At Murdoch University under the supervision of Professor Sue Fletcher. The fellowship would support a full time early-career or mid-career researcher in Biomedical Sciences / Biomedical Genetics / Biochemistry for 3 years working full-time on MND. $100,000 – $120,000 pa.

Researchers working in the Murdoch MND Research Partnership under Professor Sue Fletcher are currently harvesting and propagating cells from MND patients to experiment with molecules that could be part of future treatments. Currently, the team work in shared, general use facilities and rely on external technical support. A dedicated MND stem cell facility would reduce costs and spoilage. $100 000 set up in year 1, ongoing annual costs at $60,000 per annum.

This will provide a PhD candidate a full-time scholarship under the supervision of Professors Sue Fletcher, Merrilee Needham and Anthony Akkari to complete a very deep dive into a particular form of MND or explore the genetic modifiers that can affect MND. $30 000 per annum for three years.

There are high costs associated with sequencing genetic samples so researchers can analyse the differences that contribute to MND. The researchers we fund look at structural variants and associations in the genome sequence to understand how these might be impacting on MND. Data and findings are published on global research repositories enabling other research teams around the world to access them. This is just one example of the many associated project costs that the Racing For MNDi Foundation funds to enable researchers to explore important research avenues.