Multiple Sclerosis Australia Explained

Multiple Sclerosis Australia, or MS Australia, is a national non-profit organization in Australia that coordinates and allocates funds for multiple sclerosis research.^{[1] [2]}

Founding

MS Australia was established in 2004 by founding chairman Simon McKeon. McKeon handed over to current chairman Paul Murnane in 2010, but still remains the organization's patron.^[3] Founding CEO Jeremy Wright handed over to the current CEO, Matthew Miles in 2013. MS Australia was created as an MS-specific national research initiative whose aim is to utilize the Australian science community, and to provide a collaborative approach to MS research.^[4]

Contributions

MS Australia is a managing member of the International Progressive MS Alliance,^[5] which focuses on progressive multiple sclerosis.^{[6] [7]}

The organization is also a contributor to the Multiple Sclerosis International Federation (MSIF), based in London.^[8]

More than $36.7 million has been awarded to 254 MS research projects across both Australia and New Zealand since the organization's establishment in 2004.^[9]

MS Australia provided funding for a trial to test whether vitamin D supplementation can prevent MS in those who are at risk of developing the disease.^[10] This study had similar results to an earlier study published in Neurological Research International.^[11]

The organization supported the Australian-New Zealand MS Genetics Consortium, which in 2009 discovered two of the key risk genes in MS^[12] and subsequently contributed to the International MS Genetics Consortium, that has now discovered over 200 genes that contribute to the risk of developing MS.^[13]

In 2017, research funded by the organization discovered a possible molecular pathway (the kynurenine pathway) for MS progression, the activation of which may be involved in MS progression. This pathway has already been implicated in other neurological disorders.^[14]

Also in 2017, MS Australia co-founded a three-year, $750,000 multiple sclerosis paired research fellowship, funding a senior laboratory research fellow and senior MS clinician at the University of Tasmania’s Menzies Institute for Medical Research, with the aim of furthering research into developing treatments for MS.^[15]

Awards

2015

• Australian Charity Awards’ Charity of the Year.^[16]
• Public Relations Institute of Australia (PRIA) Golden Target Awards – ‘Highly Commended’ in the Small Budget/Pro Bono category.^[17]

2016

• Fundraising Institute of Australia's ‘Most Effective Creative Campaign Award for Kiss Goodbye to MS.^[18]
• Fundraising Institute of Australia’s special Events Under $5 Million’.
• Australian Charity Awards Outstanding Achievement Award.^[19]

2017

• Telstra Business Awards, ‘Australian Charity of the Year’.^[20]
• Telstra Business Awards, 'NSW Charity of the Year'.^[21]
• Telstra Business Awards, 'NSW Business of the Year'.
• Australian Charity Awards, ‘Outstanding Achievement Award’.^[22]

Campaigns

MS Australia launched a global fundraising campaign, Kiss Goodbye to MS, in 2012.^[23] The campaign, which MS International lauded for the scale of the fundraising,^{[24] [25]} was launched to both advance public awareness of the disease, and to raise funds for ongoing research. Since the establishment of the campaign, Kiss Goodbye to MS is now operating in over 15 different countries and is the only global campaign dedicated solely to fundraising for MS research, as at 2016.^{[26] [25]}

MS Australia Platforms

Some of these collaborations are:

• MS Research Australia Brain Bank^{[27] [28] [29]}
• Australian MS Longitudinal Study (AMSLS)
• Prev ANZ- A clinical prevention trial into the effects of vitamin D on MS.^[30]
• ANZ gene- A collaborative Australia-New Zealand genetics study seeking to identify the genes linked with MS.^{[31] [32]}
• Autologous Haemopoietic Stem Cell Treatment (AHSCT) registry.^[33]

