We are Proud to Support Dr Vicky Maltby & MS Research Australia.
Our mission is to build stronger communities and a better tomorrow.
The McDonald Jones Charitable Foundation is a registered charity that we use as a vehicle to distribute much needed funds to eligible community organisations across our building footprint.
We support numerous projects, organisations and initiates across three core pillars of Research, Health and Education.
The McDonald Jones Charitable Foundation is proudly supporting MS Research Australia in a three-year commitment, who are specifically funding the research fellowship of Dr Vicki Maltby.
Dr Vicky Maltby, from the Hunter Medical Research Institute, was awarded a fellowship from MS Research Australia for a project looking at the non-genetic components or epigenetics associated with the risk of developing MS.
Dr Maltby is investigating how epigenetic changes are involved in the development of MS and further looking at epigenetic changes in response to MS treatments throughout the individual’s lifetime with MS.
The research specifically takes immune cells from people with and without MS to determine whether there are any epigenetic differences in the immune system of people with MS.
Some of the results that Dr Maltby has identified is that there are a number of cell changes that occur in people with relapsing MS and secondary progressive MS in comparison to people who do not have MS.
Dr Maltby is also part of a collaborative group, based around the MS Research Australia-supported ANZgene MS Genetics collaborative platform, who will be looking at methylation changes in whole blood samples in a “world first” initiative. Using groundbreaking methods, this will allow analysis of historical blood samples for the first time and means comparisons can be made at different time points throughout an individual’s life with MS.
This is critical work and understanding these non-genetic factors associated with MS will be essential as MS Research Australia work towards finding cures and improvements in the treatments and outcomes of those with MS.
McDonald Jones is about so much more than realising the dreams of Australian families through bricks and mortar; we are committed to making a difference through our community efforts so that we can help families discover a better, brighter future.
We are excited by the wonderful work of Dr Vicki Maltby, Hunter Medical Research Institute and MS Research Australia wide project and we look forward to sharing more news of this important work in the coming months. Read more about the incredible work of MS Research Australia here and the other organisations the McDonald Jones Charitable Foundation supports here.
