Spotlight: Meet the Teams that were selected for funding by Roche's MS Innovation Challenge

Episode 1

Advancing MS Care: The Eye-Brain Connection

We are thrilled to highlight the first of five exceptional teams selected for funding through Roche’s MS Innovation Challenge in this special feature of the Moving Science podcast, titled "The Eye-Brain Connection: Advancing a New Quantitative Eye Movement Test to Detect Disease Progression. "

Hosted by Dr. Leorah Freeman, MD, PhD (The University of Texas at Austin), this episode showcases the inspiring collaboration between a start-up and academia, uniting expertise in MS research, neurooptometry, and optical engineering to tackle critical unmet needs in MS care—specifically, progression independent of relapse activity (PIRA).

The discussion features accomplished leaders in this groundbreaking project:

Dr. Christy K. Sheehy-Bensinger, PhD, CEO of C. Light Technologies, Inc.
Dr. Jacqueline Theis OD, FAAO, FNAP, neuro-optometrist and Chief Medical Officer.
Dr. Ari Green, Professor of Neurology at the University of California, San Francisco.

Their work centers on a novel quantitative oculomotor biomarker derived from small retinal eye movements. This innovative biomarker offers significant potential in enabling earlier and more precise detection of PIRA. The discussion also underscores the value of exploring eye movements and other biomarkers in advancing diagnostic tools and tracking disease progression.

This episode is a powerful story of academic-grounded research evolving into a successful startup, catalyzed by larger collaborations to improve patient care.

Be inspired by their remarkable journey and learn more:

Discover more about Roche’s MS Innovation Challenge here.

M-XX-00022279

Episode 2

Assessing Potential: Towards a Fingerprick Blood Test for Neurofilament Light

We are excited to highlight the second of five exceptional teams selected for funding through Roche's MS Innovation Challenge in this special edition of the Moving Science podcast, titled "Assessing Potential: Towards a Fingerprick Blood Test for Neurofilament Light."

Hosted by Prof. Gavin Giovannoni (Queen Mary University of London), this episode showcases an innovative collaboration between a diagnostic start-up and leading academic researchers, uniting expertise in biomarker development, precision medicine, and point-of-care testing to advance neurological care - with implications far beyond multiple sclerosis (MS).

The discussion features accomplished leaders in this innovative project:

Prof. Dr. Jens Kuhle, Professor of Neurology at the University of Basel, Switzerland
Daniel Lookadoo, Chief Scientific Officer, StataDx, Boston, USA.

Their work centers on developing a fingerprick blood test to measure Neurofilament light (NfL), a disease-agnostic biomarker highly specific for neuro-axonal damage. This proof-of-concept project includes creating a predictive model for MS relapses using Swiss MS cohort data, benchmarking the new point-of-care solution against standard clinical care.

The vision extends beyond MS to a range of neurological diseases - including traumatic brain injury (TBI), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and emerging applications in neurodegenerative diseases and sports medicine (e.g., contact sports). The team envisions earlier disease detection, more frequent monitoring in clinical studies and practice, and eventually home-based monitoring, ultimately democratizing access to precision biomarker data.