RESULTS:
The Laura Fund was established in 1995 within the nationally renowned MS program at Oregon Health & Sciences University, the largest brain research community in the West and known for its cutting-edge brain science.
“The Laura Fund has been a significant force in advancing our work. We simply would not be where we are without its funding.”
Moving forward, we’re eager to review and fund ideas from all over the world and across different disciplines. The Fund is open to traditional medical research institutions and the business and technology sectors and is especially interested in projects rooted in collaboration, sharing, and rethinking existing research.
Here are some of the past and current projects the Fund has supported:
Legacy Projects
Development of drugs that protect mitochondria
(Team Leader: Michael Forte, PhD, OHSU Vollum Institute)
Mitochondria serve as cellular powerhouses by generating the chemical ATP. A prevailing theory regarding progressive MS suggests that mitochondria in the brain and spinal cord may undergo impairment, contributing to the gradual degeneration of nerve fibers.
A team at OHSU proposed that an aberrant opening of the permeability transition pore (PTP), termed a “hole,” in mitochondria occurs in MS, and inhibiting this process could safeguard nerve fibers. The financial support from the Laura Fund enabled the team to demonstrate that genetic manipulation could prevent PTP opening, and thereby protect nerve fibers in a mouse model of MS.
Subsequently, NIH funding facilitated a small-molecule development program, resulting in the synthesis of drugs capable of inhibiting the pore in vitro. However, these drugs require further refinement to enhance their ability to penetrate the brain, a crucial step for ensuring their efficacy in protecting nerve fibers in MS.
Funding and administration through the Laura Fund and the OHSU Foundation.
Developing novel MRI methods for measuring brain mitochondrial impairment
(Team Leader: William Rooney, PhD, OHSU Advanced Imaging Research Center (AIRC)
The research team utilized a grant from the Laura Fund to acquire a specialized coil for the 7 Tesla magnet at AIRC. This coil enabled the team to quantify the ATP production by mitochondria within the brain. The findings demonstrated that individuals with MS exhibit abnormal and reduced ATP production compared to healthy controls. This developed enabled a team at OHSU and the Portland VA Medical Center to obtain a grant from the VA to assess whether small vessel disease contributed to ATP reduction in the brains of individuals with MS.
Funding and administration through the Laura Fund and the OHSU Foundation.
Antioxidant therapy to reduce brain injury in MS
(Team Co-Leaders: Rebecca Spain, MD, and Vijayshree Yadav, MD, OHSU MS Center)
Support from The Laura Fund facilitated the development of a natural antioxidant, lipoic acid, as a novel therapy for MS. Initial studies showed that lipoic acid was highly effective at treating a mouse model of MS. Subsequent studies determined the optimal dose of lipoic acid for humans. In a 2-year pilot trial, it was observed that lipoic acid dramatically reduced the shrinkage of the brain in MS compared with placebo-treated patients. With funding from the Department of Veterans Affairs and the US and Canadian MS Societies, a multi-center trial of lipoic acid of lipoic acid. This study again showed the ability of lipoic acid to slow brain atrophy compared with placebo.
Funding and administration through the Laura Fund and the OHSU Foundation.
Thyroid-like drugs for promoting remyelination in MS
(Team Co-Leaders: Thomas Scanlan, PhD, and Dennis Bourdette, MD, OHSU Departments of Chemical Physiology and Biochemistry and Neurology)
A substantial initiative backed by the Laura Fund spearheaded the creation of thyroid-like drugs capable of breaching the blood-brain barrier, ensuring elevated drug levels in the brain. These drugs demonstrated the ability to stimulate remyelination in three distinct mouse models, marking the success of a two-year endeavor. The outcome yielded a collection of brain-permeable thyromimetic drugs. OHSU secured a patent for this approach as a potential treatment for MS and subsequently licensed the technology to Autobahn Therapeutics, a biotechnology company actively working on advancing the technology for eventual commercial implementation.
Funding and administration through the Laura Fund and the OHSU Foundation.
