Merakoi Voices: Ep 8 | When Patients Lead: Bridging Gaps in MS and Women’s Health

Описание: 🎙 Welcome to Merakoi Voices!

In this episode, we speak with Dawn Morgan, a veteran MS advocate and co-lead of a groundbreaking patient-led research initiative focused on multiple sclerosis and menopause.

After 25 years living with MS and facing an alarming lack of answers around her own hormonal symptoms, Dawn set out to understand what the medical system hadn’t: How do hormonal transitions—from perimenopause through hysterectomy—interact with MS symptoms, progression, and quality of life?

💬 “I didn’t want another prescription. I wanted answers.”

🔍 In this episode:
✅ Why existing MS research overlooks women’s hormonal health
✅ How patient-led studies can fill critical gaps in clinical understanding
✅ What Dawn discovered from speaking with dozens of women
✅ The real-world consequences of missed intersections in care
✅ Why pharma and research institutions need to partner with patient experts

💡 Whether you work in research, pharma, clinical ops, or patient engagement, this episode shows what’s possible when patients lead.

📨 Reach out to us to learn about our patient partnership and transform your #HealthSolution design approach today! https://calendly.com/dani-benson

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00:00 – Introduction
01:00 – Dawn’s MS story and move into advocacy
03:00 – A personal health scare leads to new questions
06:30 – Why menopause symptoms are often misattributed to MS
09:00 – UTIs, fibroids, and the need for better integration between MS care and GYNs
12:00 – Launching the Women’s Health Project
13:50 – Common symptoms shared across women with MS in perimenopause
17:00 – Building partnerships and moving toward IRB approval
21:00 – Reviewing 7,000+ articles: what’s missing in the research
24:00 – Why pharma and MS orgs need to engage in this work
28:00 – Patients as experts: challenging outdated assumptions
32:00 – The real goal: improving quality of life