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The Sean M. Healey International Prize for Innovation in ALS is now accepting nominations.

This is a global prize celebrating excellence in research for a team of investigators who catalyse exceptional discoveries leading to a transformative advance in therapy development in ALS. 

The award will be presented at the International Symposium on ALS/MND in San Diego, USA on the 5-7 December 2025. The selected nominee will be awarded $50,000 USD and travel reimbursement up to $2,500 USD to attend International Symposium on ALS/MND.

Prize Criteria

Team of investigators who made a significant advance in the ALS field impacting the development of novel therapies for ALS, including, but not limited to the following:

• A technology to identify novel targets for drug development
• A technology to advance therapy development for ALS
• Tools or targets to stratify the ALS population and improve clinical trial design
• A global, multiple disciplinary collaboration that leads to new insights into the biology of the disease and translates into novel approaches for therapy development
• A novel outcome measure to improve efficiency in clinical trials in patients with ALS

Nomination Deadline: 9 July

Find out more and apply 

The Rob Burrow Early Career Researcher Prize is a new initiative created by the MND Association in memory of our late patron Rob Burrow CBE. It is being established as an annual competition to acknowledge the contribution of an outstanding UK-based Early Career Researcher in advancing scientific understanding or treatment in the field of ALS/MND. 

The Prize comprises a commemorative medal, a research stipend of £10,000 and a £2,000 bursary to attend the MND Association’s International Symposium on ALS/MND.

The Prize will be announced at the UK MND Research Institute Symposium, held at University College London on 5 September, at which the winner will give a brief presentation on their research.

Application deadline: 28 July

Find out more and apply

The Spastic Paraplegia Foundation is pleased to announce a request for research proposals to accelerate research aimed at finding effective treatments and ultimately cures for Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia (HSP) and Primary Lateral Sclerosis (PLS). 

This initiative seeks to support cutting-edge research across three key areas: Basic Research, Clinical Trial Readiness, and Drug Repurposing. 

Each selected proposal will be awarded funding for two years, with a total budget of $150,000 per award.

Application Deadline: 15 August

Find out more and apply 

The Lalji Family ALS Award is accepting nominations for individual or team of investigators who have made significant progress impacting the repair and regeneration of neuronal degeneration that may be applied in ALS.

This is a global award celebrating excellence in research for an individual or team of investigators who are making transformative breakthroughs in the science of repair and regeneration of neurological function.

The award will be presented at the International Symposium on ALS/MND in San Diego, USA on the 5-7 December 2025. The selected nominee will be awarded $40,000 USD.

Prize Criteria

• Applicant must have an MD, PhD or equivalent degree and be a leader in the field of ALS or regenerative medicine/biology with a strong publication record.
• The proposal must have a strong scientific rationale with a focus on repair of neurological function.
• Inclusion of preliminary findings demonstrating approach and feasibility in pre-clinical models is recommended.
• International applicants are encouraged to apply.

Nomination deadline: 3 September

Find out more and apply

The Forbes Norris Award was established in 1994 to honour the legacy of Dr. Forbes “Ted” Norris (1928–1993), a neurologist who dedicated his life to supporting people living with ALS/MND. The award recognizes individuals who contribute to the management and advancement of understanding ALS/MND to the benefit of people living with the disease.

To be considered for the award, candidates must:

• Play a major role in delivering outstanding ALS/MND patient care
• Contribute significantly to medical literature in clinical management or basic science related to ALS/MND
• Be part of a team engaged in ongoing research into ALS/MND care, management, or basic science

The award is presented annually during the opening ceremony of the MND Association’s International Symposium on ALS/MND. If no suitable candidate is nominated in a given year, the award will not be granted. Please note that current Board of Directors are not eligible for nomination.

Nomination deadline: 15 September 2025

Find out more and apply

Established in 2000, the Humanitarian Award recognizes non-scientific contributions that have a global impact on the quality of life for people affected by ALS/MND. 