Investigating a novel molecule controlling myelin formation
(Team Leader: Swetha Murthy, PhD, OHSU Vollum Institute)
Dr. Murthy discovered a set of molecules that were sensitive to the stretching of cell surfaces. She and her colleagues proposed that one or more of these molecules would be important to the control of normal myelin formation in development and remyelination following demyelination in MS. Support from The Laura Fund allowed Dr. Murthy to discover a new molecule that regulates myelination and led to a publication this year in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science. The support also enabled Dr. Murthy to gain support for her research from the McKnight Endowment Fund for the Neurosciences and the Silver Family Foundation.
Funding and administration through the Laura Fund and the OHSU Foundation.
Developing a method to measure “smoldering inflammation” in MS
(Team Leader: Matthew Brier, MD, PhD, Department of Neurology, Washington University in St. Louis)
“Smoldering inflammation” is believed to be part of the cause of progressive worsening in MS and brain specific white blood cells, called microglia, are believed to be important causes of smoldering inflammation. Dr. Brier used funding from The Laura Fund to develop and validate a new positron emission tomography (PET) tracer to detect microglia. This tracer demonstrated evidence of widespread microglia activation in the brains of people with MS. Dr. Brier also discovered abnormalities of metabolism throughout the brain in MS, which he believes is important to disease progression. Support from the Laura Fund was critical to these discoveries and led to the National MS Society giving a major research award to Dr. Brier.
Funding and administration through the OCF and the Wieden Family Public Trust.
Improving mitochondrial function to protect nerve cells in MS
(Team Leader: Marjan Gharagozloo, PhD, Johns Hopkins University)
Dr. Gharagozloo is an Assistant Professor of Neurology and is another rising star in MS Research. She is interested in developing ways to prevent nerve cells from degenerating in MS. Nerve cell degeneration or death is the main cause of permanent disability in MS and we do not have effective ways of preventing this from occurring. Dr. Gharagozloo has discovered that mitochondria in nerve cells have a receptor called NLRX1. If NLRX1 is inactive, death pathways in nerve cells are activated in animal models of MS whereas if NLRX1 is stimulated the nerve cells are protected. With support from the Laura Fund, she will seek to determine if NLRX1 is abnormally expressed in MS lesions and test small molecule drugs that stimulate NLRX1 for their ability to protect nerve cells in animal models. Dr. Gharagozloo’s novel idea is to develop drugs that cross the blood barrier and protect nerve cells by stimulating NLRX1 in animal models and subsequently people with MS.
Funding and administration through the OCF and the Wieden Family Public Trust.
Measuring microglial ECV in blood as a biomarker for drug development for progressive MS
(Team Leader: Falak Sher, PhD, Columbia University)
Dr. Sher is an Assistant Professor of Neurological Sciences. He uses methods to measure extremely small vesicles, called ECVs, that are released from brain cells into the cerebrospinal fluid and then into the blood. He is particularly interested in ECVs released by special inflammatory cells called microglia. Activated microglia are believed to be important causes of cell injury in MS. Unfortunately, we do not have an easy way of measuring the activity of microglial cells and this is a major impediment to developing drugs that inhibit these cells and thereby protect nerve cells from dying. Dr. Sher has developed a way of measuring human microglial ECV. He intends to use this technique to determine whether microglial ECVs are elevated in the spinal fluid and blood of MS patients with active disease and decreased when MS is not active. Dr. Sher’s novel idea is to develop a reliable assay of microglial ECVs that can speed up development of drugs that inhibit activated microglia as a novel treatment for MS.
Funding and administration through the OCF and the Wieden Family Public Trust.
Testing a device for home use to perform aerobic exercise in MS
(Team Leader: Lindsey Wooliscroft, MD, OHSU Department of Neurology)
Dr. Wooliscoft in collaboration with investigators at the University of Washington will test a form of aerobic exercise that people with MS, including those with significant disability, can perform at home. Being able to efficiently perform aerobic exercise at home is a major challenge for many people with MS. Development of this new method of exercise is part of the broader goal of using exercise to promote repair in MS.
Funding and administration through the Laura Fund and the OHSU Foundation.
