Are you coming to the MS Frontiers Meeting at Heathrow tomorrow? #MSBlog #MSResearch
“The following is the programme for the biennial MS Frontiers meeting. One person in Barts-MS complained to me the programme lacks energy and is simply ‘the same-old’ people on the platform. This person wants ‘youth’ and ‘new ideas’. The primary purpose of this meeting is bring together researchers in the UK who are funded by the MS Society to present their work. I haven’t analysed the programme in detail, but this is its aim. Someone else raised the question about whether or not there is a correlation between the number of presentations/abstracts of the various UK research groups, at the Frontiers meeting, and their MS Society grant spend? I can’t answer this question as I don’t have the relevant data at my fingertips; maybe someone from the MS Society could do this for us and present it at the meeting? The level of engagement with this meeting should be high, after all this meeting is being held to showcase the MS Society’s investment in MS Research.”
“The following is the programme for the biennial MS Frontiers meeting. One person in Barts-MS complained to me the programme lacks energy and is simply ‘the same-old’ people on the platform. This person wants ‘youth’ and ‘new ideas’. The primary purpose of this meeting is bring together researchers in the UK who are funded by the MS Society to present their work. I haven’t analysed the programme in detail, but this is its aim. Someone else raised the question about whether or not there is a correlation between the number of presentations/abstracts of the various UK research groups, at the Frontiers meeting, and their MS Society grant spend? I can’t answer this question as I don’t have the relevant data at my fingertips; maybe someone from the MS Society could do this for us and present it at the meeting? The level of engagement with this meeting should be high, after all this meeting is being held to showcase the MS Society’s investment in MS Research.”
“I am going to try something new at this meeting and broadcast/record my talks as a Google Hangout for you to view asynchronously. We will also keep you updated using the following Twitter hashtag #MSFrontiers.”
Prof G,Many thanks for your commitment to transparency and for sharing information with us. I'd be interested in any feedback about repair. I see that stem cells are being discussed – I understand that Prof Scolding was running a stem cell trial, but it seems to have gone very quiet.
"Are you coming to the MS Frontiers …"I'm guessing that is not a question aimed at the majority of people with MS who read this blog? Because this conference is not open to a "lay audience" due to the "academic level of content"Doesn't matter if you are an academic, have a science background or a PhD, or have built your knowledge of MS the hard way (by ..em …having it) if you are not a conference speaker with MS, a researcher, allied health care professional, doctor or student (in these fields) then you -obviously – cannot understand so you can't come! Boo sucks to us!
Team G. MS Society Grants…..1 innovative 1yr research grant…..Abstract output 16% of postersCambrige & Edinburgh Repair Centres….millions……Research Abstract output 0.
I would like to know what Cambridge and Edinburgh are doing with regard to repair. I think Prof Coles is doing an early phase trial of bexarotene as a remyelinating agent – this is based on the wrk of Prof Franklin. I thought there was quite a bit of activity relating to repair, but it's all gone very quiet.
There is loads of activity in relation to repair, but studies take time
Many years ago we would organise these and have a day in a lecture theatre and a few sandwiches and did the MS society meetings for peanuts. The meetings are now corporate and cost to attend so even if you have an MS grant you have to pay. Would you want to spend an evening in heathrow airport or spend your limited travel budget on a flight to Paris Milan Port Rush (Northern Ireland one of the MS meetings I an remember) and have a place with life at an international meeting when you will see your UK mates and a host of International collaborators.
Why does the MS Society have to play the corporate sponsor game? Surely, they can go back to the good old days?
Unfortunately not! If only but this is the way of all charities these days. As they grown, expenses grow too. It all becomes self-perpetuating – who is going to cut costs, if it means cutting their job. And the total BS that all charities, that I know, go through to hide In many ways charities have to compete in a very difficult and brutal market, believe me there is just as much, if not more, completion sometimes between large and medium charities as seen in a lot of multinationals. I really do wish it wasn't like this and I always donate to small local charities or non profits, mainly utilising volunteers but that's not going to get the major donors, which is needed for MS research.
Yes but we need to donate to the bigger MS charities because without them we would really would be struggling Research wise
Absolutely agree MD – research costs so much that funding it can really only be achieved by a larger charity. The campaigns to raise the money and then manage all the different grants requires the type of management that would be impossible for a small charity with fewer people.
team g posters seem to be recycled from other conferences
?
Yes some are and no some aren't.and your point ?
My PhD student didn't go to AAN, our medical student didn't go to AAN (in fact they have not been to an MS meeting before and maybe this may help them choose to be a neurologist), I didn't go to AAN maybe I would like to see something that was displayed there. I doubt many scientists went to AAN.Our posters are unpublished data (this is a criteria for their presentation) some of work for them started over a decade ago some of them a few months ago.
Many years ago we would organise these and have a day in a lecture theatre and a few sandwiches and did the MS society meetings for peanuts. The meetings are now corporate and cost to attend so even if you have an MS grant you have to pay. Would you want to spend an evening in heathrow airport or spend your limited travel budget on a flight to Paris Milan Port Rush (Northern Ireland one of the MS meetings I an remember) and have a place with life at an international meeting when you will see your UK mates and a host of International collaborators.