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Eatright MS: Nutrition and Multiple Sclerosis Research Group

Eatright MS: Nutrition and Multiple Sclerosis Research Group

@Eatright_MS

Specific research interests

Research in this group is focused on nutrition and multiple sclerosis with a specific interest in the topics of:

Strengthening the evidence for nutrition for multiple sclerosis
Increasing dietetic involvement in multiple sclerosis care
Understanding multiple sclerosis disease progression and behaviour change
Advancing the evidence for brain healthy lifestyles
Supporting clinicians in multidisciplinary multiple sclerosis care
Creating tools to aid multiple sclerosis management

Research capacities

Clinical trials studies
Systematic and scoping review methodology
Case study methodology and delphi methodology
Cohort and observational studies
Qualitative research using semi structured interview and focus group methodology
Dietary pattern analyses
Health informatics and data analytics
Lived experience of multiple sclerosis

Director: Professor Yasmine Probst
Post Doctoral Fellow: Dr Olivia Wills
Doctoral Candidate: Karen Zoszak
Research Assistant: Ms Hannah Parr
Honorary Researcher: Dr Shoroog Allogmanny, Clinical Nutrition Department, College of Applied Medical Sciences at Taibah University, Madinah, Saudi Arabia

PhD students

Karen Zozsak: Evaluation of dietary advice for multiple sclerosis: Development of a scoring system for dietary guideline adherence in MS patterns of eating

Honours

Amy Luxford: Academic support strategies for allied health students with a disability at university: A scoping review
Liat Friedgut: Exploring dietary quality of participants commencing the HALT-MS clinical trial for people with multiple sclerosis: The implications of dietary variety and dietary fibre intakes
Tara Finn: Examining the association between dietary inflammatory index and multiple sclerosis multidimensional symptom burden: A cross-sectional analysis of baseline data in the HALT-MS clinical trial.
Alicia Watts: Implementing DEPS-R Screening and Early Intervention Pathways for Disordered Eating in Paediatric Type 1 Diabetes: A Feasibility Study at St George Hospital

Masters

Ouyi Wang: Symptoms, quality of life, and nutrition-relevant factors in peri- and menopausal women living with multiple sclerosis: a scoping review.
Ella Harrison: The Ketogenic Diet in Children with Intractable Epilepsy.
Kate Hutchinson: Effectiveness of the ketogenic diet as non-pharmacologic therapy in paediatric refractory epilepsy: a retrospective audit.

2025

Emily Tannous: An online survey of barriers and enablers to adherence with eating patterns for Australian adults living with multiple sclerosis
Holly Littlejohns: Preliminary analysis of baseline diet quality of overweight Australians living with multiple sclerosis (MS) who are overweight volunteering for a telehealth, interdisciplinary, clinical trial.
Rachel Brooker: The effects of intuitive eating, mindful eating and eating competence on physical, mental, and behavioural health outcomes: a systematic review of experimental studies
Sana: The impact of chrono nutrition on outcomes of neurodegenerative diseases: A scoping review
Sherry Baig: Relationship between taste perception and exercise of people living with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis: A pilot clinical investigation.

2024

Daveida Azzi: Investigating stigma experienced by individuals living with multiple sclerosis: A scoping review
Dominique Brischetto: Identifying key behaviour change strategies to promote lifestyle-related, brain-health focused care for people living with multiple sclerosis: A modified e-Delphi study.
Emily Buttifant: Investigating disordered eating behaviours among individuals with a neurodegenerative disease: A scoping review.
Gemma Williams: Evaluating the feasibility, acceptability and efficacy of a dietary intervention to improve adherence to Dietary Guidelines: A pilot study of adults living with multiple sclerosis.
Jasmin Habib: Exploring dietitian perspectives and educational needs when working with people living with multiple sclerosis (MS)
Jennah Anis: Dietary choline intake of people living with multiple sclerosis: adjusting intakes towards improved compliance with dietary recommendations.
Conor McEvoy: Decoding the oral microbiome: Exploring relationship between multiple sclerosis and oral microbiome dysbiosis
Claudia Curcio: A qualitative exploration of opportunities for integrating nutrition care for Multiple Sclerosis into routine care

