Professor Ken Smith

Professor Ken Smith, Head of the IoN’s Department of Neuroinflammation, is investigating possible new treatments for multiple sclerosis.

He is one of the recent recipients of the Medical Research Council (MRC) awards, totalling £10.6 million. Professor Smith’s share of that award (£761,372) will enable him to develop therapies – and a strategy for their translation– to treat early lesions in multiple sclerosis.

His department also received a legacy of £500,000 to be spent on MS research. Part of the money will be used to purchase a piece of equipment and the balance will fund on-going research in his department.

The BRT will be supporting Professor Smith’s work in the coming year and will also be funding a PhD student, Heike Kroll, over three years to work with him to develop a greater understanding of the role of blood plasma constituents in multiple sclerosis.