Hi there! My name is Libby and I have recently joined the MND Association’s Research Information team alongside Katy. We’ll be working together, as Research Information Co-ordinators, to keep on top of all the latest MND research updates and to help share this information with the MND community. As well as contributing to the Research blog, we will help to communicate MND research across all platforms, to help make sure that the MND community can stay updated with progress in the field.
I have a background in MND research myself, having recently completed a PhD that explored some of the biological changes that occur in MND. My research was funded by the MND Association, through a legacy donation that was supported by the East Sussex MND Association Branch. Throughout my PhD, I really enjoyed communicating my research outside of the laboratory, to people of all ages and backgrounds. A pivotal moment for me was when I attended the first MND EnCouRage Conference in 2022, which is an event organised by the MND Association that is aimed at supporting early career researchers (ECRs) who are investigating MND. The event was my first opportunity to meet people living with and affected by MND, and I was able to present my work to the audience in a way that was accessible for everyone to understand. This really highlighted to me just how important it is for research to be shared with the MND community, and for scientists to understand the research interests of those affected by MND. This is something I continued to grow passionate about during the remainder of my PhD, and I am so excited to now continue to communicate MND research in this role!
So, on that note, it would be great to share with you all a snapshot of the MND research that I carried out during my PhD. I completed my research down in Brighton at the University of Sussex, under the supervision of Professor Majid Hafezparast. My project explored communication between different types of cells in the body, and how this can change in MND. Specifically, I explored the role of microRNAs, which are small genetic molecules, in cell-to-cell communication. I used a mouse model of MND to explore changes in the amounts of microRNAs in different cell types throughout disease, by comparing the levels in the MND mouse model to the levels in a healthy mouse model.
Firstly, I found some differences in the levels of microRNAs in microglia from the MND model. Microglia are the immune cells of the brain that are responsible for protecting other cell types, including motor neurons. I explored some potential ways that these different microRNAs might change the behaviour of motor neurons in MND, making them more or less vulnerable to dying. By understanding how microRNAs may contribute to motor neuron death in MND, it identifies new pathways that can be targeted with therapeutics.
Secondly, I explored changes in the levels of microRNAs in the muscles and blood from mice with MND. I found that some of the microRNAs that were changed in the muscle or microglia were also changed in the blood of mice with MND. This information is useful because microRNAs are increasingly being investigated for use as markers of MND in the blood, known as biomarkers. Identifying where in the body the circulating microRNA biomarkers come from is essential, in order to understand their role in disease and whether they should be targeted with therapeutics.
My research also began to explore whether miRNAs that are changed in the blood of people with MND are also changed in the mouse model of MND. Finding changes in microRNAs that are seen in both people living with MND and animal models of MND might help to provide more efficient ways of testing new therapeutics in models, before they are then tested in people with MND. This work is currently being progressed further by other researchers in the Hafezparast Lab. You can find out more about the other MND Association funded research in the lab by reading about Sarah and Eleni’s projects on our website!
I hope that this has given you a bit of an understanding about me and my journey to becoming a Research Information Coordinator at the MND Association. I am so excited to be working for the Association in this role and am looking forward to sharing all of the incredible MND research with you all!
