Covid-19 at the forefront of MS research

Author: MS Research Australia.

MS Research Australia has just announced 20 researcher-led projects that have been awarded funding to start in 2021.

The new research into COVID-19 and MS in 2021 will add to data gathered by our Australian researchers in the first year of the global pandemic.

Each year we highlight some of the exciting and innovative new Australian MS research proposals awarded funding to commence in the new year. Funding is awarded based on rigorous scientific review. It is always difficult to decide which research projects to highlight, but given the events of 2020, no summary would be complete without showcasing research into MS and COVID-19.

Previous funding for COVID-19 research

Early in the pandemic, MS Research Australia funded research to gather as much data as quickly as possible so we could develop a complete picture of how COVID-19 was affecting the MS community. The first project led by Associate Professor Anneke van der Walt, was to work with the Australian and New Zealand Association of Neurologists (ANZAN) to establish a registry of people with MS or other neurological immune disorders who have also been infected with COVID-19. The second and complementary project was looking at patient reported outcomes, rather than just collecting data from neurologists. This project, led by Professor Ingrid van der Mei, is using the well-established infrastructure of the Australian MS Longitudinal Study (AMSLS) to rapidly survey and record information on COVID-19 infection in people with MS, directly from the people with MS themselves.

Information generated from those two projects has and is providing important data, to drive evidence-based guidance for people with MS, You can see some of the guidelines here, with more to come. As the pandemic continues it is critical that we continue research into this area.

Research commencing in 2021 into COVID-19

The first new project is looking at crisis resilience in people with MS. This project led by Dr Learmonth will explore both the prevalence and the impact of the 2019/2020 bushfires and the COVID-19 pandemic on the healthcare of people living with MS in Australia. This will be done by conducting interviews and surveys to more deeply understand the experiences and responses of people affected. Analysis of this information will provide the foundations for developing a toolkit to be used for healthcare-based disaster management for people living with MS in the future. This is very important as we know that in general, individuals living with disability may be up to four times more likely to sustain injuries or death in disaster situations compared to the general population.

For the second new project, Associate Professor Anneke van der Walt, has teamed up with MS researchers with a special interest in antibody measurement and biology, Association Professor Fabienne Brilot-Turville and Professor Simon Broadley, to measure SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in the blood. This is a way to determine whether someone has been infected by the virus or not. It is believed that there may have been a large number of people infected with the virus that went undetected e.g., if they had no symptoms or very mild symptoms. The total number of COVID-19 infections might be 10 times higher if these cases were identified. To understand the effects of MS (and MS medications) on a person’s risk of infection and COVID-related mortality, it is important that we know the true infection rate. The team’s MS immunology researcher, Associate Professor Fabienne Brilot-Turville, has developed a highly sensitive way of detecting antibodies in the blood against SARS-CoV-2 and will use this novel test in approximately 600 people with MS on various MS treatments. This will help to determine the effects of MS disease-modifying therapies on a person’s risk of developing COVID-19.

What does this mean for people with MS?

These new projects complement the previously funded and ongoing projects into COVID-19 and will help develop a fuller picture of MS and COVID-19. Research in crisis resilience will help build a buffer to ensure there are adequate tools for people with MS at times of crisis exemplified by the global pandemic.

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Andrew Cushen

Trustee

Andrew is an independent corporate affairs and strategy consultant, working and living in Auckland. He has previously held senior positions in a number of corporate and not-for-profit entities in New Zealand.

Across his career, Andrew has worked as a funder of research projects (albeit in different areas than medicine and health), served in a number of not-for-profit governance roles, and been successful in developing and implementing collaborative funding models to extend investment in research and community programmes.

Andrew’s interest in Multiple Sclerosis stems from his father’s diagnosis with progressive MS in the early 2000s, and he is keenly interested in research, treatment and management approaches that may lessen the impact of MS on those diagnosed and their families.

Julia Howell

Trustee

Julia is a qualified nurse and midwife, with a varied career including specialising in eating disorders, primary healthcare, and management.    

Julia, in partnership with a GP, set up an outpatient clinical trials unit (Southern Clinical Trials). Under her leadership this grew into a network of 6 sites across NZ. This network merged with another one in 2021 to form PCRN, NZ’s largest clinical trials network. Julia is currently working as joint COO for PCRN.

Julia’s daughter was diagnosed with MS aged 14 and she has been intimately involved with her management over the years.

 

Jan Campbell

Trustee

Born in Ōtautahi Jan trained as a nurse in Christchurch, as a midwife in Winchester, UK and has a degree in philosophy with particular interest in healthcare and business ethics.

After working in the public health system in the UK and NZ, Jan joined Roche Pharmaceuticals based in Auckland in 1999. As a respected senior leader and Medical Director, she established a medical division over the ensuing 20 years responsible for significant investment in clinical trials in NZ, developing a top-class global medicine information service, compassionate medicine supply for kiwis in need, pharmacovigilance oversight and a team working closely with patients, specialists, MEDSAFE and PHARMAC to support the safe and appropriate use of Roche medicines.

