MND grant received from MND Research Institute Australia
The Motor Neurone Disease Genetics and Therapeutics group at the Perron Institute is delighted to receive an Innovator Grant from Motor Neurone Disease Research Institute of Australia (MNDRIA) in collaboration with Melbourne’s Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health.
Postdoctoral researcher Dr Loren Flynn and Professor Anthony Akkari, head of the MND Research group are co-investigators, collaborating with Associate Professor Bradley Turner at the Florey Institute.
Professor Turner is the Principal Investigator. Co-investigators are Dr Ianthe Pitout and Professor Steve Wilton, both based at the Perron Institute and Murdoch University, and Dr Samantha Barton at the Florey Institute.
Together they received the Charcot Prize from MNDRIA for the highest-ranking grant.
The project aim is to develop and test a genetic therapy that ‘turns off’ the toxic SOD1 MND gene, slowing disease progression and offering new hope for effective treatment of motor neurone disease.
The research builds on the expertise gained from the innovative work of Professors Steve Wilton and Sue Fletcher at the Molecular Therapies Laboratory at Murdoch University which led to the development of a successful treatment for Duchenne muscular dystrophy.
Pictured: Prof Anthony Akkari and Dr Loren Flynn