Ep86 Funding the Future: The Next Generation of MS Research

<p><a href="https://www.msaustralia.org.au/news/researchers-turn-to-lab-grown-mini-brains-in-search-of-ways-to-repair-ms-damage/" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Announced on 29 July</a>, MS Australia's <a href="https://www.msaustralia.org.au/research-grants-07-2026/" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">2026 Mid-Year Research Grants</a> support bold new ideas with the potential to transform the future of <a href="https://www.msaustralia.org.au/what-is-multiple-sclerosis-ms/" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">multiple sclerosis</a> (MS) research and <a href="https://www.msaustralia.org.au/treatments/" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">treatment</a>. Every breakthrough in <a href="https://www.msaustralia.org.au/research/" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">MS research</a> begins with researchers asking questions yet to be answered. MS Australia is committed to <a href="https://www.msaustralia.org.au/projects" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">supporting Australia’s leading researchers</a> as they tackle some of the biggest unanswered questions in MS.</p><p>In today’s episode, MS Australia’s Deputy Head of Research, Dr Fiona McKay, speaks with two of this year’s grant recipients: <a href="https://www.msaustralia.org.au/researcher/tal-koren/" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Dr Tal Koren</a> from the <a href="https://www.sydney.edu.au/brain-mind/" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Brain and Mind Centre</a> at The University of Sydney and <a href="https://www.msaustralia.org.au/researcher/samantha-barton/" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Dr Samantha Barton</a> from <a href="https://florey.edu.au/" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health</a> in Melbourne.</p><p>Dr Koren discusses his work using <a href="https://www.msaustralia.org.au/project/biomarkers-of-disease-progression-in-the-spinal-cord-in-ms/" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">advanced MRI techniques and artificial intelligence</a> to better detect and monitor spinal cord damage in people living with MS.</p><p>Dr Barton explains how <a href="https://www.msaustralia.org.au/project/defining-genes-that-drive-myelin-formation/" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">human stem cell-derived ‘mini brains’</a> are helping her team study myelin formation and identify future opportunities to repair damaged myelin.</p><p>You’ll also hear about our third grant recipient, <a href="https://www.msaustralia.org.au/researcher/carla-proietti/" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Dr Carla Proietti</a>, whose research at The University of Queensland’s <a href="https://imb.uq.edu.au/" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Institute for Molecular Bioscience</a> investigates <a href="https://www.msaustralia.org.au/project/how-genes-and-epstein-barr-virus-interact-in-multiple-sclerosis/" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">how Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and genetics interact in MS</a>, as well as details of MS Australia's <a href="https://www.msaustralia.org.au/events/symposium-2026/" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">National Symposium on MS Medications</a> taking place later this year.</p><p>The three innovative projects funded through MS Australia's 2026 Mid-Year Grant Round address <a href="https://www.msaustralia.org.au/news/your-voice-matters-what-the-2025-research-and-advocacy-priorities-survey-reveals/" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">our community’s top priorities for MS research</a>, including causes and prevention, better treatments, and cures through cell repair and regeneration. Together, these projects explore the role of EBV and genes in MS, myelin in ‘mini brains’, and the use of AI for more sensitive MS monitoring.</p><p>Join us to hear what these projects could mean for the future and what inspires and motivates this next generation of MS res