Identifying molecular pathways that inhibit remyelination in older people
(Team Leader: Ben Emery, PhD, OHSU Department of Neurology)
Natural remyelination occurs in younger people with MS but natural remyelination fails to occur in older people. Why this occurs is unknown, but it is possible that remyelination fails in older people because certain molecular pathways are inhibited. If so, these pathways might be unblocked using drugs. Using a mouse model in which remyelination fails in older mice, Dr. Emery and his team are performing gene expression analysis to look for molecular pathways related to myelination that differ between young and older mice. Discoveries from these studies can then inform similar investigations in people with MS and ultimately lead to treatments that can stimulate remyelination in older people with MS.
Funding and administration through the Laura Fund and the OHSU Foundation.
Current Projects
Measuring remyelination following aerobic exercise in MS
(Team Leader: Lindsey Wooliscroft, MD, OHSU Department of Neurology)
Dr. Wooliscroft and her team are finishing evaluating the data gathered from a clinical trial of aerobic exercise in people with multiple sclerosis. This investigation is supported by the National Institutes of Health. The Laura Fund provided support to assess whether aerobic exercise promoted remyelination using a novel MRI technique developed by Dr. William Rooney and his team at the OHSU Advanced Imaging Research Center. The MRI component of this research gave evidence that aerobic exercise increased myelin in multiple areas in the brain. This is the first research showing the ability of aerobic exercise to promote remyelination in people with multiple sclerosis.
Dr. Wooliscroft is presenting this important discovery at the 2025 annual meeting of the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis. This discovery would not have been possible without the support of the Laura Fund. These findings will provide the basis for future studies on the remyelination effects of aerobic exercise used in combination with drugs that stimulate remyelination.
Funding and administration through the Laura Fund and the OHSU Foundation.
Measuring small vessel abnormalities in MS
(Team Co-Leaders: Drs Elizabeth Silbermann, MD, and David Huang, MD, PhD, OHSU Departments of Neurology and Ophthalmology, and William Rooney PhD, OHSU AIRC)
One theory about progressive MS is that small blood vessel abnormalities in the brain cause chronic ischemia that accelerates neurodegeneration. The challenge has been to measure small vessel changes in the brain. Dr. Silbermann and her team are using optical coherence angiography to assess small blood vessels in the retina of people with MS and compare these to normal adults. Using funding from The Laura Fund, she will compare the results in the retina with small vessel blood flow as assessed with a newly developed MRI technology at the AIRC.
Funding and administration through the Laura Fund and the OHSU Foundation.
Measurement of brain-derived extracellular vesicles in blood to assess tissue damage and repair in MS
(Team Leader: Jennifer Linden, PhD, Brain and Mind Research Institute, Weill Cornell Medical College)
Extracellular vesicles (ECV) carrying proteins and genetic material are shed by various cells within the brain and appear in the blood. Dr. Linden's research focuses on conducting genetic analyses on ECV derived from myelin–producing cells, the oligodendrocytes, and neurons. The goal is to identify gene expressions within the ECV that correlate with injury and repair processes in patients with MS. Dr. Lindern successfully developed the sophisticated techniques required to isolate and characterize the ECV. She has applied this technique to samples from people with MS and controls and is now analyzing the data. If successful, ECV measurement could be used in early clinical trials of treatments that might promote repair in MS. Support provided by The Laura Fund was critical to the development of ECV testing that Dr. Linden is now using to assess samples from people with MS.
Funding and administration through the OCF and the Wieden Family Public Trust.
New Projects for 2025-2026
Promoting remyelination by unleashing oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPC)(Team Leader: Michael Kornberg, MD, PhD, Johns Hopkins University)
Dr. Kornberg is an Assistant Professor of Neurology and is considered a rising star among leaders in MS research at Johns Hopkins. His research seeks to find ways to promote myelin repair or remyelination in people with MS. He is particularly interested in identifying ways to “unblock” naturally occurring remyelination. An important “block” to remyelination is the effect of inflammation on immature myelin forming cells, called OPCs. Inflammation causes the OPC to be incapable of making myelin. Dr. Kornberg discovered that OPCs have a protein called LXR and if LXR is activated, the OPCs are protected from the effects of inflammation and can begin to make myelin. Dr. Kornberg’s novel idea is to use drugs that activate LXR to stimulate remyelination in animals and ultimately in people with MS. He will use Laura Fund support to further investigate the remyelinating effects of drugs that activate LXR.
Funding and administration through the OCF and the Wieden Family Public Trust.