This year, we’re celebrating the 10th anniversary of our Non-Clinical Fellowship programme, which was launched from funds raised through the Ice Bucket Challenge. You can read more about the programme in our first blog. In this blog we chat to one of our current Non-Clinical Fellows, who is working in the lab of one of our first Fellows, to find out more about how the programme is supporting them.
Dr Russell McLaughlin
Russell was one of our first Junior Non-Clinical Fellows and was awarded a Fellowship in 2015. He began his Fellowship research at Trinity College Dublin in 2016.
His Fellowship project aimed to identify new gene changes which might play a role in the development of MND. Russell analysed the genetic sequences of over 1000 people with and without MND in Ireland to look for changes which could be linked to the disease. The data collected during this Fellowship project formed part of the Project MinE, the largest resource of genetic data on MND in the world.
During his Fellowship, Russell supervised PhD students, one of which was current Fellow Ross Byrne. Russell is now an Assistant Professor at Trinty College Dublin, is still actively involved in MND research and sits on our Biomedical Research Advisory Panel (an expert panel who help us to review applications for research funding).
Dr Ross Byrne
Ross is one of our current Fellows and was awarded a Junior Fellowship in 2022. He is based at Trinity College Dublin and began his research in 2023. Ross is looking into genetic links between MND and cognitive symptoms to establish whether there are shared genetic factors (which contribute to both cognitive symptoms and MND) and distinct genetic factors (which contribute purely to motor symptoms in MND).
What made you decide to work in MND research?
While studying biology in college I was fascinated by both neuroscience and genetics, but struggled to choose between the two as a specialisation. When I learned there was a group in Trinity researching the genetics of MND as part of a larger multidisciplinary team, I knew this was an opportunity to do both while potentially making a lasting difference. After getting involved, the great research community and the shared goal to find a cure have kept me motivated to remain in MND research.
How do you and Russell work together and how has funding from the Association helped with this?
Dr Russell McLaughlin has been my primary research supervisor and mentor throughout my PhD and postdoctoral research career to date. The MND association has supported our work together at all stages of this journey, in fact, I joined his team as a PhD student while he was funded by his own Non-Clinical Fellowship. They have also supported our joint project to understand genetic risk behind sex-differences in MND and my current Non-Clinical Fellowship project. I owe both Russell and the MND association a great deal of gratitude for helping to shape my career to date.
What do you hope your fellowship project will achieve and how will this benefit people with MND?
My currently funded work aims to uncover which genetic factors contribute to cognitive symptoms in people with MND. These symptoms can greatly affect quality of life for both people with MND and their carers, making this an important area of research. Discovering underlying genetic risk factors will help us to better understand this disease, and hopefully allow for development of early detection and treatment strategies.
How important are fellowships and what does the Association funding mean to you?
Fellowships are critically important to early career scientists like me to remain engaged in research – without them many of us would be forced to change fields or migrate careers. They also give us space and resources to grow as independent scientists, and tackle new and important research questions. The MND association funding to me is an exciting opportunity to continue working in a field I am passionate about and develop into a better researcher.
How do you think your fellowship will help you in the next stages of your career?
This fellowship has given me invaluable experience towards my career goal of leading an independent research team to tackle outstanding questions in MND. It has enabled me to build my grant writing and management skills, experience the challenges of designing and running a research programme from start to finish, and importantly has facilitated me to co-supervise and mentor 4 fantastic PhD students. Giving back to the next generation of MND researchers has been a particular privilege of this step in my research journey. All I have learnt during my fellowship will benefit me greatly in my future research career, and hopefully make me a competitive candidate for further research funding.
We would like to say a huge thank you to Dr Ross Byrne for taking the time to tell us about his Fellowship.
