Motor neurone disease (MND) is the name given to a group of diseases in which the nerve cells (neurones) controlling the muscles that enable us to move, speak, breathe and swallow undergo degeneration and die.
Motor function is controlled by the upper motor neurones in the brain that descend to the spinal cord; these neurones activate lower motor neurones. The lower motor neurones exit the spinal cord and directly activate muscles. With no nerves to activate them, muscles gradually weaken and waste. MND can affect a person’s ability to walk, speak, swallow and breathe.
Motor Neurone Disease (MND) is known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in many parts of the world, and also as Lou Gehrig’s disease in the USA.
Public fundraising for MND research over the last few years has been an absolute game changer.
University of Melbourne School of Biomedical Sciences researcher Dr Peter Crouch confirmed that an increase in public donations accelerated MND research worldwide and facilitated much of the research behind recent breakthroughs.
MND and Me Foundation’s mission – To Care and to Cure – has been a driving force as Foundation continues to provide much needed funding to understand the causes, find effective treatments and discover cures for MND.
The MND and Me Foundation has made donations to the following institutions:
This year the MND and Me Foundation has increased its contribution to the MNDRIA grants to $200,000 to include the newly established Col Bambrick Memorial Grant. All three of the MND and Me Foundation sponsored grants are equally competitive to receive and we are confident that they will produce highly successful programs.
This collaborative approach to research, together with the cohesive efforts from other MND associations across the globe, is key to sustained success in the fight against MND. It is essential to stand together as a united front with partners from academia, industry, not-for-profits and government to make the strongest fight against MND.
MND and Me Foundation/MNDRIA research grants are designed to drive innovative research that has a clear relationship to the causes, treatments or cures of MND. We were super excited to announce that our 2018 grants were awarded as follows:
- The MND and Me Foundation Grant: Associate Prof Peter Noakes, University of Queensland – “Targetting the molecular basis of muscle weakness in MND”
- Fat Rabbit Research Grant: Prof Pamela McCombe, University of Queensland – “Novel biomarkers for MND”
- The Col Bambrick Memorial Grant: Associate Prof Tony White, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute – “Generating patient-derived microglia to investigate neuroinflammation in MND”
Congratulations to all of the 2018 grant recipients – your efforts are truly appreciated by many.
All of the scientists involved in the MND research, expressed their gratefulness for the support of the MND community and the MND and Me foundation and other donors for their ongoing support of scientific studies.
Their shared aim of creating a world without MND is driving their successes.
Previous Research Updates
Dr Shyuan Ngo
Professor David Pow