Our History
On 6 October 1979 three independent regional groups set up by people affected by MND came together for the first time as the MND Association. Professor Stephen Hawking accepted an invitation to be the Patients' Patron – he remained a figurehead of the Association until his death in 2018.
Within a year the Association was funding our first full time research fellow – based at Charing Cross Hospital's neurological department – and in 1982 40 specialists attended the first MND Association research conference.
40 years on, the Association funds the coordination of life changing care for people living with MND and wide ranging support for families and carers. We invest around £15.5 million in a global research effort to discover causes, potential new treatments and ultimately a cure and in 2019 we held our 30th international Symposium.
Our timeline below details the key milestones of our 40 year journey.