Notes and References

1. Web site: What We Do. 9 May 2016. Msaustralia.org.au.
2. Web site: About MS Research Australia - MS Research Australia. Msra.org.au. 9 June 2018.
3. Web site: Interview QA with Simon McKeon - Australian Institute of Company Directors . Companydirectors.com.au.
4. News: MS - MS Research Australia - Neuroscience Trials Australia. Neuroscience Trials Australia. 2018-06-07. en-US.
5. Web site: International Progressive MS Alliance - Members . Progressivemsalliance.org.
6. Web site: International Progressive MS Alliance - About us . Progressivemsalliance.org.
7. Zaratin . P . Comi . G . Coetzee . T . Ramsey . K . Smith . K . Thompson . A . Panzara . M . 1 October 2016 . Progressive MS Alliance Industry Forum: Maximizing Collective Impact To Enable Drug Development . Trends in Pharmacological Sciences . 37 . 10 . 808–810 . 10.1016/j.tips.2016.07.005 . 27554755 . free.
8. Web site: Our members - MS International Federation . 9 June 2018 . Msif.org.
9. News: About MS Research Australia - MS Research Australia. MS Research Australia. 2018-06-07. en-US.
10. Web site: Vitamin D MS Prevention Trial - PrevANZ - MS Research Australia. Msra.org.au. 9 June 2018.
11. Methodology of an International Study of People with Multiple Sclerosis Recruited through Web 2.0 Platforms: Demographics, Lifestyle, and Disease Characteristics. Jelinek. George. Neurology Research International. 2013. 580596. 11 April 2013. 3649686. 23691313. 10.1155/2013/580596. free .
12. Web site: Aussie and Kiwi researchers make double MS genetic discovery. Innovations-report.com. 9 June 2018.
13. Web site: International Consortium Pinpoints 200 Genetic Variations That Can Influence Risk of Getting MS : National Multiple Sclerosis Society . 2018-06-08 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180612143308/https://www.nationalmssociety.org/About-the-Society/News/International-Consortium-Pinpoints-200-Genetic-Var# . 2018-06-12 . dead .
14. Web site: Australian Team Finds Possible Molecular Pathway for MS Progression. 9 February 2017. Nationalmssociety.org.
15. Web site: Australian MS Experts Win Fellowship Aimed at Erasing Research Barriers. Mumal. Iqra. 8 September 2017. Multiplesclerosisnewstoday.com.
16. Web site: The Australian Charity Awards 2015 - Australian Charity of the Year. Charityawards.com.au.
17. Web site: All The Winners From PRIA's 2015 Golden Target Awards - B&T. 27 October 2015. Bandt.com.au.
18. Web site: 2016 Winners · Awards for Excellence · FIA - Fundraising Institute of Australia. Fia.org.au.
19. Web site: ABA100 Australian Business Awards® - Australian Charity Awards 2016 Winners. Australianbusinessawards.com.au.
20. Web site: MS Research Australia 2017 Telstra Australian Charity Award Winner - Generosity Magazine. 29 August 2017. Generositymag.com.au.
21. Web site: Winners and Finalists. Telstrabusinessawards.com.
22. Web site: Australian Charity Awards 2017 Winners. Australianbusinessawards.com.au.
23. Web site: Our Story - Kiss Goodbye to MS. Kissgoodbyetoms.org.
24. Web site: Kiss Goodbye to MS - Multiple Sclerosis Society of NZ. Msnz.org.nz.
25. Web site: Kiss Goodbye to MS launches - MS International Federation. 15 January 2016. Msif.org. 9 June 2018.
26. Web site: Kiss Goodbye to MS - Multiple Sclerosis - Countries. KIssgoodbyetomsglobal.org.
27. Web site: MS Research Australia Brain Bank - ALZFORUM. Alzforum.org.
28. Web site: Multiple Sclerosis. The University of Sydney.
29. Web site: Home - MS Brain Bank. MS Brain Bank.
30. Web site: Preventing the risk of MS using vitamin D in patients with a first demyelinating event in Australia and New Zealand (PrevANZ) - MS Trials. 29 August 2013. Mstrials.org.au.
31. Web site: ANZGENE: The Genetics of Multiple Sclerosis - Menzies Institute for Medical Research - University of Tasmania, Australia. Menzies.utas.edu.au.
32. Web site: WikiGenes - Collaborative Publishing. WikiGenes - Collaborative Publishing.
33. Web site: Australian MS AHSCT Registry - MS Research Australia. Msra.org.au.