Our Research
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PrevANZ Vitamin D Prevention Trial Update – September 2020
The Trish MS Research Foundation was proud to join forces with the MS Society Western Australia, to provide vital funding to kick-start a study into Vitamin D for the prevention of MS. The much-awaited PrevANZ vitamin D ‘gold-standard’ clinical trial, coordinated by MS Research Australia has been conducted by a team of experienced MS clinical…
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Developing a novel drug for progressive MS
Our very generous supporters ‘dug deep’ at our 2018 Ball, enabling the Trish Foundation to fund an Incubator Grant awarded to Dr Steven Petratos. Dr Petratos and his team have examined the levels of the thyroid hormone transporter, MCT8, during mouse development and adulthood, and how it is affected in immune cells and oligodendrocytes (the…
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Excellent progress being achieved
The Trish Foundation is supporting a three-year Project Grant awarded to Dr Junhua Xiao, The University of Melbourne titled, “How nerve cells influence myelin repair in the brain”. Dr Xiao has made excellent progress in the first year of the project grant. She and her team have successfully generated laboratory models where the TrkB gene…
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Enhancing Myelin repair in MS
The Foundation is contributing to a MS Research Australia Project Grant titled “Enhancing Myelin repair in multiple sclerosis” at the Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, VIC, led by Professor Trevor Kilpatrick. Co-investigators for this three-year project are Dr Simon Murray, Ms Michele Binder, Professor Bernard Zalc, Dr Junhua Xiao, Dr Anne Desmazieres and…
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Developing methods to promote the creation of new myelin in MS
Following very generous support at the Trish Foundation’s 2018 Ball, an Incubator Grant was awarded to Associate Professor Anthony Don. In the first part of his project, A/Prof Don showed in laboratory models that S1P is essential for protecting the myelinating cells of the brain against damage and that loss of myelinating cells and myelin…
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A potential therapy for progressive forms of MS
Commencing 2018 the Trish Foundation began supporting a three-year MS Research Australia Project Grant awarded to Associate Professor Peter Crouch who began preclinical trials of a therapy for progressive multiple sclerosis at The University of Melbourne. Dr Crouch’s Co-investigators are Dr James Hilton, Dr Blaine Roberts, Dr Paul Donnelly and Dr Dominic Hare. A/Prof Crouch…
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What role do natural killer cells play in MS?
The Trish Foundation contributed to a three-year MS Research Australia Project Grant awarded to Dr Fiona McKay which commenced in 2018. Dr McKay and her team have developed a test to characterise and compare different subsets of natural killer (NK) cells. This technique involves passing the cells past a laser that allows them to detect…
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Using MRI to measure MS severity and progression
In 2019 Dr Justin Garber, The University of Sydney, was awarded a three-year Postgraduate Scholarship fully funded by the Trish Foundation, his Co-investigators being Professor Michael Barnett and Dr Chenyu Wang. Dr Garber has recruited 24 participants with progressive MS for this study who have had brain MRIs performed every 6 months. At each visit,…
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Promoting myelin repair in the brain
Commencing 2019, Dr Simon Murray and his Co-investigator Dr Jessica Fletcher, The University of Melbourne, were awarded a two-year Project Grant fully funded by the Trish Foundation. In the first year of his project grant, Dr Murray has established and characterised a new pre-clinical laboratory model of MS where the survival of precursor myelin producing…
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iPad-based tool for accurate measurement
Dr Joshua Barton, Brain and Mind Centre, University of Sydney was awarded a Postgraduate Scholarship funded by the Trish Foundation, which was supervised by Professor Michael Barnett. Dr Barton has developed an iPad-based tool that is able to accurately measure an individual’s function of visual contrast sensitivity. The benefit of this measure, as opposed to…