MS Research Flagship
Newsletter

$3m Multiple Sclerosis Centre of Research Excellence established

On 30 August it was announced that a research team led from Menzies was awarded $3 million to establish the MS Centre of Research Excellence.

This large-scale collaboration between MS researchers, consumers, advocacy and resource organisations, and industry will address the MS community’s number one research priority: to identify and evaluate brain protection and repair treatments for progressive MS.

MS Centre of Research Excellence lead chief investigator (CI), the MS Research Flagship's Professor Kaylene Young, said “Our vision is to make MS a disease without disability.”

Professor Kaylene Young with consumer CI Chris Gumley. Photo credit: Nikki Davis-Jones, The Mercury

What will it achieve?

The Centre aims to prevent disability accrual in people with MS and will use the National Health and Medical Research Council’s funding to enable its discovery and clinical translation of drugs to target the genes and brain cells that drive progressive disease. The Centre will simultaneously identify and validate biomarkers that track with disease progression.

The team will take a multidisciplinary approach, combining neuroscience and biotechnology research with large scale gene, protein and lipid studies to define what happens in the central nervous system of people with progressive MS. The work will enable drug development and clinical trials that will ensure translation of knowledge into improving health outcomes of individuals with MS. 

“We will systematically identify and short list drugs with the potential to combat the mechanisms of progressive MS. We will work with our biotechnology and clinical trial partners to fast-track potential drugs to clinical evaluation,” Professor Young said.

Consumers at its heart

Consumers are at the heart of the MS Centre of Research Excellence, with its CI and associate investigator (AI) teams including people who live with MS.

Chris Gumley, a consumer CI, said "It's a privilege to contribute my lived experience of MS to a team striving for shared goals: enhancing understanding of MS, improving quality of life through research discoveries, and ultimately striving to find a cure for current and future generations.” 

The MS Centre of Research Excellence will foster collaboration between MS Research Flagship researchers and the University of Queensland, University of Melbourne, Queensland Institute of Medical Research, Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Griffith University, University College London, plus strategic partnerships with the MS community, Novoroo Bioscience, MS Australia and MStranslate.

More information

🔗Media release: “Make multiple sclerosis a disease without disability,” vision of $3m Centre of Research Excellence at Menzies 

MS Centre of Research Excellence CIs (from left) Associate Professor Brad Sutherland, Professor Kaylene Young, Professor Bruce Taylor, Dr Yuan Zhou, Professor Ingrid van der Mei, Chris Gumley, Natasha Stevens. Inset: Professor Leonid Churilov, Associate Professor Jake Gratten, Dr William Reay

Research with Connections 2024

On 28th June the MS Research Flagship hosted it’s fourth successive ‘Research with Connections’ symposium in Hobart. Around 130 people — 80% MS consumers and community members — attended the event which connects researchers with the MS community through presentations, conversations and celebrations.

This year the focus was on celebrating the impact of a $10 million funding boost to the MS Research Flagship program from the Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) Emerging Priorities in Consumer Driven Research initiative in 2019.

The MRFF funding significantly accelerated the Flagship’s advancements in several key areas, and our researchers presented an overview of these to the symposium delegates.

Understanding the cause of MS

• The MS Family Study, by examining the genetics of families with a high incidence of MS, has expanded our knowledge of the rare genetic variations and biological pathways associated with MS.
• The establishment of the MS Stem biobank enhances our understanding of the biological causes of MS, provides a platform for drug candidate screening, and advances MS research both nationally and internationally.

MS treatment

• A free, online health economic simulation model has been developed to help researchers and clinicians assess the impact of MS treatments (including drug therapies, lifestyle interventions, public health programs, medical devices and surgical interventions) on clinical and cost outcomes.
• Groundbreaking national clinical trials TAURUS 1&2 have assessed the safety and efficacy of magnetic brain stimulation (MBS) as a potential brain repair (remyelination) therapy for MS, improving our understanding of brain cell regeneration and myelin repair. Final study results are expected by the end of the year.

