3 November 2023 News
The new UK Motor Neuron Disease Research Institute (UK MND RI) to accelerate the search for a cure for MND, officially launches today in London. It aims to discover new treatments that could ultimately mean MND becomes a curable condition. The virtual Institute brings together a network of MND labs, clinical centres and researchers carrying out world leading MND research across the UK. It is co-directed by MND clinician researchers Professor Ammar Al-Chalabi at King’s College London and Professor Chris McDermott at the University of Sheffield.
The Institute will enable clinicians, researchers and people with MND, together with charities, including the MND Association and other funders, to work together in a more coordinated way, to speed up drug discovery and drug development. Scientific discoveries will be translated into knowledge that drives new approaches to treatment, and then tests those potential treatments in clinical trials.
We are fully supportive of the UK MND RI and its ambition to accelerate scientific understanding and the search for new treatments. Much of the planned pieces of work have their roots in Association-funded research studies and we are delighted to be contributing to this next significant step forward in the fight against MND. Collaboration is crucial to progress, which is why we recently joined with MND Scotland in a new scheme to draw more young scientists into specific areas of collaborative research that will aid the discovery of potential new therapeutic targets.
None of this would be possible without the support from those who have generously donated to the MND Association. The hope is that through continuing public support and partnership, we will find effective therapies and, ultimately, a cure for this devastating disease.
Peer-reviewed research programmes within the institute are funded by the MND Association, MND Scotland, My Name’5 Doddie Foundation, medical research charity LifeArc, the National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) and Medical Research Council (MRC).
Institutions already involved in the Institute include King’s College London, University of Sheffield, University of Edinburgh, University of Liverpool, University College London and University of Oxford.
Today’s launch is so welcome. An institute, brought together by collaboration to accelerate the arrival of treatments, is just what patients want to see. So many people have worked hard to make this happen. I am optimistic this will be the springboard to a better future, offering hope to patients and those affected by MND. We hope it will change the conversation between neurologists and patients from the current focus on palliative care to available treatments and, ultimately, a cure.