Targeting MND from multiple angles: Our latest research investments

At My Name’5 Doddie Foundation, we fund the smartest, most efficient MND research and we want to keep you updated on exciting new projects that we’re backing.

Underpinned by our research strategy, Catalysing a Cure, we have committed £1.8M to four new projects in the first half of this year. These projects will help identify and test promising therapeutic targets and support the development of new treatments for MND.

Ensuring that we fund diverse research approaches will ultimately give us the best chance of finding a winner. These four new projects focus on different targets and pathways; from looking at how motor neurons recycle their “cellular waste”, to preventing damage to the neuromuscular junction (where motor neurons connect to our muscles to tell them to contract and relax).

Two of the projects are investigating targets known in cancer. Compelling new evidence suggests these targets could also be relevant to MND and may open up new treatment options, with a potential faster route to the clinic due to the existing evidence from cancer research.

Our Director of Research Jessica Lee said: “MND is a devastating disease, so we want to move as quickly as possible to find effective treatments. Our latest projects are focused on just that, exploring new therapeutic targets and seeing if existing ones, used in different diseases, can help us to unlock treatments for MND."

Details of our new projects can be found below:

• Understanding cellular waste recycling. Dr Owen Peters, Dr Uroosa Chughtai, Professor Valentina Escott-Price, Dr Natalie Connor-Robson (Cardiff University); Dr Claudia Manzoni (University College London, UCL); Professor Patrick Lewis (Royal Veterinary College, RVC) and Professor Alfredo Lacoangeli (King’s College London, KCL): (Discovery Network: £689,055.85, 3 years)
• Targeting the JNK pathway. Dr Zsofia Laszlo and Dr Chris Henstridge (University of Dundee): (Advancing Treatments Award, £499,199.00, 3 years)
• Protecting the neuromuscular junction. Professor Tom Gillingwater and Dr Helena Chaytow (University of Edinburgh): (Advancing Treatments Award, £299,223.28, 3 years)
• Targeting PARP to rescue TDP-43. Dr Leeanne McGurk (University of Dundee): (Advancing Treatments Award, £335,349.17, 3 years)

To date, we’ve committed over £24 million to cutting-edge MND research and funded 45 research projects, working with the best minds from across the globe. To view our full portfolio, visit our research projects page.