Reading Time: 5 minutes While we work hard for a cure, it is essential we support those living with MND now. Professor Chris McDermott, Professor of Translational Neurology at the University of Sheffield, trial co-lead Maintaining quality of life and supporting psychological well-being are critical for individuals living with MND. However, there has been very little research on how…
Reading Time: 7 minutes Increasing our understanding of MND, improving care and finding new potential treatments for the disease relies upon very talented and dedicated scientists working in MND research. To encourage the best and brightest minds to stay in the field and build a continuous stream of future leaders in MND, we need to make sure that scientists…
Reading Time: 5 minutes Building relationships with key research institutes across the UK is vital in pushing research forward in the fight against MND. As of 31 December 2023, we are funding 109 research projects across 19 UK Universities and research institutes. The MND Association has a long-standing relationship with University College London (UCL) and its researchers. This relationship…
Reading Time: 5 minutes Despite extensive research, the causes of MND remain largely unknown. Recent investigations have begun to shed light on the gut microbiome and whether it may have a role in the development and progression of MND, offering potential new avenues for understanding and possibly treating the disease. The gut microbiome refers to the community of microorganisms,…
Reading Time: 7 minutes Each year the 11th of February sees the world recognise and celebrate the contributions of women in science. The International day of Women and Girls in science was established by the United Nations to promote gender equality and encourage more women and girls across the world to aim to build a career in science. It…
Reading Time: 5 minutes Last month we held the 34th International Symposium on ALS/MND in Basel Switzerland. This huge event allows people from across the world to come and find out what research is currently ongoing. Within this 3-day event, we heard from researchers at all stages of their career talk about what projects they have been involved in…
Reading Time: 7 minutes Each year we host the International Symposium on ALS/MND in December and this is the largest medical and scientific conference specific to MND. The 34th Symposium was held in Basel, Switzerland from the 6th to 8th December and over 1300 people attended from over 48 different countries to share the latest MND research updates, connect…
Reading Time: 7 minutes Each year at the Symposium, there is a huge amount of research presented on a range of topics from across the globe. With the Symposium returning to an in-person event this year, we are keen to increase the number of updates we share for those not able to attend, including people living with and affected by MND.
To help us do this, we have launched a new Symposium Communications Ambassador Programme so we can bring more of the research from the Symposium to non-scientific audiences. This programme was open for applications from early career researchers working in MND, who were interested in helping us shine a light on MND research happening across the world. This year we have 5 early career researchers taking part in the Programme, who will gain experience and new skills in communicating research to different audiences. Before, during and after the Symposium our Ambassador’s will be helping us to share the latest research with the MND community.
Reading Time: 5 minutes Hi there! I’m Dezerae, and I am currently a Lady Edith Wolfson Junior Non-Clinical Research Fellow at the University of Cambridge. My work, supported by the MND Association, seeks to develop new tools that enable us to evaluate models of MND we use in the laboratory for research and therapeutic testing. Recently, I have been…
Reading Time: 5 minutes I’m Hannah, an MND Association-funded first year PhD student at the University of Nottingham. During my undergraduate degree in Biochemistry, also at Nottingham, I had the opportunity to do a project researching MND in the lab, where my interest in MND began. During this project I also met someone who was living with MND, who had come to hear about the research happening in our lab. Hearing his insights into the devastating effects of MND really stuck with me, and I decided I wanted to begin a career in MND research. This led me to my PhD project, in which I am aiming to make a natural type of cell called astrocytes more protective of motor neurones. We hope that this work will inform us of a possible new way to treat MND.
