Each year at the International Symposium, we recognise early career researchers whose work is making exceptional contributions to understanding and treating MND. This prestigious award acknowledges that even at the start of their careers, these researchers are helping drive progress towards better care, better treatments and, one day, a cure.
The judging process begins at the abstract submission stage, where researchers submit a short summary of the research project they want to present. A panel of expert researchers assess each abstract to decide which projects should be given one of the limited talk slots on our programme. Because we receive far more abstracts than we can fit in the programme, many researchers present their work as a poster, which are summaries of key findings designed to encourage discussion in the poster hall. From hundreds of abstracts, the review panel highlight outstanding submissions to form a longlist of prize candidates.
These candidates are then reviewed to ensure they meet the criteria for the award, being under 35 years old or within three years of completing their PhD, and only the strongest go forward to the final round of judging. The list is separated into two groups: biomedical research, focusing on understanding and treating the disease, and clinical research, looking at healthcare systems, policies and support for people currently affected by MND.
At the event, there are three sessions dedicated to showcasing the research posters. Each of these sessions is always packed with people and the buzz of active discussion of the presented work. To ensure we can properly assess the prize candidates’ research, we organise a more private viewing session for the judging panel during the lunch breaks. Each judging panel is made up of researchers and healthcare professionals. At an allocated time, each candidate gives a three-minute presentation about their research and answer follow-up questions from the judges. Once all presentations for that category are complete, the judges gather together to discuss their thoughts and decide on the winners.
The panels assess not only the visual impact of the poster, clarity of the presentation and how well the questions were answered, but also the wider impact of the study, its innovation and potential to make a meaningful difference for people living with MND. The winners are announced in the closing session and receive a blue glass diamond paperweight as a small symbol of a very significant achievement.
This rigorous process assesses not only how well research is presented, but its true potential to shape the future of MND research. It’s not simply about producing a polished poster; it’s about recognising meaningful scientific progress.
With that, the winners of the poster prize at the 36th International Symposium on ALS/MND were:
Clinical Winners
Kelly Duffy – University of Minesota
Kelly Duffy from the University of Minesota used a large real-world MND dataset to understand how long it takes to reach key milestones after diagnosis, such as needing help with breathing or feeding, and which factors like age, race and sex might increase someone’s risk. By analysing data from over 2,700 people, she could draw meaningful relationships between symptom onsets and risk factors. These findings help build a clearer picture of the typical MND journey and predict what symptoms someone may be more at risk of developing which could support better clinical decisions as the disease progresses.
For example, people with limb onset may have a lower risk of developing speech problems and ventilation needs therefore could focus more on home mobility improvements than voice banking. This research could also develop smarter clinical trial designs by comparing drug effects on people with similar disease progressions to gain more accurate trial results.
Christian Steenkjaer – Aalborg University
Christian has been researching whether background brain activity can help us understand different symptoms in people with MND. Using a non‑invasive brain scan called MEG, he compared people with MND to healthy volunteers and found clear differences in the part of the brain that controls movement. These early results suggest that the motor system behaves differently in MND, and that these changes might be linked to how much motor neurone damage someone has. The study was small, so larger research is needed to confirm this, but the work adds to growing evidence that MEG could become a useful tool for understanding MND and developing future biomarkers to support diagnosing MND.
The runners up of the Clinical Awards:
Rebecca Francis – Flinders University – Commended
Sevnic Jakab – University California San Francisco – Commended
Alexandra Juers – University Medical Center Rostock – Commended
Biomedical Winners:
Shohei Sakai – Nagoya University
Shohei from Nagoya University presented his work exploring why the loss of a protein called TBK1 can increase the build-up of a harmful protein called TDP43 in the nerve cells affected by MND. TBK1 normally helps switch on one of the cell’s natural cleanup systems through a signalling molecule called IFN-beta. However, when TBK1 doesn’t work properly, as in some forms of MND, this cleanup system weakens, allowing damaged proteins to build up. This work provides an important new discovery about how TDP-43 clumps may develop in 97% of people with MND and highlights a possible treatment target which has the potential to help many people with MND.
Ken Ning – Cedars-sinai Medical Center
Ken’s research focuses on creating improved cell models of MND that reflect how different groups of motor neurones, those controlling the arms, legs, or speech, are affected differently in MND. The new stem‑cell methods reliably produce these specific motor neurones, both from healthy people and those with MND. These cells show the right features and activity, giving researchers a powerful new way to study why some motor neurones are more vulnerable than others, and allows more accurate cell models to be used. This advance brings us closer to understanding why neurones breakdown and treating MND as these models support more reliable research to be carried out.
The runners up of the Biomedical Awards:
Katie Bowden – Sheffield Institute for Translational Neuroscience – Highly Commended
Antonia Delimier – TUM University Hospital – Commended
Sophia Mostowy – Cedars-Sinai Medical Center – Commended
Lathika Gopalakrishnan – Barrow Neurological Institute – Commended