MS education and management

• Our Understanding MS massive open online course (MOOC) has achieved global reach, with over 50,000 participants from more than 180 countries. The MOOC significantly improves MS knowledge, health literacy, self-efficacy, communication confidence and self-reported behaviour change.
• We have developed new MOOCs on ‘Mental Health and MS,’ ‘Deciding About Disease Modifying Therapies for MS,’ ‘Ageing Well with MS’ and ‘Supporting MS Carers.’ Additionally, we have developed MS WorkSmart and My SymptoMS to help people with MS manage their symptoms and remain active in the workplace.

To share these resources with the MS community, the MS Research Flagship launched its MS Education and Management platform at www.msresearchflagship.org.au

Consumer involvement

Since 2019 the MS Research Flagship has grown significantly, expanding from around 30 founding members to more than 90 members. Additionally, its consumer and community reference committee has grown from seven to 17 members, collaborating closely with the Flagship at every stage of research, strategy, and governance. This committee is now recognised as a leader in consumer and community involvement within the Australian research landscape.

"A profound impact"

Menzies Director Professor Tracey Dickson said “The $10 million funding boost from the MRFF has had a profound impact, catalysing significant advancements in our mission to conduct high impact, interdisciplinary and consumer driven research on the causes, treatment, management and prevention of MS.”

“Not only has it expanded our research capabilities, it has also strengthened our commitment to reduce the impact of MS on individuals and the community,” Professor Dickson said.

Thank you

The Flagship would like to thank all those who contributed to the success of the day, in particular our guest speakers Vicki Colville (MRFF), Associate Professor Anne Brüstle (ANU), Dr Julia Morahan (MS Australia) and consumer Meg Denham.

A collection of candid pics from our 2024 event

This event was funded by the Australian Government, Medical Research Future Fund 

Beaker Street Festival

Each August during National Science Week, people from all walks of life are invited to peer through the lens of science at the Beaker Street Festival. Held in Hobart, Tasmania, the festival aims to help build community through scientific understanding.

At its heart are the Roving Scientists — PhD candidates, science communicators, academics and everyone in between — who are stationed of an evening in Hobart's historic Hope & Anchor pub. Here they chat with punters, answer questions about their research and generally have fun with science.

This year, MS Research Flagship postdoctoral staff Roisin Moloney and Natalie King were amongst the 100+ contingent of Roving Scientists.

Roisin told us "I loved getting to share our research with the community. People were really engaged and interested in the work we do here at Menzies."

"Beaker Street was a fantastic experience, providing an invaluable opportunity to connect with community members who share a passion for science. I really appreciated the chance to discuss my research," said Natalie.

Dressed in red Menzies lab coats, Roisin Moloney (left) and Natalie King field questions from curious punters about their MS research projects.

More information

🌐Beaker Street Festival

Menzies research update in Launceston

Also in August, the Flagship's Professor Bruce Taylor spoke to a highly engaged audience attending the Menzies Public Talk at University of Tasmania's Inveresk campus in Launceston.

Together with fellow Menzies' researcher behavioural epidemiologist Associate Professor Verity Cleland, they delved into transformative research initiatives taking place in Northern Tasmania and beyond. Professor Taylor's presentation focused on the TAURUS study (magnetic brain stimulation for people with MS). This groundbreaking clinical trial saw 108 people participate at six sites around Australia, including at the Launceston General Hospital.

Audience members left the evening event with a better understanding of how these studies coming out of Menzies are poised to make a significant impact not just locally, but on a global scale.

Professor Bruce Taylor speaking in Launceston

More information

Want to know more about what’s happening at Menzies beyond the MS Research Flagship?

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Understanding MS

We're excited to share that we've added new content about stem cell therapy to Understanding MS, our free online course. Presented by clinical neuroimmunologist Professor Tomas Kalincik, it includes an overview of how stem cell therapy works, the forms of MS it can treat and what the latest studies tell us about its benefits.

