Research Projects

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is an immune mediated, neurodegenerative disorder that is triggered in genetically predisposed individuals by environmental insults. Depending on which nerves are demyelinated and subsequently degenerated, this leads to specific neurological impairments in vision, movement and cognition. There are two gaps in MS research: we do not understand how i) MS arises and progresses; and ii) to promote central nervous system (CNS) regeneration and remyelination. For latter, brain regeneration and remyelination could be achieved by stimulating endogenous (resident) adult neural stem cells and oligodendrocyte progenitor cells to form oligodendrocytes, which would remyelinate the CNS. This strategy is predicted to halt and potentially reverse the disease progression.

We have several projects under this umbrella:

1) "How the neural stem cell niche, which includes ligands and molecules secreted by neighbouring neurons (“neurochemicals”), regulates oligodendrocyte genesis by endogenous neural stem cells and oligodendrocyte progenitor cells in normal and demyelinated adult brain".

2) "How MS-associated genetic variants pre-dispose the CNS for MS onset or progression".

MS Society of Canada has recently highlighted one of our MS projects here and here.

If you are interested in supporting our research on MS, please visit this page.