In the last decade, through our family foundation in Canada, I have donated more than a million pounds to support MS research in the UK. Much of my support has been directed to kick-start hard to fund MS research which then attracts further financial backing. I also support projects which are aimed at women with MS and their distinct health needs.

My original donations supported the work of Prof Alasdair Coles and Prof Alastair Compston at the University of Cambridge in developing alemtuzumab/Lemtrada - one of the first highly-effective drug treatments for people with relapse-remitting MS.

Subsequent giving supported two neurology trainees working with Prof Coles to develop repurposed drugs as potential remyelinating therapies in MS. Both trainees went on obtain their PhDs, and then postdoctoral clinical academic positions, continuing to work on MS.

In 2016, I began working with Queen Mary, University of London (QMUL) and, in particularly, with Prof Gavin Giovannoni, Chair of Neurology . Research initiatives I supported included testing the impact of anti-viral drug famciclovir on Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) shedding in people with MS and funding a study to examine blood spots to look for raised neurofilament levels in hopes of assessing MS relapses remotely. Most recently, I committed to fund a three-year research programme looking at the diagnosis and management of infectious mononucleosis.

I also gave money to support the #ThinkHand campaign. This funding was instrumental in assisting Professor Klaus Schmierer's successful grant application to the National Institute for Health Research for the CHARIOTMS trial. This ground-breaking multi-sited trial aims to test if the drug cladribine/Mavenclad can maintain arm and hand function in people with more advanced MS.

Further money was given to fund the establishment and initial running costs of the UK MS Pregnancy Register set up by Prof Ruth Dobson in 2021. There are now more than women 250 enrolled.

PhD support

In addition, I have underwritten six PhDs linked to MS research. These include:

- one studying the impact of social capital on people with MS (QMUL);

- MS and patient experience of menopause (QMUL);

- Epstein-Barr virus and memory B-cells in MS (QMUL);

- extracellular vesicles in MS (QMUL);

- two examining domestic violence and abuse (DV/A) on women with MS (University of Leeds); and

- DV/A experiences of healthcare staff who support women with MS (University of Nottingham).

At the start of 2024, I began funding a two-year Post-Doctoral Research Fellow (University of Leeds) who will work with the two PhD students in increase the evidence of DV/A experiences of women with MS with a view to assembling a 'tool kit' for health care providers.

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