In 2007 MSIF launched the McDonald Fellowship. In its inaugural year five awards were presented with a combined value of more than £250,000 to promising young MS researchers.

Pedro Francisco Angelo Jr, Brazil

Pedro Francisco Angelo Jr, a post doctoral fellow from the Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Brazil will carry out his research as part of the Neuroscience Program at the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, USA.

His work will focus on testing the hypothesis that members of the kallikrein gene family are integral mediators of T-cell differentiation and therefore key players in immune mediated pathogenesis such as that occurring in MS.

Upon his return to Brazil, Dr Angelo is hoping to apply the skills he will have gained from the Mayo Clinic and become an independent investigator in the MS field. Not only does he envisage playing an active role in the development of MS therapies in Brazil but also hopes to train other researchers in the field.

Simona Budui, Romania

Simona Budui, a doctor from the Victor Babes’ National Institute of Pathology, Bucharest, Romania will continue her MS research at the Department of Pathology, University of Verona, Italy.

Dr Budui will work on a project regarding adipose-derived stem cell therapy in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) - an animal model of MS. It is possible to isolate many more cells from adipose (fat) tissue and the procedure is less painful than the alternative harvest of bone marrow. The project will look at using stem cells derived in this manner in arresting or reversing neurological damage caused by autoimmune demyelination.

Once she returns to Romania, she will establish an MS research field at the Victor Babes' National Institute of Pathology. Dr Budui also hopes to gain her PhD in this field.

Sara Litwak, Argentina

Sara Litwak, a postdoctoral fellow currently based at the Neural Regeneration Unit at the Institute of Reconstructive Neurobiology, University of Bonn Life and Brain Center, Germany will join the MS Research Group at the Monash Immunology and Stem Cell Laboratories (miscl), Monash University, Victoria, Australia.

As part of the MS Research Group, Dr Litwak will investigate the role of Nogo receptor expression in microaglia and its relevance to autoimmune-mediated demyelination.

After completing her Fellowship funded research, Dr Litwak will return to Argentina and, through the knowledge she has gained and international contacts she has made, work to improve neuroimmunology research in the country and in the long-term aims to establish her own research line.

Kanitta Suwansrinon, Thailand

Kanitta Suwansrinon, a postdoctoral fellow from the Neurology Division at The King Chulalongkorn University Hospital, Bangkok, Thailand will travel to the Department of Neurology at the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, USA.

Dr Suwansrinon will join the clinic's MS Research Group and work on one of their core projects concerning the genetics of spontaneous central nervous system (CNS) repair following chronic demyelination.

Upon her return to Thailand, Kanitta will continue her work on the biology and genetics of MS and CNS repair. She will also establish a collaborative MS research centre in southern Thailand. In addition, she will pursue her interest in whether specific viral infections found in Thailand contribute to the disease.

Carmen Tur Gómez, Spain

Carmen Tur Gómez, a neurologist from the Clinical Neuroimmunology Unit at the Vall d’Hebron University Hospital (UNiC), Barcelona, Spain will continue her work on primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS) at the Brain Repair and Rehabilitation Department, Institute of Neurology (ION), London, UK.

The facilities at the ION will enable Dr Tur Gómez to further her research into conventional and non-conventional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques in PPMS.

The skills and knowledge she acquires will be used in the design of new research protocols in UNiC opening up the potential for future PPMS clinical trials.