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MND Scotland are inviting researchers from across the UK to apply for their PhD Studentship scheme. 

Projects can be up to 3 years and the maximum funding is £100,000 over 3 years.

One PhD studentship will be jointly funded by MND Scotland and the Anatomical Society to highlight the importance of anatomical science in improving our understanding of MND.

Application Deadline: 31 October 2023 (11:59pm GMT)

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Dementias Platform UK have announced the launch of a new programme which aims to accelerate the pace of MND research. The MND Translational Accelerator Programme aims to help develop discoveries from the laboratory into potential new treatments, also known as translational research. 

Researchers can apply to be one of 8-12 projects funded by this £6 million investment, funded by the Medical Research Council and the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR).

Expression of Interest deadline: 1st December 2023

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MND Scotland are inviting Early Career Researcher's (ECR's) to apply to join their Scientific Advisory Panel. This is a voluntary role.

The Scientific Advisory Panel are an essential part of the research process. Every application submitted to MND Scotland undergoes rigorous 2-step review. First peer review, and second review by the panel to make the final assessments and recommend projects for funding.

ECR members of the panel will complete a term of 2 consecutive grant rounds (up to 18 months) and will participate on a ‘see-one, do-one’ basis. The first grant round will be observational. Allowing the ECR SAP member the opportunity to learn the review process and how the meetings are run. During the second grant round, the ECR will participate as a member of the panel.

Application Deadline: 20th November (12pm GMT)

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The Darby Rimmer MND Foundation is looking for someone with knowledge and expertise in MND and MND research to join their team. 

This is a voluntary role and will involve coordinating and assisting with all aspects of the foundation's research work.

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MND Scotland are recruiting a new Research Lead.

This role is a permanent role based at home with some travel required to the central Glasgow office and occasional travel across Scotland.

The Research Lead will lead on the delivery and management of their research funding schemes, research-related events and communications.

Application Deadline: 13th November (5pm GMT)

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The National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of animals in research are accepting applications for their project grants. 

These projects are ones which support the development of new 3Rs approaches and technologies and are open to applicants across the UK.

Funding can be given for up to 36 months and the amount will depend on the project (approx. 80% of the full economic cost).

Application Deadline: 11 January 2024 (4pm GMT)

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The My Name'5 Doddie Foundation are now accepting applications for their Catalyst Awards. 

These awards are designed to support projects that aim to gather proof-of-principle data for innovative new approaches and enable researchers to bring early-stage promising ideas to life. Projects should have the ultimate aim of slowing, stopping, or reversing the progression of MND. 

The Catalyst Awards are for a maximum of £100k for up to 1 year. 

Application Deadline: 24th November 2023

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The Doctoral and Advanced Fellowships, in partnership with the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), aim to support individuals on their trajectories to become future leaders in health and social care research. This new partnership will build research capacity in MND and help researchers receive valuable input from public and patient MND groups along with greater research exposure.

Awards under this scheme are available at two levels:

Doctoral Fellowships - aimed at those wishing to undertake a PhD and offered for 3 years 

Advanced Fellowships - aimed at those wishing to continue their career in research after a PhD and offered for 2-5 years 

Application Deadline: 18th January 2024 for Advanced Fellowships and 1st February 2024 for Doctoral Fellowships

Find out more- Doctoral Fellowships

Find out more- Advanced Fellowships

The ALS Scholars program is open for applications and inviting young investigators to apply to the 2 year program. The program is run by The Sean M. Healey & AMG Center for ALS at Massachusetts General Hospital, in partnership with ALS Finding a Cure and FightMND. The 2 year program is designed to engage clinician-scientists and post-doctoral fellows (up to 5 years post-doc) working in translational research in training and experience in therapy development for ALS. Researchers would be based at their home institution with an optional industry experience in the second year. The ALS Scholars program provides 2 years of funding ( $150,000 per year) to support a clinician-scientist or post-doctoral fellow working in the ALS field anywhere in the world.

Application deadline: 15th January 2024

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FightMND are inviting applications from international researchers for three of their grants for 2024. 

Researchers can apply for clinical trial grants designed to support phase 2 and 3 trials of potential treatments for MND. This grant is for up to AUD $1,800,000 over 3 years but trials have to include Australian trial sites and participants. 

There are also Drug Developement grants available which support testing and development of potential treatments through to the end of a phase 1 trial. These grants are split into two categories: stage 1 (which supports pre-clinical work) and stage 2 (which supports phase 1 trials). Stage 1 grants are for up to AUD $550,000 over a maximum of 3 years. Stage 2 grants are for up to AUD $1,200,000 over 3 years. 

The last grant open to international researchers is the IMPACT grant which focuses on improving and accelerating translation in MND. These support research which is needed to overcome current barriers to translational research. Projects have to fit into 1 of 6 categories which are: disease heterogeneity, biomarker discovery, developing pre-clinical models, drug delivery methods and gene and stem cell therapies. The IMPACT grants are for up to AUD $300,000 over 2 years.

Letters of intent for all grants are due 18th December.

Find out more about these grants 

This scientific conference will cover advances in research and discuss open questions in Kennedy’s disease. These will include the relevance of muscle and CNS in Kennedy’s disease, novel pathogenesis findings, biomarkers and novel therapeutic strategies for this neuromuscular disease.

The London International Kennedy's Disease Scientific Conference will take place on 6-7 November 2023 at the UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology. 

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This annual conference is hosted by St Christopher’s and King’s MND Care and Research Centre. The one day conference will focus on the multidisciplinary management of motor neurone disease. There will be talks on topics such as clinical trials update, novel areas of research, symptom management and  impact on carers.

This will be held at St Christopher's CARE in London on the 17 November 2023.

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This year’s Annual Stephen Hawking MND Foundation Lecture (organised by the MND Association and the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists) will focus on effective advance care planning . It will explore good advance care planning for people living with MND and its positive impact for the patient and for care.
The lecture will be held virtually on Tuesday 21 November from 6-8pm (GMT). 

Registration is free.

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The key to defeating MND lies in fostering strong collaboration between leading researchers around the world, and sharing new understanding of the disease as rapidly as possible. This was the MND Association’s rationale behind the creation of the International Symposium on ALS/MND.

Each year, the Symposium attracts around 1,000 delegates, representing the energy and dynamism of the global MND research community. It is the largest medical and scientific conference specific to MND/ALS and is the premier event in the MND research calendar for discussion on the latest advances in research and clinical management. 

The 34th Symposium will be held in Basel, Switzerland from 6-8 December 2023. There is also an online option (to include selected live-streamed sessions and access to post-event, on-demand content).

Registrations are now open. Find out more on our Symposium website. 

Neuro Tech is a brand new event designed to showcase the latest advances in technology and management of neurological conditions. This event will bring together specialists from across the neurology field to share ideas, learn and network with each other. There will be talks from speakers at the forefront of Neurology and Neurotechnology. 

This will be held at the Cavendish Conference Centre in London on the 7th December 2023.

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To celebrate the recent relaunch and expansion of Health Open Research, F1000 is offering submitting authors a 100% discount on the standard article publishing charge until 31 December 2023. It is hoped that this will encourage those who haven’t published with Health Open Research before to give it a try and increase recognition of the platform.

Find out more about Health Open Research