As a retiree Jan has volunteered for Mercy Hospice in Auckland and the WBoP Museum in Katikati. Now living in Ōtepoti, Jan sits on both the MS Research Trust and MSNZ executive committees with a keen interest to ensure people with MS get a fair go in NZ.

Dr Elza Cloete

Trustee

Elza is a Neonatal Paediatrician at Christchurch Women’s Hospital. Originally from South Africa, she moved to New Zealand in 2006 and completed her specialist training in Auckland.

Subsequent to that she embarked on doctoral studies at the University of Auckland’s Liggins Institute and obtained a PhD investigating congenital heart disease in new-born babies.

Elza received the Vice-Chancellor’s award for best doctoral thesis for her research and is the author of several research publications. She moved to Christchurch in 2020 for a work opportunity in clinical practice.

Elza was diagnosed with MS in 2012 and brings a consumer perspective and research experience to the Trust.

Dr Ernie Willoughby

Trustee

Dr Willoughby has been a consultant neurologist at Auckland City Hospital (1979 to 2021 – now retired, emeritus) and clinical associate professor at Auckland University School of Medicine.

He directed the MS clinic at Auckland Hospital, has had a long association with the Auckland and NZ MS Societies, and is a member of the International Medical and Scientific Board of the MS International Federation.

Dr Brian Linehan

Independent Trustee

Dr Brian Linehan is a retired pathologist who was previously Managing Director of Medlab Hamilton.

He is currently Chairman of the Tranmere group of investment companies and a Director of a number of other private companies. In 2014, he retired after 12 years on the Council of the University of Waikato where he was Pro-Chancellor.

He is a past Chairman of the New Zealand Medical Association, past Chairman of NZMA Ethics Committee, past President and Chairman of CMAAO (Combined Medical Associations of Asia and Oceania) and past Chairman of IANZ (International Accreditation NZ).

Brian was diagnosed with MS in 2007 but is still active and mobile.

Peter Wood - JP, BCom, AGNZ, ACIS, FNZTA

Treasurer

Peter gained his commerce degree at Victoria University of Wellington and has been practising as a Chartered Accountant initially in Wellington and then in Tauranga.

Peter was a respected and trusted advisor to many businesspeople.
He is now resident in Auckland and consultants to a limited number business clients.

He has also served his community through involvement with Jaycees, Lions and Rotary clubs and a number of charitable trusts.

Peter is currently the Treasurer of Multiple Sclerosis Auckland and a trustee of the Multiple Sclerosis Auckland Trust. Peter is a Justice of the Peace and a member Governance New Zealand and is a Fellow of the NZ Trustees’ Association.

Neil Woodhams

Trustee

Neil is an independent health management consultant who has had an extensive career in health management as a senior manager or consultant to government, DHBs, primary care and community providers. 

Neil is President of MS New Zealand and a trustee of the MS Auckland Region Trust. Neil was also President of MS Auckland until he stepped down from this role mid-2020 to concentrate on his national roles.

Neil’s wife was diagnosed with MS in 1994. One of his four sons was also diagnosed in 2010.

Neil strongly believes in the objectives of the NZ Multiple Sclerosis Research Trust and has advocated for the establishment of the Trust for over 10 years.

Sir William Gallagher

Trustee

Sir William is renowned as a motivational, pragmatic and hands-on businessman in and outside of New Zealand and has a reputation both as a dynamic leader and one of NZ’s most astute businessmen.

Still very involved in the daily operation, he maintains regular contact with customers in the 130 countries in which Gallagher products are sold spending up to 150 days a year on the road representing the company and its philosophies and emphasising the ethics and integrity of his professional and personal dealings.

His achievements have been officially recognised by a string of awards, the latest to mark his commitment to enterprise and leadership skills being his Knighthood in the 2010 New Year’s Honours List. He was also the 1996 winner of the prestigious Excellence in Communication Leadership award, the first time in its history that it had been awarded outside of North America. He also received an MBE in 1987 followed by a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit (CNZM) in 1998.

Sir William Gallagher - KNZM, MBE. HonD

Patron

Sir William is renowned as a motivational, pragmatic and hands-on businessman in and outside of New Zealand and has a reputation both as a dynamic leader and one of NZ’s most astute businessmen.

Still very involved in the daily operation, he maintains regular contact with customers in the 130 countries in which Gallagher products are sold spending up to 150 days a year on the road representing the company and its philosophies and emphasising the ethics and integrity of his professional and personal dealings.

His achievements have been officially recognised by a string of awards, the latest to mark his commitment to enterprise and leadership skills being his Knighthood in the 2010 New Year’s Honours List. He was also the 1996 winner of the prestigious Excellence in Communication Leadership award, the first time in its history that it had been awarded outside of North America. He also received an MBE in 1987 followed by a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit (CNZM) in 1998.