Australian researchers have developed a groundbreaking approach to one of multiple sclerosis' biggest challenges: repairing nerve damage that current treatments cannot fix. Using human stem cells to grow three-dimensional laboratory models of the human brain, scientists at The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health are investigating how the brain naturally produces myelin, the protective coating around nerve fibers that MS damages.

Why Can't Current MS Treatments Repair Nerve Damage?

Multiple sclerosis occurs when the body's immune system mistakenly attacks myelin, leaving nerve fibers exposed and vulnerable to damage. While existing MS treatments can reduce relapses and slow disease activity, none are currently capable of repairing the damage that has already occurred. This gap between slowing disease and actually healing the brain represents the top research priority identified by people living with MS, according to MS Australia's national research priority survey.

The challenge is significant: MS affects over 37,700 people in Australia alone, and it remains the most common acquired neurological disease in young Australians. Yet despite decades of treatment advances, the ability to reverse nerve damage has remained elusive.

How Do Lab-Grown 'Mini Brains' Help Scientists Understand Myelin?

Led by Dr. Samantha Barton, the research team at The Florey Institute has become a world leader in generating these laboratory-grown brain models, which contain myelin and allow researchers to study how human myelin forms in ways that conventional laboratory techniques or animal models cannot replicate. These three-dimensional structures provide a unique window into the biological processes that create and maintain the protective coating around nerve fibers.

"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," said Dr. Samantha Barton.

Dr. Samantha Barton, Researcher at The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health

The current project aims to identify which genes are important for producing myelin in these mini brains. By pinpointing these genetic factors, the team hopes to discover new drugs that could promote myelin repair, with the long-term goal of helping repair damage in people living with MS.

How to Support MS Research Breakthroughs

• Understand the Research Priority: Repair and regeneration emerged as the top research priority when people affected by MS were surveyed about which research areas mattered most to them, making projects like Dr. Barton's directly aligned with patient needs.
• Recognize Early-Career Investment: MS Australia's mid-year grants round specifically invests in early-career researchers and innovative "blue sky" ideas with the potential to shape the future of MS research, helping drive the next wave of innovation and leadership.
• Support Discovery-Based Approaches: Discovery research like this builds the foundational knowledge needed to develop the next generation of treatments for people living with MS, even when clinical applications are years away.

What Other MS Research Breakthroughs Are Being Funded?

The myelin repair project is one of three research initiatives funded through MS Australia's 2026 Mid-Year MS Research Grants Round. The funding round includes two additional projects addressing critical gaps in MS understanding and diagnosis.

One project investigates how genes and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) interact in multiple sclerosis. Although almost everyone is infected with EBV, a known risk factor for MS, only a small proportion of people develop the disease. Dr. Carla Proietti and her team at the Institute for Molecular Bioscience have identified a specific pattern of EBV-related antibodies that is much higher in people living with MS than in people without MS or those with other autoimmune diseases. This project will investigate whether inherited genetic factors influence the immune response to EBV and contribute to MS development, potentially laying the foundation for earlier diagnosis and more personalized care.

"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," explained Dr. Carla Proietti.

Dr. Carla Proietti, Researcher at Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland

A third funded project focuses on improving how spinal cord damage is detected and measured in people with MS. Spinal cord damage is strongly linked to physical disability and disease progression, yet current magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans are not sensitive enough to reliably detect small changes over time. Dr. Tal Koren at the Brain and Mind Centre will use advanced MRI and artificial intelligence to identify and track spinal cord damage more accurately, potentially improving how clinicians monitor disease progression and determine whether treatments are working effectively.

"By improving how we image the spinal cord, we hope to better understand how spinal cord damage contributes to disability over time," noted Dr. Tal Koren.

Dr. Tal Koren, Researcher at Brain and Mind Centre, The University of Sydney

MS Australia CEO Rohan Greenland emphasized the importance of continued investment in research. "Every breakthrough in MS research begins with researchers asking questions no one has answered before," he stated. These three projects represent the kind of foundational and innovative research that could eventually transform how MS is diagnosed, monitored, and treated, offering hope to the hundreds of thousands of people living with the disease worldwide.

Rohan Greenland