Dementias Platform UK, based in Oxford's Department of Psychiatry, welcomes the government’s announcement of £50 million into Motor Neurone Disease (MND) research.
The pledge of £3 million investment by the Medical Research Council towards a translational accelerator, matched by £3 million from the National Institute for Health and Care Research, will enable the MND community to work in partnership with Dementias Platform UK and the UK Dementia Research Institute.
Professor John Gallacher, Director of DPUK and Professor of Cognitive Health at Oxford University said:
“This is a hugely important boost for MND research. The need for translating discoveries into treatments has never been greater. I am excited at the prospect of DPUK working closely with the MND community to achieve this. We have a growing number of major translational programmes underway, and look forward to extending these to MND.”
The announcement came after a high profile campaign for more funding by Scottish and British & Irish Lions rugby star Doddie Weir who died in November after suffering from MND.