Advisory group set to inform future MND research

Clinical researchers and scientists at the University of Sheffield have set up a new advisory group which will utilise the experience of Motor Neurone Disease (MND) patients to help shed light on the disease and inform future research proposals. The group, which is currently recruiting new members, will involve MND patients, carers of individuals with MND, others affected by the disease and scientists and clinicians, sharing their experiences to help determine best practice for the future. The group will meet four times a year and share contact each month to review their progress. It is hoped that scientists and clinicians will benefit from working with members of the public in a number of ways. By increasing the input of those living with and affected by the disease, researchers will be able to match the research projects undertaken with the priorities of those with experience of MND The team also hope that by working with people who have firsthand experience of the disease and members of the public they will be better equipped to write about the research undertaken in easy-to-understand language for a lay audience. The group are also aiming to undertake initiatives to facilitate the recruitment of MND patients into research studies, to gain more effective results which can be developed into future treatments for the disease. The University is currently in the process of constructing the Sheffield Institute for Translational Neuroscience (SITraN) - a new state-of-the-art £12 million research institute which is set to make Sheffield a world leader for research into Motor Neurone Disease (MND).