Australian researchers are using laboratory-grown “mini brains” to investigate one of the biggest unanswered questions in multiple sclerosis research: how to repair the damage the disease causes to the brain.
The project, led by Dr Samantha Barton at The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, is among three initiatives funded through MS Australia’s 2026 Mid-Year MS Research Grants Round. Researchers will use human stem cells to grow three-dimensional models of the human brain to study how myelin, the protective coating surrounding nerve fibres, develops.
Damage to myelin is a defining feature of multiple sclerosis, a neurological disease in which the immune system attacks the central nervous system. Existing treatments can reduce relapses and slow disease activity, but they cannot repair damage that has already occurred.
Dr Barton said the laboratory models provided an opportunity to study myelin development in ways that conventional laboratory methods and animal models could not.
“As a researcher, it’s incredibly rewarding to ask questions that have never been answered before,” she said.
“Current treatments target the immune system, but they can’t repair the damage that has already occurred.”
“We’ve developed laboratory-grown brain models that allow us to study how human myelin forms in ways that aren’t possible using conventional laboratory techniques or animal models.”
“By understanding the genes and biological pathways involved in myelin formation, we hope to discover new ways to promote myelin repair.”
MS Australia said repairing damaged myelin was the highest research priority identified by people living with the disease through its national research priority survey.
Deputy Head of Research Dr Fiona McKay said the work addressed a question that mattered most to the MS community.
“When we asked people affected by MS which research areas mattered most to them, repair and regeneration emerged as the top priority,” she said.
“Research like Dr Barton’s is improving our understanding of how myelin forms and how it may one day be repaired.”
“Supporting discovery research like this builds the knowledge needed to develop the next generation of treatments for people living with MS.”
The mid-year funding round supports early-career researchers through two Incubator Grants and a Postgraduate Scholarship designed to generate early evidence for larger research programs.
Another funded project, led by Dr Carla Proietti at the Institute for Molecular Bioscience at The University of Queensland, will examine why only some people infected with Epstein-Barr virus develop multiple sclerosis. Although the virus is recognised as one of the strongest risk factors for MS, the biological mechanisms linking infection to the disease remain unclear.
“We know Epstein-Barr virus is one of the strongest risk factors for MS, but we still don’t understand why only some people go on to develop the disease,” Dr Proietti said.
“Our research will investigate how a person’s genetic makeup shapes their immune response to EBV and how this may contribute to the development of MS. By answering these questions, we hope to lay the foundation for earlier diagnosis, more personalised care and, ultimately, better treatments.”
A third project, led by Dr Tal Koren at the Brain and Mind Centre at The University of Sydney, will use advanced MRI technology and artificial intelligence to improve the detection and measurement of spinal cord damage in people with MS. Researchers hope more accurate imaging will allow clinicians to better monitor disease progression and assess whether treatments remain effective.
“By improving how we image the spinal cord, we hope to better understand how spinal cord damage contributes to disability over time. This could help clinicians monitor disease more accurately, identify people at greater risk of progression, and uncover new biological pathways that may become future treatment targets,” Dr Koren said.
MS Australia chief executive Rohan Greenland said continued investment in research remained essential as scientists worked towards treatments capable of repairing the damage caused by the disease.
“Every breakthrough in MS research begins with researchers asking questions no one has answered before,” he said.
“MS Australia is committed to supporting Australia’s leading researchers as they tackle some of the biggest unanswered questions in MS.”
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