Save the MS Research Program (MSRP)

Research and Science

May 13, 2025

Kimberly Kishpaugh

A group of activists gather for a photo at Public Policy Conference. — MS activists, Don and Annette Huston (left), Jennifer Walker (standing) and Pam Greenberg (seated), at the Public Policy Conference.

What is the MS Research Program (MSRP)?

prevalence study. Since 2020, annual funding has been $20 million, and to date, more than $153 million has been allocated to MS research through the MSRP. This has resulted in 208 awards which have led to outcomes including:

Blood biomarker test to predict the risk of disease activity which received breakthrough designation at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
13 clinical trials
395 peer-reviewed journaled publications
$94.2 million in follow-up funding for 102 grants
4 issued patents and 3 patent applications

Society activists have been instrumental in creating the MSRP and ensuring it has been funded every year." c-nmssatomrichtext_nmssatomrichtext-host="">

The MS Research Program (MSRP) is a funding program specifically for multiple sclerosis research. It is part of a larger group of 35 research programs within the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program (CDMRP) for different diseases. All these programs are housed within the Department of Defense (DoD).The MSRP was established in 2009 with $5 million appropriated by Congress. In 2019, annual funding jumped to $16 million, largely due to findings from the 2019 prevalence study. Since 2020, annual funding has been $20 million, and to date, more than $153 million has been allocated to MS research through the MSRP. This has resulted in 208 awards which have led to outcomes including:

Blood biomarker test to predict the risk of disease activity which received breakthrough designation at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
13 clinical trials
395 peer-reviewed journaled publications
$94.2 million in follow-up funding for 102 grants
4 issued patents and 3 patent applications

Society activists have been instrumental in creating the MSRP and ensuring it has been funded every year.

Blood biomarker test to predict the risk of disease activity which received breakthrough designation at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
13 clinical trials
395 peer-reviewed journaled publications
$94.2 million in follow-up funding for 102 grants
4 issued patents and 3 patent applications

Society activists have been instrumental in creating the MSRP and ensuring it has been funded every year." c-nmssatomrichtext_nmssatomrichtext-host="">

Blood biomarker test to predict the risk of disease activity which received breakthrough designation at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
13 clinical trials
395 peer-reviewed journaled publications
$94.2 million in follow-up funding for 102 grants
4 issued patents and 3 patent applications

Society activists have been instrumental in creating the MSRP and ensuring it has been funded every year.

What makes the MSRP unique?

Research investments are critical to understanding and preventing chronic diseases like MS, as well as developing treatments and cures. Specifically, the MSRP:

Provides the only federal funding specifically designated for MS research
Funds high-risk, high-reward medical research
Ensures up-and-coming researchers receive necessary funds to begin investing in life-long research careers
Includes a two-tier review process: 1) Consumer and peer review, which gives people with MS the opportunity to provide direct input into reviewing research proposals; and 2) Programmatic review which determines what specific research the MSRP should focus on each year
Has one of the lowest overhead rates among federal research agencies
Advances innovative research in support of active-duty servicemembers, veterans, their families and people with MS

Research investments are critical to understanding and preventing chronic diseases like MS, as well as developing treatments and cures. Specifically, the MSRP:

Provides the only federal funding specifically designated for MS research
Funds high-risk, high-reward medical research
Ensures up-and-coming researchers receive necessary funds to begin investing in life-long research careers
Includes a two-tier review process: 1) Consumer and peer review, which gives people with MS the opportunity to provide direct input into reviewing research proposals; and 2) Programmatic review which determines what specific research the MSRP should focus on each year
Has one of the lowest overhead rates among federal research agencies
Advances innovative research in support of active-duty servicemembers, veterans, their families and people with MS

What happened to funding for the MSRP?

How is MSRP connected to the military?

Watch this webinar to hear the Englund’s story and how you can help save the MSRP at the DoD." c-nmssatomrichtext_nmssatomrichtext-host="">

The MSRP was created through the CDMRP which is in the DoD. There is a higher incidence of MS in military members than the general population. Nearly 70,000 veterans and 150,000 DoD beneficiaries (family members of military service members) are living with MS.“Our unit was made up of 170 soldiers and I was the first one diagnosed,” says Jon Englund, a retired member of the South Dakota National Guard and MS activist. “But there’s now 3 of us out of the 170 of one company in South Dakota.”“An MS diagnosis for active-duty service members will often result in military discharge, affecting our country’s miliary readiness and capabilities,” Talente says. “Within the VA, MS is considered a presumptive condition. This means that an MS diagnosis is presumed to be connected to military service if someone is diagnosed within 7 years of an honorable discharge.”Watch this webinar to hear the Englund’s story and how you can help save the MSRP at the DoD.