Enrolments will close at 5pm AEST on 20th September, so get in quick!

Let's spit in the face of MS

Menzies is carrying out an Australia-wide study investigating the connection between Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and MS. It also aims to identify specific biomarkers associated with onset and progression of MS. The knowledge gained from this research will potentially improve MS diagnosis, treatment and prevention.

Our researchers need the help (and saliva) of people aged 18 years and above:

• who DO NOT have MS; AND
• who DO live with MS, and have been diagnosed with MS by a neurologist. In particular, they are keen to include people with MS who are NOT receiving treatment

Participation involves:

• completing a questionnaire
• providing three saliva samples (postal submissions accepted)
• giving a blood sample (optional)

Interested in participating?

This study is approved by the University of Tasmania Human Research Ethics Committee, H0027273 (H-85821) and funded by the Australian Government, Medical Research Future Fund and National Health and Medical Research Council 

Why consumer involvement?

The different perspectives and lived experiences that consumers bring to research improves its quality, relevance and impact, which is why consumer and community involvement (CCI) underpins every aspect of the MS Research Flagship's strategy, governance, operations and research projects.

To illustrate this, we've asked consumers and researchers who have embraced CCI to share their experience.

This issue we hear from consumer Meg Denham. Meg gave this testimonial prior to the end of her tenure as a longstanding member of the Flagship's Consumer & Community Reference Committee.

"I love being part of the MS Research Flagship’s consumer committee. It’s exciting being so close to the research, often from the beginning of an idea, and it’s great seeing the research develop over time.

"More than that, it’s important that I can be a voice for people living with MS. As a consumer committee we can influence the direction of research, making sure that it is relevant to our concerns and hopes for the future. It means we can help researchers understand what our lives are like, and how we live every day. That means better outcomes for all of us, both researchers and people living with MS.”

Meg Denham

Grant success

Dr Xin Lin has been awarded a $25,000 incubator grant by MS Australia for his project aiming to find biological markers of MS that may be targets for the diagnosis and treatment of MS.

Consumer & Community Reference Committee (C&CRC) members

Our C&CRC recently endorsed two new members:

Dr Caitlin Pilbeam is a medical anthropologist who specialises in qualitative health research.  She was diagnosed with MS in 2023 whilst living in the ACT. As an anthropologist, Caitlin believes that people, their voices, and experiences are at the centre of all good research. Through her training at the University of Oxford and work with the World Health Organisation and other institutions, she has collaborated with researchers and professionals across the world to conduct and champion health research that is responsive to the needs of the people it serves.

Rowena Auchterlonie has worked for Tasmania Police for over 30 years. She has held positions in general duties, CIB detective  victim crime, communications, the public order response team and, most recently, the early intervention youth action unit. A married mother of two adult children, she was diagnosed with relapsing remitting MS in 2016. Rowena is a member of MS Australia’s lived experience expert panel (LEEP).  She has personal connections to the state and national MS organisations and peer support groups and is passionate about contributing her ‘real life’ experiences to groups such as our C&CRC.

C&CRC member Dr Caitlin Pilbeam

C&CRC member Rowena Auchterlonie

Researchers

A very warm welcome to Dr David Gell, Dr Mustafa Kamal, Panteha Khaledi, Dr Roisin Moloney, Payel Mukherjee, Dr William Reay and Dr Foong Yi Chao who have joined the Flagship this year.

In this issue we bid farewell to researchers Tram Nguyen and Negar Hassaanabadi,  Professor Andrew Palmer who is retiring as group leader of health economics, and C&CRC members Andrew Potter, Jayne England and Peter Hill.

We thank you all for your contributions to the Flagship, and wish you the very best in your next endeavours. You will be missed!

Published studies

In 2024 so far, the number of MS Research Flagship papers published in peer reviewed journals include:

• 26 first author scientific papers, led by the MS Research Flagship
• 42 scientific papers produced in collaboration with other researchers.

Total publications: 68