2023

Olivia Wills: Exploring clinician and consumer perspectives of a brain-healthy lifestyle for people living with multiple sclerosis.
Shoroog Allogmanny: Exploring the implications of comorbidities of Multiple Sclerosis (MS) on nutrition during routine clinical care: Developing an evidenced-based nutrition toolkit for healthcare professionals.
Emily Dorris: The value of exercise to enhance a brain-healthy lifestyle for people living with multiple sclerosis: A qualitative study of the perspectives of MS clinicians.
Maree Remfrey: The effectiveness of technology supported lifestyle interventions for adults with multiple sclerosis: A systematic review.
Rosa Piscionneri: Medical nutrition therapy and chronic disease management: the role of the Australian Dietary Guidelines in the care of people living with Multiple Sclerosis.
Amanda Mills: Evaluating resources for lifestyle related multiple sclerosis research.
Hannah Parker: Application of the MIND dietary index to the DQESv2 FFQ tool – a methodological study.
Emma Ware Maloney: A qualitative exploration of the perspectives of MS nurses and dietitians in supporting the role of diet in a brain-healthy lifestyle for people with multiple sclerosis.
Michaela Pattinson: An Evaluation of Patient Education Materials developed for persons diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis.
Maree Remfrey: The effectiveness of technology supported lifestyle interventions for adults with multiple sclerosis: A systematic review
Rosa Piscionneri: Medical nutrition therapy and chronic disease management: the role of the Australian Dietary Guidelines in the care of people living with Multiple Sclerosis
Amanda Mills: Evaluating resources for lifestyle related multiple sclerosis research
Hannah Parker: Application of the MIND dietary index to the DQESv2 FFQ tool – a methodological study
Emma Ware Maloney: A qualitative exploration of the perspectives of MS nurses and dietitians in supporting the role of diet in a brain-healthy lifestyle for people with multiple sclerosis.
Michaela Pattinson: An Evaluation of Patient Education Materials developed for persons diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis
Shaghayegh Akbari Iveli: Barriers and enablers to adopting self-management behaviour changes in people with multiple sclerosis: A qualitative study.
Joshua Torr: Exploring the role of lifestyle in the management of Multiple Sclerosis
Claudia Curcio: Exploring the understanding of lifestyle management of people living with Multiple Sclerosis: A national online consumer survey

Multiple Sclerosis Australia Diet and MS working group
Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers Registered Dietitians Nutritionists special interest group
Menzies Institute MS research flagship

