Accelerated Cure Project (ACP)

Scientific collaboration aims to accelerate progress towards a Cure for multiple sclerosis (ms) and to improve health, healthcare and quality of life for people affected by ms by stimulating and enabling research, through the provision of much-needed resources, and creating networking opportunities across all ms stakeholders to spark new ideas and catalyze unforeseen connections. A key component of this program is the iconquerms people-powered research network in which the input and data contributed by network participants shapes and accelerates research on topics that matter most to people affected by ms.

Tissue bank/repository: we have recruited over 3,000 subjects with and without ms and other demyelinating diseases who have donated blood samples and provided medical and epidemiological data that are stored in the repository and made available to researchers in exchange for the data they generate from their studies that use the samples. The goal of the repository is to provide researchers with access to a large number of biological samples and data, that would otherwise not be available, and to the aggregated data that is generated from the studies in order that they can determine the causes and mechanisms of ms and related diseases and the effects of treatments.

Community building: we have an extensive community of participating ms stakeholders consisting of people with ms, their friends and families, clinicians, scientists and researchers, ms-related corporations, and other interested parties. Email updates on the progress of research, collaboration, and other information of interest are sent out regularly. Production of a seasonal newsletter is distributed quarterly. Our group of volunteers has formed a core community of active helpers. Our connections to people affected by ms and other ms stakeholders are essential for building and accelerating research through our biobank/repository and iconquerms people-powered research network.