Reading Time: 4 minutes Dr Jakub Scaber from the University of Oxford is our newest Medical Research Council (MRC)/ MND Association Lady Edith Wolfson Clinical Research Fellow. He is investigating how the newly identified C9orf72 gene causes MND in some individuals using induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cell technology. Researchers funded by the Association were amongst the first to create human…
Reading Time: 4 minutes MND Association-funded researcher, Prof Linda Greensmith, based at University College London, together with her collaborator Dr Ivo Lieberam from Kings College London, have introduced stem cell-derived motor neurones into mice. Published in the prestigious journal Science on 4 April 2014, her research has also demonstrated that muscle function can be controlled by light. Modelling MND…
Reading Time: 2 minutes A packed room at the 24th International Symposium on ALS/MND was given a fascinating whistle stop tour covering stem cells, robots and cellular garbage clearing, by Dr Steve Finkbeiner of the University of California, as well as a glimpse into the future of developing ‘disease in a dish’ models of MND. Dr Finkbeiner outlined how…
Reading Time: 4 minutes After a brilliant first day at ENCALS, which included a talk by Dr Johannes Brettschneider, the second day began with a talk by Thierry Latran Speaker Prof Clive Svendsen (Director of the Cedars-Sinai Regenerative Medicine Institute) arriving directly from attending at the Anne Rowling Regenerative Neurology Symposium. Prof Svendsen gave a riveting talk to over…
Reading Time: 5 minutes The sun was (uncharacteristically!) shining on Edinburgh last week for a symposium to celebrate the launch of the new Anne Rowling Regenerative Neurology Clinic. The clinic, which opened to patients earlier this year, was founded following a donation by the author JK Rowling, in memory of her mother, who died from complications related to multiple sclerosis…
