Associate Professor Vilija G. Jokubaitis (B. Com/B.Sci (Hons), PhD) is the Deputy Head of the Department of Neuroscience, School of Translational Medicine at Monash University.  She leads the Neuroimmunology Genomics, Prognostics and Women's Health Group. She is a clinical and translational neuroscientist with skills in molecular medicine and biostatistics. Her research interest lies specifically, in the intersection between biology and clinical outcomes research. The overarching aim of her research is to improve the prediction of Neuroinflammatory disease outcomes (with a focus on MS) in individuals, with the ultimate goal of informing patient management and treatment individualisation.

She is the holder of an NHMRC Investigator Grant (L1, 2024-2028).

A.Prof Jokubaitis' research themes fall under four broad umbrellas:

1. Women's Health and Pregnancy Research. She leads an international Women's Health, Pregnancy and neonatal outcomes Registry integrated in MSBase (www.msbase.org). This line of enquiry includes elucidating the biological mechanisms underlying pregnancy impacts on disease states, and optimising MS treatment algorithms to see women safely through pregnancy.  Further, her research program explores menopause and its bidirectional relationship with MS.
2. Underserved populations with MS. This line of research seeks to inform our understanding of MS in overlooked populations, including trans people with MS, victims of family, domestic and sexual violence, and those with co-morbid conditions in improve their clinical care.
3. Identification of genetic and epigenetic signals associated with disease outcomes, disease states and treatment response.
4. Integration of biological (biomarker, genetic) and environmental data with clinical outcomes data to inform prognostic modelling.

Head of the International Women in MS Mentorship Program https://iwims.world

2020 - TRM6005 – Clinical and Translational Neuroscience Lecturer

2018 - Monash University – Human Pathology (HUP3022) Lecturer in Multiple Sclerosis

2018-2023 - Department of Neuroscience and MAPrc, School of Translational Medicine, Honours Coordinator for BSc and BMS streams

2023-present - Chair Australia and New Zealand MS Genetics Consortium (ANZGene)

2022 - present - Chair Scientific Leadership Group of the MSBase Registry (www.msbase.org). Scientific Lead of the MSBase Pregnancy, Neonatal Outcomes and Women's Health Registry.

2022 - 2024 - Member of the European Committee for Research and Treatment in MS (ECTRIMS) Scientific Communications Committee

2019 – 2022 - Stop and Reverse MS Vice-Chair of Steering Committee – I was a steering committee member and working group member of the patient-reported outcomes working group for this MS Research Australia initiative that aims to greatly accelerate MS research to achieve the goal of stopping and reversing MS in 10 years. AI on successful NHMRC Partnerships Grant application to support this project and develop a web-app to facilitate collection of patient-reported outcomes, and improve clinical management.

2019 - Scientific Conference Organising Committee Member – MS Research Australia 2019 Research Conference https://msra.org.au/conferences-and-workshops/

2018 – 2023 - Digital content manager for the International Women in MS network. We are currently hosting regular COVID-19 information sessions for neurologists and scientists globally. We are providing an opportunity to share in experiences of managing people with MS during this pandemic, and to discuss registry efforts to track outcomes of those affected. I curate the iWiMS website (www.iwims.world) including a COVID-19 information page. This page engages neurologists, scientists and people with MS. We are sharing recordings of these meetings on our site to enable all people to access this information.

2017 - Developed and gave a series of 3 lessons for Prep students (aged 5-6) to introduce them to science.  Themes included: What is science?  What types of science are there? What do scientists do? What am I made of? (DNA the recipe for life) and How the brain works. – Northcote Primary School.

2016 - Science communication to pre-schoolers – teaching young children how to care for their brains – Northcote Time-Out Childcare centre.

2014 - present - MBC MS partnership group.  I am part of a collaborative effort to foster communication and develop common goals between MS advocacy groups and MS researchers

2014 - present - MSTranslate. I have provided content for MSTranslate (http://www.mstranslate.com.au/) during their MS@MBC feature week in March 2014. I have been involved in google hangouts answering  questions, and have provided a video interview to be shared shortly.

2013 - Guest blogger on Gavin Giovannoni’s Multiple Sclerosis Research blog. (http://multiple-sclerosis-research.blogspot.com.au/2013/08/guest-post-from-down-under-early.html)

2013 - ASMR scientists in schools program, talk about MS and medical research as a career at MacRobertson Girls’ High School (Melbourne, Victoria)

2010 - Logan Central Library (Brisbane, Queensland) public lecture entitled “Our Amazing Brain”

2010 - Queensland Brain Institute Open Day volunteer

2006 - Hobart Convention Centre – MS Research Update – Rotary District 9800 conference

2005 - Brain awareness week volunteer – Melton Primary School

Impact of pregnancy on long-term outcomes in women with multiple sclerosis – assessment of mechanism

Data suggests that pregnancy in women with multiple sclerosis (MS) may exert long-term health benefits. Comparisons of women with and without pregnancy (but otherwise equivalent disease at a baseline time point) has shown less accumulation of disability in those who have had pregnancies. Further it has been shown that the risk of developing MS diminishes with increasing parity. The mechanism by which pregnancy protects against MS, and the accumulation of disability has not been established. This project will investigate the biological mechanism by which pregnancy exerts protection against the accumulation of disability.