Ammar Al-Chalabi

We had the pleasure of catching up with Dr Brian Dickie MBE (@bd365.bsky.social), Chief Scientist at the @mndassoc.bsky.social, the principal funder of the £7.5M Longitude Prize on ALS.

📖 Read the full Q&A here: bit.ly/3KTi1Ap

Join us at the #ASHG25 Annual Meeting in Boston, starting today!

Visit us at Booth 46, we’d love to meet you and discuss how the ~$10M Longitude Prize on ALS is harnessing #AI to transform the future of neurodegenerative disease treatment.

@challengeworks.bsky.social @geneticssociety.bsky.social

Lewis Moody: Former England captain reveals motor neurone disease diagnosis Former England captain Lewis Moody reveals he has been diagnosed with motor neurone disease in an exclusive BBC interview.

We must find an effective treatment for #ALS #MND

@ukmndri.bsky.social

BBC News - Former England captain Moody reveals MND diagnosis
www.bbc.com/sport/rugby-...

⏰ 2 months to go until applications close for the £7.5 million Longitude Prize on ALS.

You could help transform treatment for neurodegenerative diseases like hashtag #ALS, the most common form of motor neurone disease ( #MND ).

Learn more: bit.ly/4mlzSg5

Connect with us at #NealsMtg ! We are thrilled to be joining the NEALS meeting once again in person this coming week. For anyone impacted by ALS virtual registration is free. Cheers to NEALS for such an open policy. See more at https://meeting.neals.org/ . #EndtheLegacy #NEALS

The biological evidence from changes in blood that the disease process starts years before symptoms matters for understanding risk factors and disease mechanisms. It is also important in clinic when people ask if an operation or injury caused their illness if in fact the process started years before

Yes!

A plasma proteomics-based candidate biomarker panel predictive of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis - Nature Medicine Plasma proteomic analysis of presymptomatic individuals with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis identifies novel disease-associated proteins and enables the development of an accurate diagnostic biomarker ...

This is a landmark paper showing a predictive test for #ALS #MND up to 40 years before onset and able to predict age of onset. Huge implications

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

🌍 Be part of the global effort to tackle #ALS.

The £7.5m (~$10m) #LongitudePrizeOnALS is searching for innovators in #AI, #data, #biotech, and #neurology.

🧠 Meet the teams already registered, and find out how you can partner with them below.

🔗https://bit.ly/4mdHxxX

Longitude Prize launched to accelerate AI-driven drug discovery A new international challenge prize has been launched to transform drug discovery for ALS, the most common form of MND through AI.

🧠 The @ukmndri.bsky.social is an #MND powerhouse, accelerating progress towards new treatments and, ultimately, a cure.

Read their article about how the #LongitudePrizeOnALS could be a game-changer for drug discovery in neurodegenerative diseases.

🔗 bit.ly/40Tmmsh

@ammaralchalabi.bsky.social

Postdoc Research Assistant: Investigating C9ORF72 Postdoc Research Assistant in Dr Arpan Mehta’s lab at University of Dundee, using CRISPR screens in iPSC-derived motor neurons to study ALS mechanisms.

Postdoc Research Assistant in Dr Arpan Mehta’s lab at University of Dundee, using CRISPR screens in iPSC-derived motor neurons to study ALS mechanisms. Closing date: 4th August

www.dementiaresearcher.nihr.ac.uk/job/postdoc-...

Climbing the ALS mountain Mike Rogers, MND Association Director of Research and Innovation, looks at how data and AI could unlock new treatments.

“MND is one of the most scientifically and biologically challenging diseases to tackle. That said, no mountain is insurmountable…”

Dr. Mike Rogers (@mndassoc.bsky.social) shares why the #LongitudePrizeOnALS is key to creating new opportunities for #ALS & #MND

📰 longevity.technology/news/climbin...

Tagging 🧪 🧬🖥️

Could sleep changes signal the early stages of MND or FTD? Research has found that disrupted sleep may offer some clues to possible early warning signs of the ALS or FTD.

New research has examined how disrupted sleep patterns may signal the early stages of #MND / #ALS or FTD, providing clues to earlier detection.

Read more ⬇️
🔗 ukmndri.org/2025/07/16/r...

This post is part of our Research Snapshot series, powered by Readable Research at @sheffielduni.bsky.social

Structural variants in the 3D genome as drivers of disease - Nature Reviews Genetics Disruption of the 3D genome caused by structural variation contributes to developmental disorders and cancer. The authors review the causes and molecular and clinical consequences of position effects arising from disruptions to the genome architecture.

Researchers reveal that structural variants disrupting the 3D genome can drive diseases like cancer by altering gene expression.

by Sreenivasan VKA, Yumiceba V and Spielmann M in Nat Rev Genet #MedSky

👉 get more here

📖 read the article:

⏰ Reminder: Our first Welcome Webinar is tomorrow, Tuesday 9th of July at 09:00 BST.

💻 Register below to learn everything you need to know about the #LongitudePrizeOnALS, including how to apply, how the Prize works, and what support is available.

Research Fellow: Glial-immune crosstalk and sporadic ALS Research Fellow vacancy at UCL MND Centre. Join Prof Andrea Malaspina’s team to study immune responses & neoantigens in ALS using proteomics & cell phenotyping

Research Fellow vacancy at UCL MND Centre. Join Prof Andrea Malaspina’s team to study immune responses and neoantigens in ALS using proteomics and cell phenotyping. Closing date: 20th July

www.dementiaresearcher.nihr.ac.uk/job/research...

