316,384 grant from theĀ National MS SocietyĀ to see ifĀ LBT-3627,Ā theĀ nerve cell-protecting therapy it has tested in Parkinson’s, can work in multiple sclerosis as well. The company designed the therapy to protect and repair damaged nerve cells and restore balance to the out-of-whack immune response associated…
September 5, 2017 News by Iqra Mumal, MSc MS Society of Canada Creates ‘Wellness Toolbox’ to Help Patients Manage Their Disease The Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada ā with input from both experts and patients ā has developed a "wellness toolbox" with strategies to help multiple sclerosis (MS) patients cope with their disease. Wellness is becoming a big area of research, particularly in patients with chronic diseases such as MS. With an estimated 291 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in 2013, according to the Multiple Sclerosis International Foundation, Canada has the world's highest incidence of MS. While pharmaceutical and scientific research are advancing in the therapeutic area, studies are also underway to determine the contribution of wellness factors such as nutrition, physical activity and emotional well-being -- to quality of life for MS patients. With that in mind, the Toronto-based MS Society of Canada conducted a Wellness Survey, which led to the launch of the HermĆØs Canada | MS Society Wellness Research Innovation Grant. These grants are awarded to scientists conducting research on MS and wellness factors. The University of Saskatchewan, which received one such grant in 2016, investigated the effect of Pilates in people with MS. The study recruited 30 MS patients. Half took Pilates classes twice a week and massage therapy once a week, while the other half only did once-a-week massage therapy. Results showed that patients who took Pilates classes saw an improvement in their overall condition, compared to patients in the control group. To create its wellness toolbox, the MS Society of Canada received input from MS patients about strategies that have helped them manage the disease and live a full life.
August 23, 2017 News by Rachita Narsaria, MD Nortis Awarded $688K Grant from NIH to Develop ‘Living’ Model of Blood-Brain Barrier for Research Nortis, a Seattle-based biotech company, has received a $688,000 grant by the National Institutes of Health to create a living, 3-D model of the human blood-brain barrier that will be used for laboratory testing to accelerate drug development and lessen the likelihood of failure in clinical trials. This grant provides funding for a third year of a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) award given to Nortis by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), a branch of the NIH. SBIR provides grants to U.S.-based small businesses to do federal research and enable the commercialization of technology. The blood-brain barrier is a tissue barrier that only allows certain molecules to pass from blood vessels into the brain. It is a protective mechanism to prevent the entry of foreign bodies and infection-causing organisms in the brain. Researchers are trying to find ways of delivering medications across this barrier, to reach brain tissues to treat diseases that include multiple sclerosis. "Understanding how drugs are transported across the blood-brain barrier and interact with the brain presents a significant scientific challenge," Thomas Neumann, CEO of Nortis and principal investigator on the project, said in a press release. "More predictive preclinical models based on human tissue are urgently needed to reduce costs and minimize clinical trial failures," he added. "This grant will help us develop new in-vitro alternatives to traditional pharmaceutical drug development testing on laboratory animals."
June 15, 2017 News by Joana Fernandes, PhD IQuity Given $1M NIH Grant to Advance Research into RNA-based Diagnostic Tests for MS The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded a $1 million grant to IQuity, a Nashville-based company looking into novel RNA targets that ultimately benefit patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) and other autoimmune disorders. The NIH grant is part of the institute’sĀ Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program.
April 7, 2017 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Canada, World’s Multiple Sclerosis Capital, Launches 3-Way Collaboration to Research MS Progression Three Canadian entities ā Toronto-based Biogen CanadaĀ andĀ theĀ MS Society of Canada, and Montreal-basedĀ Brain CanadaĀ ā have jointly invitedĀ researchers to establish a multiple sclerosis (MS) progression cohort in Canada. The $7 million nationwideĀ MS Progression CohortĀ offersĀ a timely opportunity to investigate some of the biggestĀ challenges in curingĀ progressive MS, such as…
November 29, 2016 News by Joana Fernandes, PhD NIH Grant to Support Research into Role of Copper in Demyelination The National Institutes of Health (NIH) awarded a $45,000 grant to a team of investigators, led by Tia Walker, PhD, atĀ Indiana University Northwest, to supportĀ aĀ research project into the role of copper in multiple sclerosis (MS). The award is a first for IU Northwest, and will allow the team to…
July 26, 2016 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Queenās University Belfast Awarded Ā£2M in Bid to Reverse Myelin Damage in MS Researchers at Queenās University BelfastĀ are studyingĀ how myelin might be repaired, in an attempt to reverse the damage caused by multiple sclerosis (MS). The more than Ā£2 million, five-year research grantĀ is jointly funded by Ā the Wellcome Trust, in its first Investigator AwardĀ forĀ Northern Ireland, and by theĀ BBSRC, the Biotechnology and Biosciences…
July 20, 2016 News by InĆŖs Martins, PhD Study That May Benefit MS Patients Awarded Grant from National Stem Cell Foundation A research project that aims to explore how astrocytes can be manipulated to stop or prevent neurodegeneration has received a grant from the National Stem Cell Foundation (NSCF). The projectĀ will be conducted by the The New York Stem Cell Foundation (NYSCF) Research Institute. TheĀ work developed by Dr. Valentina…
January 26, 2016 News by Patricia Silva, PhD National MS Society Awards Grant to London Researchers The National Multiple Sclerosis SocietyĀ in the U.S. has awarded a new grant to aĀ University College London (UCL) Ā research teamĀ to continue work intoĀ compounds with the potential to act asĀ neuroprotective therapies for degenerative diseases like multiple sclerosis (MS). The financial support comes through the Society’s business-oriented subsidiary, theĀ Fast ForwardĀ venture.