Publications, media and reports

Publications
In the media

Allogmanny, S., Probst, Y., Zoszak, K., & Stefoska-Needham, A. (2026). Co-Developing User-Centred Nutrition Educational Resources to Integrate Nutrition Into Multiple Sclerosis Care: A Collaborative Approach With Healthcare Professionals and Healthcare Consumers. Health Expectations, 29(2).
Marx, W., Lotfaliany, M., Black, L. J., Thomson, S. M., Simpson-Yap, S., van der Mei, I., et al. (2026). The association between flavonoid intake and first clinical diagnosis of central nervous system demyelination: a case-control study. Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders, 107.
Weld-Blundell, I., Learmonth, Y. C., Klaic, M., Ayton, D., Haartsen, J., Kermode, A. G., et al. (2026). The Application of Treatment Guidelines in Multiple Sclerosis Care: A Qualitative Analysis of Barriers and Facilitators. International Journal of MS Care, 28(1), 1-12.
Yu, M., Coe, S., Tektonidis, T. G., Solsona, E. M., Middleton, R., Nicholas, R., et al. (2026). Prospective associations between Mediterranean diet and mental health and quality of life in people with multiple sclerosis: Analysis of UK MS Register data. Journal of Clinical Neuroscience, 143.
Abbasi, H., Allogmanny, S., Khoshdooz, S., Asgarzade, A., & Probst, Y. (2025). Exploring the Link of Serum Vitamin B12, Folate, and Homocysteine Concentrations in Individuals with Multiple Sclerosis: An Umbrella Meta-analysis of Case-control Studies. Neuroscience, 583, 179-186.
Allogmanny, S., Stefoska-Needham, A., & Probst, Y. (2025). Exploring the Perspectives of Healthcare Consumers Towards the Integration of Nutrition in Routine Multiple Sclerosis Care: A Qualitative Study. Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics, 38(2).
Allogmanny, S., Stefoska-Needham, A., & Probst, Y. (2025). Healthcare professionals educational resources for multiple sclerosis-related health behaviour management: a scoping review. Disability and Rehabilitation, 47(6), 1391-1402.
Piscioneri, R., Zoszak, K., & Probst, Y. (2025). Development of the Australian Dietary Guidelines Adherence Tool (ADG-AT): A Food Matching Protocol. Nutrients, 17(6).
Probst, Y., Saffioti, E., Manche, S., & Eaton, M. (2025). Examination of social media nutrition information related to multiple sclerosis: a cross-sectional social network analysis. Public Health Nutrition, 28(1).
Probst, Y., Sharp, M., & Zoszak, K. (2025). Health literacy demand and quality of website nutrition information for multiple sclerosis. Journal of Public Health Germany.
Saul, A., Taylor, B. V., Blizzard, L., Simpson-Yap, S., Probst, Y. C., Black, L. J., et al. (2025). Diet-dependent acid-base load is not associated with rate of relapse, annualised disability change, FLAIR, and black hole lesion volume on MRI in a prospective cohort study of those with multiple sclerosis. Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders, 103.
Titcomb, T. J., & Probst, Y. (2025). Nutrition and Lifestyle Behaviours for the Prevention and Management of Multiple Sclerosis. Nutrients, 17(23).
Ware-Maloney, E., Wills, O., & Probst, Y. (2025). “I see diet almost as another disease modifying therapy. It's that important.” A qualitative study of dietitian and nursing perspectives on the role of diet and brain health for multiple sclerosis. Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders, 102.
Wills, O., Bradford, A., Bostick, M., Probst, Y., & Titcomb, T. J. (2025). Perceptions and Utilization of Registered Dietitian Nutritionists in Multiple Sclerosis Care: A Pilot Survey of Multidisciplinary Providers. Nutrients, 17(3).
Yu, M., Simpson-Yap, S., Lerede, A., Nicholas, R., Coe, S., Tektonidis, T. G., et al. (2025). Mediterranean and MIND Dietary Patterns and Cognitive Performance in Multiple Sclerosis: A Cross-Sectional Analysis of the UK Multiple Sclerosis Register. Nutrients, 17(21).
Allogmanny, S., & Probst, Y. (2024). Dietary Modification Combined with Nutrition Education and Counseling for Metabolic Comorbidities in Multiple Sclerosis: Implications for Clinical Practice and Research. Current Nutrition Reports, 13(2), 106-112.
Lechner-Scott, J., Probst, Y., Giovannoni, G., Hawkes, C. H., Levy, M., & Yeh, E. A. (2024). What is the role of diet for multiple sclerosis? Why epidemiological studies don't give the full answer. Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders, 83.
Probst, Y., & Kinnane, E. (2024). Quality of reporting health behaviors for multiple sclerosis (QuoRH-MS): A scoping review to inform intervention planning and improve consistency of reporting. Brain and Behavior, 14(8).
Probst, Y., Luscombe, M., Hilfischer, M., Guan, V., & Houston, L. (2024). Exploring factors to interpretation of targeted nutrition messages for people living with multiple sclerosis. Patient Education and Counseling, 119.
Wills, O., & Probst, Y. (2024). Towards new perspectives: A scoping review and meta-synthesis to redefine brain health for multiple sclerosis. European Journal of Neurology, 31(6).
Wills, O., Probst, Y., Haartsen, J., & McMahon, A. T. (2024). The role of multidisciplinary MS care teams in supporting lifestyle behaviour changes to optimise brain health among people living with MS: A qualitative exploration of clinician perspectives. Health Expectations, 27(2).
Wills, O., Wright, B., Greenwood, L. M., Solowij, N., Schira, M., Maller, J. J., et al. (2024). Lifestyle management and brain MRI metrics in female Australian adults living with multiple sclerosis: a feasibility and acceptability study. Pilot and Feasibility Studies, 10(1).
Zoszak, K., Batterham, M., Simpson-Yap, S., & Probst, Y. (2024). Web scraping of user-simulated online nutrition information for people with multiple sclerosis. Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders, 88.
Kirkland, H., Campbell, J., Reece, J., Nag, N., Probst, Y., Neate, S., De Livera, A., Jelinek, G., & Simpson-Yap, S. (2023). Higher diet quality is associated with short and long-term benefits on SF-6D health state utilities: a 5-year cohort study in an international sample of people with multiple sclerosis. Quality of Life Research, 32(7), 1883–1896.
Manche, S., & Probst, Y. (2023). Exploring the socio-ecological factors impacting lifestyle management of multiple sclerosis: A scoping review. Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders, 79.
Mannino, A., Daly, A., Dunlop, E., Probst, Y., Ponsonby, A. L., van der Mei, I. A. F., et al. (2023). Higher consumption of ultra-processed foods and increased likelihood of central nervous system demyelination in a case-control study of Australian adults. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 77(5), 611-614.
Saul, A., Taylor, B. V., Blizzard, L., Simpson-Yap, S., Probst, Y. C., Black, L. J., et al. (2023). Long-term dietary acid load is associated with depression in multiple sclerosis, but less evidence was found with fatigue and anxiety. Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders, 69.
Simpson-Yap, S., Neate, S. L., Nag, N., Probst, Y. C., Yu, M., Jelinek, G. A., & Reece, J. C. (2023). Longitudinal associations between quality of diet and disability over 7.5 years in an international sample of people with multiple sclerosis. European Journal of Neurology, 30(10), 3200-3211.
Guan, V., Simpson-Yap, S., Nag, N., Jelinek, G., Neate, S., & Probst, Y. (2022). Using Online 24-h Dietary Methodology to Validate the Psychometric Properties of a Dietary Scoring Tool with an International Sample of Adults Living with Multiple Sclerosis. Nutrients, 14(21), 4568.
Probst, Y., Guan, V., Van Der Walt, A., Rath, L. M., Bonney, A., & Kent, J. (2022). Patient self-management and empowerment for multiple sclerosis: The implications of dietary lifestyle management for primary care Australians. Australian Journal of General Practice, 51(4), 209-212.
Wills, O. C., & Probst, Y. C. (2022). Understanding lifestyle self-management regimens that improve the life quality of people living with multiple sclerosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Health and Quality of Life Outcomes, 20(1), 153.
Marck, C. H., Probst, Y., Chen, J., Taylor, B., & van der Mei, I. (2021). Dietary patterns and associations with health outcomes in Australian people with multiple sclerosis. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 75(10), 1506-1514.
Zoszak, K., Neale, E., Tapsell, L., & Probst, Y. (2021). Exploring dietary changes in an interdisciplinary intervention trial: Application of a dietary guidelines food composition database. Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics, 34, 265–272.
Tredinnick, A. R., & Probst, Y. C. (2020). Evaluating the Effects of Dietary Interventions on Disease Progression and Symptoms of Adults with Multiple Sclerosis: An Umbrella Review. Advances in Nutrition.
Probst, Y., Mowbray, E., Svensen, E., & Thompson, K. (2019). A systematic review of the impact of dietary sodium on autoimmunity and inflammation related to multiple sclerosis. Advances in Nutrition (Bethesda, MD), 10, 902-910.

