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Funding and MS research

April 23, 2009 Ryan O’MearaLisez en Francais

The other day, I returned home from the lab to find an unexpected letter in my mail box. Unfortunately, the letter was meant to inform me that one of my graduate scholarships was being discontinued the end of the month. Graduate scholarships are meant to help students pay for tuition fees and some living expenses. Such scholarships are provided to hardworking students whose work shows merit.

Although the letter was very discouraging, I took comfort in knowing that the endMS campaign works to attract and retain the best and brightest MS researchers. And with your support, endMS remains committed to funding MS research even during difficult economic times. Proof of this commitment was reinforced as I recently received the great news that I’ve been awarded an MS Society of Canada Research Studentship. This funding will replace my previous scholarship and allow me to continue working hard towards understanding the pathogenesis of MS.

Provincial and society funded scholarships are very attractive to students and play a large role in their decision to work in the field of multiple sclerosis research, among other disciplines.

What your thoughts are on this matter? Do you think the current economy will affect MS research worldwide? What about other disciplines?


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Posted in MS Research, MS Read-A-Thon | Permalink | Have your say: 3 Comments

Comments

From  Pauline Tardif  on  April 23, 2009
Hey Ryan, congrats on the endMS scholarship! It's great to know that the Society is able to offer these to help attract - and keep - interest in research on MS. You didn't mention whether the discontinuation of one of your scholarships was related to the economic challenges. Although I have not yet seen any evidence of the current economic situation affecting research commitments from organizations, I did note the lack of investment from the Cndn government into research from the national stimulus package. I would have liked to see a significant commitment to research in various disciplines. Are you seeing any in students leaving - or contemplating leaving - Canada to head for the U.S. to benefit from their stimulus $ to research?
From  Pam  on  April 30, 2009
Ryan, congrats on the endMS scholarship. I take comfort in knowing you can continue with your work in MS research.
From  Ryan  on  April 30, 2009
Hi Pauline and Pam, thanks for the congrats. I agree it’s comforting to know that the MS Society continues to support their young researchers even during these tough times. As for whether the scholarship cancellation was due to the economic challenges, I cannot say for sure. However, I think the reason for the cancellation was due to lack of funds, since the entire program is being shut down. I have not heard of any students who are planning on leaving now that the US has had a large infusion of research funds. My fellow students on the MS project are very happy at the moment since we have enough money to perform our research. Some students in non-MS labs have mentioned the idea of moving to the US, but for most of us that would involve losing all the time invested thus-far in our projects and starting fresh again in another lab. So there are pros and cons to crossing the border, but no worries our MS group is not going anywhere! Best wishes, Ryan

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