Research Plan

The Myelin Repair Foundation (MRF) Research Plan is a roadmap that guides the identification, execution and coordination of projects necessary to achieve myelin repair. The highlights of the research plan are provided below. You can also download the Research Plan Summary (PDF).
 

 

Research Team and Objectives

The MRF Research Plan is focused on four objectives:

1. Understand the basic mechanisms of myelination in the central nervous system, how these mechanisms are disrupted by multiple sclerosis (MS) and how to induce myelin repair.
2. Identify therapeutic targets that effectively restore remyelination, rational drug targets that are effective in animal models and test these targets on human cells (in vitro) and animal models.
3. Develop these potential drug targets to the point where they can be transferred, within 5 years, to commercial partners for rapid development and clinical trials.
4. Document and protect our discoveries to ensure rapid development and commercialization and to fund future MRF research.

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Research Team

The Research Plan will be carried out by the Principal Investigators (PIs). These scientists were chosen to be part of the MRF team because of their complementary knowledge in neurobiology, experience and expertise in myelin research, and their broad range of scientific backgrounds and specialties. They’re approaching the study of myelin from five different perspectives: immunology, genetics, developmental biology, molecular biology and proteomics.

In addition, MRF has identified a Scientific Advisory Board, (SAB), whose members come from related fields and are well regarded in their respective area of expertise. The SAB provides ongoing research guidance, ensuring that investigations are meeting Research Plan expectations.

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Mapping the Key Areas of Investigation

The Research Plan maps out the research necessary to discover myelin repair treatments and catalogs unanswered questions that must be resolved in order to understand how multiple sclerosis disrupts myelination and how the repair process can be stimulated.

The illustration below shows the areas of research for each Principal Investigator’s lab. The arrows show where collaboration will play a critical role in helping accelerate the rate of treatment discoveries.

Research projects in these six key areas of investigation are focused on identifying novel therapeutic targets to arrest the multiple sclerosis process and/or promote remyelination:

1. Understanding how oligodendrocytes are normally generated from neural stem cells and how multiple sclerosis perturbs this process.
2. Understanding the underlying mechanism of myelination and how it is perturbed in multiple sclerosis.
3. Understanding how nodes of Ranvier and paranodes are normally formed and how they are perturbed in multiple sclerosis.
4. Understanding the immune response in multiple sclerosis and how inflammation affects myelin repair.
5. Understanding how the Blood-Brain Barrier is effected in multiple sclerosis and its role in the disease.
6. Development of better animal models for study of multiple sclerosis and remyelination

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Creating a Flexible Process

The MRF Research Plan is flexible by design since relative priorities and future investigative sequences will be in large part determined by the results of current investigations. The Research Plan will be reviewed and adjusted based on results, every 4 months by the Principal Investigators. Proposed modifications will be reviewed and approved by the Scientific Advisory Board.

Because MRF provides funding for this research, the plan allows and encourages investigators flexibility in the design and execution of their research, within this well-defined and structured framework.

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