The National MS Society has developed a strategic roadmap -- the Strategic Response: 2011-2015 -- that strives to be a response to the brutal facts of living with MS and identifies what must be done to achieve a world free of MS. Through this response we strive to be a driving force of MS research and treatment to stop disease progression, restore function, and end MS forever. The five research objectives outlined in the Strategic Response were developed through recommendations from our Research Programs Advisory Committee and other stakeholders in the community including researchers, physicians, and people with MS. These objectives are:
• We better understand the mechanisms that lead to disease progression and we accelerate the development of new therapies.
• We pursue new avenues to discover how nerve cells are damaged and potentially repaired.
• We pursue new rehabilitation techniques and symptomatic treatments to restore neurological function and enhance quality of life.
• We identify risk and triggering factors that cause MS, and understand the biological interactions that lead to its development so that MS can be prevented.
• We expand and strengthen the quantity and quality of MS research worldwide to accelerate new discoveries and treatments for people with MS.
Going forward, we will be announcing program priorities, RFAs and other funding mechanisms to help us achieve these objectives. Some areas of interest include:
- Immunologic basis of MS
- CNS repair and neuroprotection
- Biology of glia/myelin
- Genetics and gender differences
- Understanding and preventing disease progression
- Infectious triggers and risk factors
- Cognitive and psychosocial issues
- Patient management, care and rehabilitation
- Pathology of MS
- Clinical trials
- Health care delivery and policy
- Measures of disease activity, imaging, surrogate and biomarkers
The Society also emphasizes industry partnerships by providing milestone-driven drug development funding to private companies. Read more about our Fast Forward initiative.
Research Funding Policies and Procedures Manual
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Download our complete manual of Policies and Procedures: Research Funding Programs and Other Awards (.pdf) or find details and links below to individual research award opportunities and other policy sections.
- Summary and overview of the National MS Society’s guidelines on award administration and policies governing research awards, including the Society’s patent, intellectual property and technology transfer policies, our standards on scientific misconduct, and deadlines.
FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES
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Research Grants
Multi-year investigations by university-based scientists and clinicians for basic, clinical and rehabilitation research
Next Deadline: February 1, 2012 -
Pilot Research
Funding for one year to test innovative, cutting-edge ideas or untested methods and gather sufficient preliminary data to apply for longer-term funding
Deadline: Pilot applications will be reviewed on a quarterly basis. Upcoming Deadlines: February 1, 2012; April 3; July 3; October 2 -
Training Grants and Fellowships
To attract and train promising young investigators and doctors and help more established investigators learn new techniques, we offer the following research training programs. For training related to patient care, refer to clinical training opportunities.)
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Postdoctoral Fellowships
Sylvia Lawry Physician Fellowships
NMSS-AAN MS Clinician Scientist Development Award
Career Transition Fellowships
Harry Weaver Neuroscience Scholar Awards
Daniel Haughton Senior Faculty Awards |
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Health Care Delivery And Policy Research Contracts
Multi-year projects to investigate aspects of health-care delivery and health policy issues related to people with MS
Deadline: Letter of intent due September, application due January -
Collaborative MS Research Centers
Five-year grants to interdisciplinary teams of researchers to stimulate cross-pollination of ideas and attract new minds to the field of MS
Deadline: Early September -
Patient Management, Care And Rehabilitation Research Grants
Support for research projects in the areas related to clinical care and management of people with MS (See individual programs for deadlines)
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Mentor-Based Postdoctoral Fellowship In Rehabilitation Research |
Other Awards and Prizes
- The John Dystel Prize for MS Research (annual cash prize awarded for outstanding contributions to MS research)
- The Ralph I. Straus Award for MS (a $1 million cash prize to any scientist(s) whose research leads to the development of a way to prevent or arrest MS).
- Outside Meeting Support Program to foster communication and sharing of data and ideas. Applications accepted on an ongoing basis