To be considered for the award, candidates must:

• Have demonstrated a sustained commitment to the ALS/MND community
• Have made a non-scientific contribution of international significance
• Are not required to be affiliated with a scientific or medical institution
• May work in areas such as advocacy, caregiving, community engagement, education, or public awareness

Please note that current Board of Directors are not eligible for nomination.

Nomination deadline: 15 September 2025

Find out more and apply

Established in 2018, the Allied Health Professional Award honours an individual who has demonstrated exceptional dedication to improving care for people living with ALS/MND.

To be considered for the award, candidates must:

• Be an allied health professional working directly with people living with ALS/MND
• Demonstrate a commitment to delivering exceptional, person-centred care
• Contribute to the sharing of expertise and innovative practices within the ALS/MND community
• Play a significant role in improving clinical management and care outcomes for people affected by the disease

Please note that current Board of Directors are not eligible for nomination.

Nomination deadline: 15 September 2025

 Find out more and apply

Established in 2023, the Student Innovation Award aims to raise awareness of ALS/MND within the global student community. It offers students a platform to showcase creative ideas that improve the quality of life for people living with ALS/MND and helps spark innovation in the field.

To be considered for the award, candidates must:

• Be a full-time student or part of a student team
• Have initiated and implemented a project that has the potential for international impact
• Present an idea that is both innovative and grounded in the real needs of people living with ALS/MND
• Demonstrate that the solution is both practical and accessible

The winning individual or team will receive a £1,000 honorarium.

Nomination deadline: 15 September 2025

Find out more and apply

The Longitude Prize on ALS is a £7.5m prize, of which the MND Association is the principal funder, that aims to identify, prioritise and validate high-potential drug targets for ALS. The international programme seeks to incentivise the use of AI-based approaches to transform therapeutic discovery for the treatment of ALS, the most common form of MND.

The five-year Prize will see global multidisciplinary teams collaborate and compete in a three-phased programme. These phases are: 

1. Discover- this stage will see 20 teams use AI-based methods to analyse datasets over 9 months to identify novel therapeutic targets for ALS, or provide new evidence for known but unvalidated targets. The award for this stage is £100,000.
2. Prioritise- Ten of the teams from the first stage will then spend 12 months using computational and lab analysis to strengthen confidence in, and expand the evidence base for, the proposed therapeutic targets. Teams may continue to develop up to 10 targets submitted from Stage 1 and will further narrow this list based on emerging evidence. The award for this stage is £200,000.
3. Validate- Five of the teams from stage 2 will carry out comprehensive wet lab validation of the most promising therapeutic target(s) for 24 months. This stage is predominantly lab-based and aims to generate high-confidence data that can move targets closer to clinical application. The award for this stage is £500,000.

The Prize will award one winner who has demonstrated exceptional progress in validating therapeutic target(s) with the highest potential impact on ALS treatment. The winner will receive a £1 million award. 

Challenge Works are are looking for the brightest minds to bring AI to the fight against ALS.

The Prize will award applicants from across medical research, biotechnology, computational biology and AI with bold ideas on how to harness the power of AI to identify and validate high-potential therapeutic targets for the discovery of transformative ALS therapeutics.

They are looking for:

• AI experts

• Computational biologists and bioinformaticians

• Neurodegenerative disease researchers and ALS researchers

• Biotechnology, techbio and pharmaceutical companies

• Data scientists and engineers

• Clinical experts and medical researchers.

Deadline to register a team: 3 December 2025

Find out more and register as a team

The Sixth UCL Queen Square Motor Neuron Disease Centre International Symposium will be held in person at Queen Square in London and online. 

The programme includes talks on a range of topics from clincial trial updates to the development of new gene therapies and new targets for therapies in the future.

Registration is free.

Friday 5th September 2025 from 09:30am to 5:30pm (GMT).

Find out more and register.

World Congress of Neurology are committed to delivering a high-level scientific program, an international stage for your research, and plenty of networking opportunities. The XXVII World Congress of Neurology (WCN 2025) will take place on 12-15 October 2025 and will be held in Seoul, Korea.

Find out more and register

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 over 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 36th Symposium will be held in San Diego, USA in December.

Abstract submission closes: 10 July

Find out more