Study explores role of diet, exercise and oral microbiome in multiple sclerosis University of Wollongong, 2026
MS study seeks participants to trial lifestyle changes to improve wellbeing University of Wollongong, 2025
New MS research harnessing the brain’s healing power MS Australia, March 2025
Lifestyle changes can boost brain health and slow decline for people living with MS University of Wollongong, 2024
Two UOW researchers awarded MS Australia Grants University of Wollongong, 2024
Wollongong researcher sinks her teeth into fight against multiple sclerosis Region Illawarra, May 30 2024
Researchers seek to redefine the concept of brain health for people living with multiple sclerosis. MS Australia. February 28, 2024.
MS Brain Health – What is it and how do I get it? MS Plus Neuro Wellbeing. March 2024.
Brain health and why it’s never too late to make a change with researcher Olivia Wills. MS Podcasts. February 26, 2024.
Empowering change: How healthcare professionals support brain health in MS care. MS Australia. May 22, 2024.
What it's like to lead research into the disease you've had for 20 years, Illawarra Mercury, March 5 2024
Contributions to the MS Australia Modifiable lifestyle factors guides (2020 and 2024 updates across a collective of 6 chapters)
Plenary presentation of Nutrition management for MS, MS Australia annual conference 2022 (Hobart)
Consumer day plenary of Socioecological insights for nutrition management of MS, MS Australia annual conference 2023 (Perth)
On screen contributor to the “Understanding MS” Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) by Menzies Institute for Medical Research.
UOW Luminaries talk on Youtube: “Empowering people with MS through lifestyle management.” Luminaries’ topical talks between experts, University of Wollongong. May 2023, Sydney Australia.
Working group for holistic management of MS contributing to the updated (2024) Brain Health report
Dietitians Australia. Nutrition care of people living with neurologically-induced disability webinars
Newcastle University/John Hunter Hospital “2024 World MS Day: Diet in MS” talk.
UOW student awarded $70,000 towards MS research, University of Wollongong 2023
Using diet to ease MS symptoms ABC National Radio, 21 March, 2022
Can plant-based diets actually improve your immune system? Sydney Morning Herald, 7 March, 2019

Eatright MS: Nutrition and Multiple Sclerosis Research Group

Specific research interests

Research capacities

Our people

PhD students

Honours

Masters

2025

2024

2023

Publications, media and reports

Resources