Dr. George Robert Wayne Moore
Clinical Professor
George Robert Wayne Moore, McGill University
G. R. Wayne Moore, BSc, MD, CM, FRCPC, FRCPath is Clinical Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine (Neuropathology) at the University of British Columbia, Adjunct Professor in the Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery at McGill University, and Adjunct Professor in the Division of BioMedical Sciences at Memorial University of Newfoundland. He received his BSc degree from Memorial University of Newfoundland and his MD, CM degree from McGill University. He did his Neurology residency at the Mayo Clinic and his Neuropathology residency at Queen’s University and is certified in both specialities. His post-doctoral fellowship, funded by the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada, was in experimental neuropathology of demyelinating diseases at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, where he subsequently was on faculty in the Departments of Pathology and Neurology for several years before moving back to Canada. His research interests are the neuropathology and pathogenesis of multiple sclerosis and their relationship to magnetic resonance imaging. In addition to the information provided in the researcher profile, we will also be featuring the responses from the e-interview questions asked below.
Learn more about Dr. Moore
What is the focus of your research? How did you become interested in MS research?
My research is in the neuropathology and pathogenesis of multiple sclerosis (MS) and their relationship to magnetic resonance imaging. The current focus is on the study of how the barrier between the cerebrospinal fluid and brain is important in MS, particularly in the progressive phase of the disease. I am a neurologist and neuropathologist. When practicing neurology I was always impressed by how multiple sclerosis (MS) impacted the lives of people with this disease. At that time, compared to present times, there was little treatment available, even for relapses. So I felt that MS was a disease that certainly was in need of research to understand the changes in the brain and spinal cord (neuropathology) and the mechanisms of how these changes come about (pathogenesis), so that effective treatments could be developed. To this end, I pursued a post-doctoral fellowship, which was funded by the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada, in the experimental neuropathology of demyelinating disease with Dr Cedric Raine in New York. Subsequently Dr Donald Paty, a pioneer in the introduction of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in the diagnosis and treatment of MS, invited me to work with him in Vancouver to determine how the MRI changes reflected the pathology of MS.
What inspires you to continue advancing research in this field?
While significant advances have occurred in the understanding of the basis and the treatment of relapses in multiple sclerosis (MS), much work need to be done to understand the progressive stages and forms of the disease, which are very important sources of disability in MS. The pursuit of the understanding of progression in MS inspired me to continue research in MS. There is an urgent need to understand the pathogenesis of progression in MS and it is to this end that my research is currently directed.
How do you hope to change the lives of people living with MS through your research?
I hope my research which explores the fundamental changes and disease mechanisms in the brain and spinal cord in multiple sclerosis (MS) will reveal the principles underlying progression in MS. With this understanding, treatment will be able to be directed against these disease mechanisms and thereby enhance the quality of life of persons living with MS.
What do you enjoy most about your research? What are some of the challenges you face?
What I enjoy most about my research is the discovery of a new finding that gives us insight into the mechanisms of the multiple sclerosis (MS). Most of the challenges I face in research is related to the fact that we work with human autopsy tissue. In contrast to experimental research, variables cannot be manipulated in the study of human tissue. Nevertheless, our studies of human tissue provide direct insights into disease mechanisms of MS.
How important is the support from the MS Society of Canada in your research?
The Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Society of Canada has been and continues to be the most important source of support for my research, dating back to my post-doctoral fellowship and the many operating grants since then. Without this funding from the Society MS research in my laboratory would not be possible.