Watch this webinar to hear the Englund’s story and how you can help save the MSRP at the DoD." c-nmssatomrichtext_nmssatomrichtext-host="">

How can you help restore funding for the MSRP?

Visit the MSRP Action Center and contact your U.S. Representative now to sign the MSRP “Dear Colleague” letter of support in the U.S. House of Representatives

Contact MSactivist@nmss.org if you have a strong relationship of influence with a U.S. Representative or U.S. Senator and we’ll have a member of our leadership team contact you personally.

Share your story as a Veteran or military service member living with MS.

Write and submit a “letter to the editor” of your local newspaper. Samples and talking points as well as Society staff can help.

Learn more about the MSRP and raise awareness. This MSRP Action Center will be updated throughout the year with new information and actions you can take. Check back frequently!

Donate to help fuel our advocacy efforts.

We all have a role in ensuring the MSRP is fully funded in fiscal year 2026. Let’s make sure our voices are heard." c-nmssatomrichtext_nmssatomrichtext-host="">

“There’s lots of demand for funding and programs,” says Talente. “If MS activists and those in the MS community are not actively advocating for this funding every year, it becomes too easy for it to slip away. So, we have to make sure that we keep raising our voices and demanding this funding for the MS community.”Here are some ways you help:

Visit the MSRP Action Center and contact your U.S. Representative now to sign the MSRP “Dear Colleague” letter of support in the U.S. House of Representatives
Contact MSactivist@nmss.org if you have a strong relationship of influence with a U.S. Representative or U.S. Senator and we’ll have a member of our leadership team contact you personally.
Share your story as a Veteran or military service member living with MS.
Write and submit a “letter to the editor” of your local newspaper. Samples and talking points as well as Society staff can help.
Learn more about the MSRP and raise awareness. This MSRP Action Center will be updated throughout the year with new information and actions you can take. Check back frequently!
Donate to help fuel our advocacy efforts.

We all have a role in ensuring the MSRP is fully funded in fiscal year 2026. Let’s make sure our voices are heard.

Visit the MSRP Action Center and contact your U.S. Representative now to sign the MSRP “Dear Colleague” letter of support in the U.S. House of Representatives

Contact MSactivist@nmss.org if you have a strong relationship of influence with a U.S. Representative or U.S. Senator and we’ll have a member of our leadership team contact you personally.

Share your story as a Veteran or military service member living with MS.

Write and submit a “letter to the editor” of your local newspaper. Samples and talking points as well as Society staff can help.

Learn more about the MSRP and raise awareness. This MSRP Action Center will be updated throughout the year with new information and actions you can take. Check back frequently!

Donate to help fuel our advocacy efforts.

We all have a role in ensuring the MSRP is fully funded in fiscal year 2026. Let’s make sure our voices are heard." c-nmssatomrichtext_nmssatomrichtext-host="">

Visit the MSRP Action Center and contact your U.S. Representative now to sign the MSRP “Dear Colleague” letter of support in the U.S. House of Representatives
Contact MSactivist@nmss.org if you have a strong relationship of influence with a U.S. Representative or U.S. Senator and we’ll have a member of our leadership team contact you personally.
Share your story as a Veteran or military service member living with MS.
Write and submit a “letter to the editor” of your local newspaper. Samples and talking points as well as Society staff can help.
Learn more about the MSRP and raise awareness. This MSRP Action Center will be updated throughout the year with new information and actions you can take. Check back frequently!
Donate to help fuel our advocacy efforts.

We all have a role in ensuring the MSRP is fully funded in fiscal year 2026. Let’s make sure our voices are heard.

Kimberly Kishpaugh

Kimberly Kishpaugh is a manager for content development with the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

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Save the MS Research Program

What is the MS Research Program (MSRP)?

What makes the MSRP unique?

What happened to funding for the MSRP?

How is MSRP connected to the military?

How can you help restore funding for the MSRP?

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