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: 4 minutes My name is Florence and I’m doing a PhD in artificial intelligence (AI) enabled healthcare at University College London. My research is specifically investigating how AI techniques can be used to improve the prediction of how quickly somebody’s disease will progress in motor neurone disease.
Reading Time: 3 minutes My name is Charlotte and I am a specialist physiotherapist who has worked within the field of MND and neuromuscular disease for many years. Prior to starting my PhD, I worked as the lead physiotherapist on the Neuromuscular Complex Care Centre (NMCCC) at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, part of UCL centre for neuromuscular diseases in London.
Reading Time: 5 minutes Hi everyone! My name’s Katie and I recently joined the Association as a Supporter Information Officer. My role offers me a unique perspective as I am in both the Research Team and the Development Team, which is part of Fundraising. Alongside our brilliant Research Team, I will be writing for the MND Research Blog on…
Reading Time: 5 minutes Research into MND has increased over recent years and we now have a greater understanding of what is happening within the body during the disease. Only by understanding what is happening within the cells during the disease, will researchers discover the right targets to hit in the development of potential treatments. There is still a…
Reading Time: 2 minutes Dr Pietro Fratta completed his first MRC-MND Association Clinical Research Training Fellowship in 2014. Last year he was awarded a new £1.16 million Clinician Scientist Fellowship to continue his research at University College London, studying the earliest physical changes that affect motor neurons in MND (our reference 946-795). Our contribution to this four year research…
Reading Time: 2 minutes There is a critical need to find a biomarker for MND to speed up diagnosis, monitor disease progression and improve clinical trials. A biomarker is a biological change that can be detected in a person to signal that they have MND, and that can be measured over time to monitor how the disease is progressing.…
Reading Time: 3 minutes Developing a way to rapidly diagnose and track how MND progresses over time is a ‘holy grail’ of MND research. The search for so called ‘biomarkers’ is an area that researchers funded by the MND Association are actively pursuing. MND Association grantees Dr Andrea Malaspina and Dr Ian Pike (Blizard Institute, Queen Mary University of…
Reading Time: 4 minutes Did you know the MND Association also supports people who have Kennedy’s disease? In May a new clinic specialising in Kennedy’s disease opened in London at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery. To mark this big step in helping support and treat people with Kennedy’s disease, Katy Styles who campaigns on behalf of the Association, and whose husband Mark has…
Reading Time: 3 minutes Dr Pietro Fratta (University College London) received his initial Training Fellowship through the MND Association/ Medical Research Council (MRC) Lady Edith Wolfson Programme in 2010. Starting on 1 February 2015, Dr Fratta was awarded a Clinician Scientist Fellowship to continue his research into MND. Totalling £1.16 million, of which the Association has committed to contribute…
