EDINBURGH — Scotland suffers from blistering rates of multiple sclerosis, and Edinburgh says the difficulty in getting visas post-Brexit is stifling cutting-edge scientific research. Scientists at the University of Edinburgh are at the forefront of MS research with tiny fish that can regenerate their nervous system. But with the U.K. no longer in the EU, barriers to working with the best and brightest experts are causing bottlenecks for breakthroughs.
"Now, this is extremely difficult; it's extremely costly." Lyons is studying zebrafish, a small tropical swimmer that seems to be able to fix the same type of nerve damage caused by MS. The autoimmune disease has no cure, and the stakes for finding one are particularly high in Scotland, where its prevalence is 10 times greater than the global rate. Since Brexit took effect in January 2020, European scientists can no longer move to the U.K. without a visa; and for high-skilled jobs like theirs, employers need to sponsor them.
Differences over post-Brexit immigration policy have been a long-standing touchpoint for Edinburgh and London. And Macpherson has called for a tailored immigration program for Scotland, including in a February letter posted to Kirsty McNeill, then-parliamentary under-secretary of state for Scotland. "Unfortunately, prime minister after prime minister, home secretary after home secretary, have not delivered any flex," Macpherson said.
Director of Universities Scotland Claire McPherson also took a swipe at the government, saying Scotland had attracted fewer researchers from the EU over the past decade, and the U.K. was at risk of becoming out of reach. "This is concerning for the future pipeline of talent and research," she said, warning experts would flow elsewhere. Emphasizing that the U.K wanted to continue to be a global hub for groundbreaking science and pointing to the £5 billion to be spent on boosting research talent and changes to high-skilled visa routes, a U.K. government spokesperson told POLITICO:“We will not be introducing a Scottish-based visa scheme, or devolving control of immigration policy." Evie Orr was diagnosed with MS in 2009 at the age of 16 and now uses mobility aids to get around.
The chronic neurological disorder can result in permanent disability as the body’s immune system attacks the protective nerve coverings known as myelin. Orr can attest to the rapid improvement in treatments over the last two decades. To suppress the frequency of her flareups, she once had to inject herself with a drug that "makes you feel awful" three times a week.
She now gets biannual infusions in a hospital, which have improved this. But there is no permanent fix for MS — and this is where Lyons' world-class research comes in. The neurobiology professor is using zebrafish to understand how myelin is lost and what drugs can be used to prevent this.
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