In the seventh episode of the Progressive Multiple Sclerosis Webinar Series, Robert Joyce interviews Dr Una FitzGerald to learn about research into MS in Ireland.

During the interview Una mentioned two studies and these are the links.

PMSMatTrain (which stands for progressive MS-Material-Training): https://pmsmattrain.eu/

AIMS-RN (which stands for All-Ireland MS Research Network): https://aims-rn.org/

Robert Joyce was diagnosed with Relapsing Remitting MS in 1992 and now has Secondary Progressive MS. He has a blog and podcast where he shares his experience of living with MS and chronic pain (www.a30minutelife.com).

Dr FitzGerald's research focus is on developing an understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying neurodegenerative disorders such as multiple sclerosis and Parkinson's disease. After graduating from NUI Galway with a BE (Industrial) in 1983 and an MSc in Biotechnology in 1985, she worked in the biotech sector for five years before returning to academia to copmlete a PhD in molecular biology at the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow. Dr FitzGerald returned to Ireland in 2003, taking up a lectureship in biomedical engineering at NUIG in 2005. Since then the main focus of the FitzGerald group has been multiple scelosis and other brain disorders including Parkinson's disease. The group has also studied the normal development of the cerebellum.

Dr FitzGerald is the Director of the Galway Neuroscience and she represents MS Ireland on the MS International Federation's International Medical and Scientific Board. She has also recently joined the committee of the Dementia and Neurodegeneratin Network, Ireland. Since May 2019, she is coordinating a €3.9 million EU-funded project that aims to work with researchers from Denmark, Germany, Belgium, France, Italy, Spain and the Czech Republic to create new devices and treatments for multiple sclerosis.

In effort to reduce the negative impact that lab research has on the enviroment, Dr FitzGerald initiated the 'Galway Green Labs' effort at NUIG, triggering the implmentation green practices the CÚRAM lab, in preparation for green lab certification' (see mygreenlab.org), which was awarded in late 2019. For more information on this achievement, watch our documentary movie 'The time to green our labs is now' (https://vimeo.com/375847945).

https://www.ms-society.ie/

https://twitter.com/MSIRELAND/

https://www.facebook.com/MultipleSclerosisIreland/

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