UCC academic awarded €2.1m grant to progress research on multiple sclerosis

A University College Cork (UCC) researcher has received a €2.1m grant to uncover why women are up to three times more likely than men to develop multiple sclerosis (MS).

Dr Éanna Fennell, in UCC’s pathology department, is the recipient of the funding from Wellcome Trust, a global charitable foundation that supports scientific research.

The study as to why women are more susceptible to the disease aims to provide important new insights in to its causes and to identify new approaches to treatment.

Dr Fennell said: “By bringing together genetics, immunology, and sophisticated models, we hope to better understand the mechanisms driving the disease and identify new opportunities for therapeutic intervention.”

MS is an autoimmune disease in which the immune system damages the protective coating surrounding nerves in the brain and spinal cord.

Approximately 160,000 people across Ireland and the UK have MS, which can be debilitating and reduce life expectancy.

Although women are up to three times more likely than men to develop MS, the biological causes remain poorly understood.

Wellcome Trust awards support ambitious and innovative research programmes to deliver significant shifts in understanding of human life, health, and wellbeing.

Professor John F Cryan, UCC vice-president for research and innovation, said that Dr Fennell is joining an elite list of Ireland-based researchers who have received this prestigious award.

He added: “His work will combine research in genetics and immunology to give a better understanding of MS, provide a new framework for understanding sex differences in MS, and lead to new pathways that can be targeted for more effective therapeutic strategies.”