In a landscape where funding is increasingly difficult to obtain, the importance of conducting research that has the greatest impact has never been more important. In the case of women with MS, a large-scale scoping review,* conducted on behalf of the International Advisory Committee on Clinical Trials in MS, sheds light on the research gaps related to female health. ln this episode, host Brett Drummond of MSTranslate talks with two of its authors -- Lindsay Ross, an assistant professor at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine, and Ruth Ann Marrie, professor of medicine and community health sciences at the University of Manitoba in Canada.

*Ross, L., Finlayson, M., Amato, M. P., Cohen, J. A., Hellwig, K., Tintore, M., Vukusic, S., Salter, A., & Marrie, R. A. (2024). Priority setting: women's health topics in multiple sclerosis. Frontiers in neurology, 15, 1355817. https://doi.org/10.3389/fneur.2024.1355817

The ECTRIMS Congress offers a valuable opportunity for young researchers to gain experience and exposure. Joonas Lehikoinen from Helsinki University Hospital and the University of Helsinki Neurocenter, along with Ahmed Abdelhak from the University of California, San Francisco, received poster abstract prizes at MSMilan2023. Host Brett Drummond from MSTranslate talks with them about their research, experiences, and advice for young researchers preparing abstracts for ECTRIMS2024.

With the growing push towards taking a more personalised approach to the treatment and management of multiple sclerosis, it is important to understand the unique issues – both socially and clinically – that may arise among people of different ethnicities. In this episode, Natalie Bursari of The Nerve of My Multiple Sclerosis in the UK and Mitzi Joi Williams of Joi Life Wellness Multiple Sclerosis Center in the US discuss the issues faced by Black people living with MS, with host Brett Drummond of MStranslate.