🧠 As the principal funder, the @mndassoc.bsky.social has been instrumental in bringing the #LongitudePrizeOnALS to life.

We were joined by Dr Usman Khan last week, who spoke on the power of cross-specialism collaboration.

Learn more about the Prize: bit.ly/4kD3tSh

#AIforGood #MND #ALS

Want to learn more about the £7.5M #LongitudePrizeOnALS?
Join one of our welcome webinars to find out how the Prize works and how to get involved.

Register here:
📅 9 July, 09:00 BST: bit.ly/4nzJuWA
📅 10 July, 17:00 BST: bit.ly/3Tl4u5u

#AIForGood #MND #ALS

Motor neurone disease affects one in 300, but hope for treatment is growing One in 300 of us will develop motor neurone disease in our lifetime. It is a hideous disease that robs a person of their dignity and eventually their life.

Check out this article from Dr Brian Dickie (@mndassoc.bsky.social), exploring how #AI and quality data can transform treatment progress—and how the £7.5M #LongitudePrizeonALS aims to support #innovation through global collaboration.

🧠 Read here: bit.ly/4nqi4lN
#ALS #MND

NIHR Senior Investigators Award - DEMENTIA RESEARCHER Apply for the NIHR Senior Investigator award: £15K per year for 4 years to support leading applied research and shape the future of health and social care.

Apply now for the NIHR Senior Investigator award! £15K per year for 4 years to support top researchers shaping the future of health and social care in the UK. @nihr.bsky.social

www.dementiaresearcher.nihr.ac.uk/funding/nihr...

What an incredible week! | Longitude Prize on ALS What an incredible week! Thank you to everyone who helped make the launch of the #LongitudePrizeOnALS such a success — from the inspiring voices on stage, to the teams that made this Prize possible, ...

What a week for the #LongitudePrizeOnALS 🧠

Thank you to everyone who made it possible!

🎥 Watch the segment on BBC News here: bit.ly/4eoGyaR

This is just the beginning. Entries close 3 Dec → Learn more on our website: bit.ly/4kD3tSh

@trisdyson.bsky.social @ammaralchalabi.bsky.social #AIforGood

Postdoc Research Assistant: Mechanisms of the C9ORF72 Join Dr Arpan Mehta's lab at MRC PPU, University of Dundee, for a 12-month postdoc using CRISPR screens to explore ALS in iPSC-derived motor neurons.

Join Dr Arpan Mehta's lab at MRC PPU, Dundee, for a 12-month postdoc using CRISPR screens to explore ALS in iPSC-derived motor neurons. Closing date: 18th July

www.dementiaresearcher.nihr.ac.uk/job/postdoc-...

How our translational research will find new treatments for MND On MND Awareness Day, we’re spotlighting the projects accelerating real progress and explaining why translational research is key.

Today is #MNDAwarenessDay, a moment to highlight the hidden realities of living with #MND.

Our translational research projects aim to find treatments for MND through a national, coordinated approach.

👉 Discover more: ukmndri.org/2025/06/20/f...

Professor Sir Simon Wessely awarded Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire (GBE) in King's Birthday Honours Sir Simon Wessely, Professor of Psychological Medicine at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN) at King’s College London has been awarded the honour for services to mental hea...

Professor Sir Simon Wessely is a world-renowned academic psychiatrist and epidemiologist and has been awarded this GBE in recognition of his distinguished position as 'the pre-eminent psychiatrist of his generation in the UK.' ⬇️

www.kcl.ac.uk/news/profess...

A dark blue quote card with King's logo and photo of Sir Simon. The quote reads: Being the first psychiatrist to receive this honour shows just how far mental health in general, and psychiatry in particular, has advanced since I started my psychiatry training at the Maudsley Hospital back in 1984. I was fortunate to then move to the Institute of Psychiatry in 1991, where I have been ever since. Whatever I have achieved since then would never have been possible without the support of both what is now the IoPPN and the wider King’s College London. But the most important thing of all has been the privilege to work with such generous, talented and extraordinary colleagues over all these years. My thanks to each and every one of you.”

We are delighted to announce that Professor Sir Simon Wessely has been awarded a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire (GBE) in this year's King’s 2025 Birthday Honours. 🎉 🧵⬇️

@kingsioppn.bsky.social

Clinical Research Fellow: Dementia Clinical Trials Join a leading dementia research team as a Clinical Research Fellow at UCL. Work on trials for novel Alzheimer’s and FTD therapies.

Join a leading dementia research team as a Clinical Research Fellow at UCL. Work on trials for novel Alzheimer’s and FTD therapies. Closing date: 2nd July

www.dementiaresearcher.nihr.ac.uk/job/clinical...

Back from Torino where I was able to hear hundreds of smart young ALS investigators from all corners of Europe.

(This pic was taken at the very last session on a Friday afternoon. They stayed.)

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Day 3

Very important to stress this is an inherited retrovirus signature. ALS is not infectious. We all have these inherited retrovirus sequences in our DNA. In fact they make up about 8% of the human genome compared with 1% coding for our proteins.