Motor Neuron Disease (MND) Research

Grant Scheme

We award our research grants through a competitive scheme. As introductory members of the Association of Medical Research Charities (AMRC), we adhere to their guidelines and principles of peer review. Governments, universities and funding bodies use AMRC membership as an indicator of quality research funding. We are working closely with the AMRC to become full members no later than February 2025.

All applications that come through our grant scheme are rigorously peer reviewed by our Research Review Committee (RRC), a group of independent experts including academics, clinicians, industry representatives and people affected by MND. The RRC makes recommendations to our Board of Trustees about which grants align to our research strategy and offer the greatest potential to benefit people living with MND.

Principles of Peer Review

Throughout our peer review process, information is kept strictly confidential. All reviewers must accept our conflict of interest policy before they agree to review a grant application. If an individual has a conflict of interest, they are not involved in reviewing that application. We work closely with our Chair to ensure funding decisions are fair, objective and transparent.

Research Policies

Policy on the use of animals in research

We support the principle of using animals in research when there is no alternative, or when absolutely necessary to advance our understanding of motor neuron disease and potential new treatments. We are committed to the 3Rs of reduction, replacement and refinement, as basic principles of humane animal research. Find out more about the 3Rs here. 

As an introductory member of the AMRC, we endorse their position statement on the use of animals in research.

Policy on the publication of research

We believe that open and transparent dissemination of knowledge resulting from research is in the public interest. We support the publication of research we fund in peer reviewed journals and encourage our researchers to make publications available through open access, as soon as possible after the completion of a research project.

Our researchers are expected to consider dissemination of findings during the application stage. Publications arising from clinical trials should comply with The CONSORT Statement, and those arising from animal research should comply with the ARRIVE guidelines.

We also encourage our researchers to disseminate research findings - both positive and negative - at conferences, meetings of professional associations and with the public/patient community. We are committed to ensuring our supporters understand the research we are funding and will work with researchers to ensure this message is disseminated effectively.