2017 Participants
Olivia Gittins
Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a debilitating and life-threatening disease, in which nerve cells are attacked by the patient’s own immune system. Why the immune system attacks healthy nerves is unclear. Current treatment options are limited and many cause undesirable side effects such as chronic pain. DNA nanoparticles are a promising new way to treat MS, as they alleviated a disease similar to MS in mice. The goal of this project is to improve DNA nanoparticles to increase their ability to alleviate MS-like disease in mice and to reduce their undesirable side effects. To this end, we tested two different kinds of DNA nanoparticles and measured immune responses compatible with our overall research goals.
Funding source: Newcastle University
Supervisor: Prof Andrew Mellor