Mission
Mission
ACP’s mission is to accelerate efforts toward a cure for multiple sclerosis by rapidly advancing research that determines its causes and mechanisms.
To that end, we provide biomedical researchers with the resources they need to catalyze open scientific collaboration and enable them to rapidly and cost-effectively explore their novel research ideas. ACP’s strategic initiatives include the Multiple Sclerosis Discovery Forum, an information portal and interactive virtual community that educates and connects MS investigators, and the ACP Repository, a large-scale collection of highly-characterized biosamples available to scientists at any organization conducting research that contributes to our mission.
Learn more about how we are leveraging innovation and collaboration to have an impact on MS.
Innovation: Catalyzing a new approach to MS
ACP’s approach is to act as a catalyst for advances in MS research in two ways—by creating a stimulating, open environment that fosters the generation of novel ideas and by making it possible for researchers to test out these ideas by providing them with the timely and affordable essential raw materials they need.
Our innovative strategy gained national recognition when ACP received the 2011 Global Leadership in Innovation and Collaboration Award from the Sawyer Business School at Boston’s Suffolk University. This award demonstrates how a small organization with modest resources, but a truly innovative strategy, can make a big impact on research.
Collaboration: Connecting researchers to advance the field
Our collaboration with the MassGeneral Institute for Neurodegenerative Disease advanced the development of the Multiple Sclerosis Discovery Forum website. We intend for this online research community to have a powerful impact on the generation of novel hypotheses that will shape future studies in MS. We believe the site will catalyze connections across disciplines that will help accelerate us toward a cure.
The launch of the ACP Clinical Effectiveness Study Network also promises substantial future impact. This network brings together our ACP Repository clinical sites into an organized group focused on designing and conducting important clinical research in MS and other related disorders.
Impact: Addressing the challenges of the MS research community
It is clear—especially when one looks at how quickly the ACP Repository has grown—that ACP has helped to address a significant challenge for the MS research community. The Repository now has thousands of samples and datasets, as well as millions of data points deposited for the benefit of all researchers. Review the Repository’s current status. To date, ACP’s biosamples and data have enabled a great number of research studies worldwide, many of which could not have taken place without the Repository.