The 35th International Symposium on ALS/MND, organised by the MND Association, was held on 6-8 December 2024 and welcomed over 1200 delegates to Montreal, Canada and a further 300 virtually. The Symposium offers researchers, health and social care professionals, industry leaders, people living with and affected by MND and carers to come together and share their current knowledge on ALS and MND. The event aims to create an open and inclusive environment, which fosters the sharing of research and encourage new and innovative ideas to push us closer to finding effective treatments in ALS/MND.
Each year we offer the opportunity for early career researchers who present research posters, the chance to win a prestigious poster prize for their presented work. Early career researchers are defined as aged 35 and under or within three years of completing their PhD at the time of the meeting. The poster award began in 2013 at the 24th International Symposium in Milan, Italy, to encourage the new generation of MND researchers as they begin their career and showcase their exceptional work. In the lead-up to the Symposium, a shortlist of 5 clinical and 5 biomedical posters are selected and judged at the event by a panel of experts in MND research and healthcare.
The winners of each prize are announced at the closing session of the Symposium, where they receive a certificate, an engraved crystal paperweight and a free registration to attend the next event.
Clinical poster prize
The winner of the Clinical poster prize in 2024 was Matthew Harrison, for his insightful work looking at the damage to individual upper motor neurons in ALS.
Matthew Harrison from the University of Alberta shared his work on a new diagnostic technique to measure damage or degeneration of upper motor neurons. Upper motor neurons connect the motor regions of the brain to the spinal cord which send signals to tell muscles to move. Currently there is not a specific test that shows the degeneration of these upper motor neurons which can delay an ALS/MND diagnosis.
Matthew’s research looks to create a new diagnostic test where he combines current imaging methods of structural MRIs which shows the location of the neurons, with a highly detailed technique that shows the texture of the neurons, which could potentially indicate damage. The new approach is called ‘Z-score mapping’. The combination of both approaches allows more accuracy when identifying individually damaged upper motor neurons, which may in the future lead to a faster diagnoses and help with monitoring the rate of disease progression.
The runner ups of the Clinical prize were:
Muhannad Seyam – University of Vermont Medical Center – Highly Commended
Diederik Stikvoort Garcia – University Medical Center Utrecht – Highly Commended
Ana Paula Trucco – University of East Anglia – Commended
Christos Chalitsios – University of Oxford – Commended
Biomedical Poster prize
Two Biomedical poster prizes were awarded in 2024. The winners were Laura Tzeplaeff and Kaly Mueller for their work on sporadic ALS and pre-clinical drug testing.
Laura Tzeplaeff
Laura Tzeplaeff from the Technical University of Munich is studying the presence of proteins in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), the fluid that surrounds the brain and spinal cord. By identifying which proteins are present in people with ALS/MND and how they differ from person to person, her research could help develop more targeted and personalised treatments.
Laura’s research focuses on understanding how protein levels vary in people with sporadic ALS/MND. By analysing the CSF of 50 people with ALS/MND, she found that the disease does not affect everyone in the same way. Some individuals showed more changes related to the immune system, such as proteins involved in blood clotting or fighting disease. Others had more changes in the way their brain cells react and communicate with each other. Both processes play a role in ALS/MND, but recognising the differences between these two groups could lead to more precise treatments and help doctors choose the right treatment approach for each person.
Kaly Mueller
Kaly Mueller from the ALS Therapy Development Institute is currently exploring the use of mouse models of ALS for testing potential new drugs in the lab. The SOD1-mouse model is currently the most used animal model to replicate MND before it is tested in humans. However, this mouse model represents a genetic form of MND which accounts for only 10% of people with MND. Kaly’s research is looking at a new mouse model that could better represent more people with MND.
Kaly aims to understand the characteristics of one specific mouse model to better represent MND in both genetic and sporadic cases. She compared several different characteristics such as body weight, grip strength, progression of the disease, biomarker levels and loss of motor neurons against healthy mice to see if it could replicate the disease. Her findings show several similarities to human MND, such as muscle weakness and the loss of neurons, making it a potential alternative model for early-stage drug testing.
The runner ups of the Biomedical prize were:
Tania Atienzar – University of Exeter – Highly Commended
Orjona Stella Taso – Edinburgh University – Commended
Yiran Wang – University College London – Commended
After this achievement and all the promising results shared at the Symposium, I am definitely leaving with a renewed sense of purpose and motivation to continue tackling this complex disease.
Tania Atienzar
Congratulations to all of the researchers who were shortlisted for the poster prize at the 35th International Symposium on ALS/MND. We had an exceptional selection of over 400 posters presented at this year’s event showcasing the broad range of research topics, from symptom management and improving quality of life to potential future treatments. Each project and the collective global research effort offers hope for people living with and affected by ALS/MND.
