Using a digital cognitive platform to identify long-term cognitive change trajectories in people living with multiple sclerosis.

Declining cognitive function is common in multiple sclerosis (MS) and routine cognitive testing is critically needed in MS care. However, neuropsychological testing is time consuming and resource intensive, limiting its use in busy outpatient clinics. Brief and simple computerised cognitive tests that can be completed on mobile devices, are acceptable to patients and sensitive to subtle changes in cognitive performance, may address this unmet need. We are undertaking a prospective, ongoing investigator-initiated cohort study to embed the MSReactor cognitive screening tool into several MS outpatient clinics around Australia to track the trajectories of cognitive change in people living with MS and investigate the changes associated with clinical, psychosocial, vocational and demographical measures. We are looking for talented PhD students with an interest in clinical research in the fields of Neuroscience and implementation science. Roles involved with this project will include data collection and curation; data analyses may include longitudinal growth models, survival analysis and machine learning models. This project will also utilise clinical outcomes data derived from the international MSBase Registry, and patient-reported data obtained through participant surveys. Outcomes and impact: Using innovative digital biomarkers that can be embedded in clinical services to measure long term changes in cognitive function will enhance our knowledge on the effects of factors such as aging, disease modifying therapies and brain atrophy on cognitive decline; and will guide development on new biomarkers of disease progression in MS. Research environment: This project is set in a multidisciplinary environment including neuroscientists, neurologists, nurses and biostatisticians. The proposed project will be undertaken in collaboration with other Victorian, NSW, TAS sites who collaborate with the MSBase Registry, an international, prospective, observational MS outcomes registry (www.msbase.org).