Join us at CORE: An event connecting researchers and those affected by MND
22 November 2024
My Name’5 Doddie Foundation and MND Scotland are teaming up to host a full-day event for people living with motor neuron disease (MND) and MND researchers. The inaugural Community Of Research and lived Experience (CORE) event will take place on Monday 3 March 2025 at Dynamic Earth in Edinburgh, and is free to attend.
CORE will bring together those affected by MND in Scotland as well as researchers, to provide an opportunity to build a community of people who all have a stake in MND research, and who share the same goal of seeking effective treatments that will stop, slow or reverse the effects of MND.
The event will be a platform to hear about research directly from researchers and will simultaneously give researchers an insight into the lived experience of those with MND. It will also allow early career researchers (ECRs) to meet other ECRs and learn important skills for their future in MND research. By bringing people together in this way, we hope to create an environment where everyone is engaged in the topics and able to contribute their knowledge, experiences and opinions.
The day will be split into morning and afternoon sessions, with people affected by MND joining in the afternoon. Before lunch, ECRs can participate in tutorials on explaining their research for a lay audience and how to write successful grant applications. We will also be joined by Professor Jenna Gregory, from the University of Aberdeen, and Professor Tom Gillingwater, from the University of Edinburgh, who will give presentations on their research.
Those affected by MND will join for lunch, and in the afternoon all attendees can participate in sessions exploring what is important to them in research and will hear about the research being carried out by the ECRs present.
Spaces at the CORE event are limited. We are initially inviting people affected by MND to register their interest in attending and are inviting researchers to apply to attend.
- The registration form for people affected by MND is available here
- The application form for researchers is available here
Please ensure you have registered your interest / applied by 24 January 2025.
By the end of January, MND Scotland will be in touch with all who registered interest to let them know if they have a spot at the event. For researchers wishing to attend, priority will be given to those currently supported by My Name’5 Doddie Foundation or MND Scotland.
Key information:
- Registration / application period opens: 22 November 2024
- Registration / application period closes: 24 January 2025
- Event date: 3 March 2025
- Event location: Dynamic Earth, Holyrood Rd, Edinburgh, EH8 8AS
- Event timings: 09:00 - 17:00
A provisional program for the day can be found below:
Kristine Roberts, CSO Clinical Fellow in Professor Jennna Gregory’s lab said: “The upcoming MND Scotland and My Name’5 Doddie Foundation CORE event will build on these successful LEARN events by continuing to bring together the MND community to share ideas and perspectives. The event will also give us ECRs a valuable opportunity to engage with researchers from other institutions and partake in workshops that will help improve our science."
Paul Jensen, Research Lead at MND Scotland said: “CORE is the culmination of a series of events hosted by MND Scotland to really engage people affected by MND with researchers working in the field of MND research right now. We believe it’s vitally important that people with MND can share their first-hand experiences to help shape research. We’re proud to partner with My Name’5 Doddie Foundation on this event in March to bring the MND community together. This will only strengthen the MND research we are undertaking and bring us closer to finding meaningful treatments for MND.”
Dr Madina Kara, Director of Research at My Name’5 Doddie Foundation said: “We are committed to involving and engaging people with lived experience of MND in our work and ensuring their needs and priorities are at the heart of our activities. We are delighted to partner with MND Scotland to facilitate bringing together the MND community to share their knowledge. This event will enable people with lived experience of MND to provide invaluable advice to researchers, particularly those early in their careers, to ensure they develop relevant and impactful research."
We look forward to seeing you at the event.
