My Name’5 Doddie Foundation to back two Dundee MND studies

The My Name’5 Doddie Foundation has awarded experts from the University’s Faculties of Health and Life Sciences more than £800,000 to undertake research that could help to identify new treatments that could aid people living with the condition.

Dr Zsofia Laszlo and Dr Chris Henstridge from Dundee’s Faculty of Health have been awarded just under £500,000 for their research, which aims to shed light on proteins known as JNKs, which become overactive in MND and can cause motor neurons to destroy themselves.

They will spend three years testing and optimising novel drugs that can target the JNK pathway, to assess their ability to keep motor neurons alive in MND. Positive outcomes could pave the way for further study of the JNK pathway and present an avenue of potential treatment options to slow progression of the condition.

Dr Henstridge said, “MND is a complex disease and one that undoubtedly requires significantly more research. 

“The ultimate goal is to develop a new way of treating MND by keeping vulnerable motor neurons alive, by switching off their self-destruct signal. One exciting aspect of this work is that it has the potential to help anyone with MND, rather than just those with genetic forms of the condition. This work is highly collaborative, involving colleagues here at Dundee and across Europe.”

In addition, a second Dundee project, led by Dr Leeanne McGurk of the University’s Faculty of Life Sciences, has been awarded more than £335,000 to examine proteins known as PARPs and their role in keeping another protein – TDP-43 – functioning correctly.

In most people with MND, TDP-43 stops working as it should, causing damage to the nerve cells that control movement. Research from the McGurk lab has shown that reducing the activity of PARPs helps TDP-43 work normally. Because some drugs that block PARPs are already used to treat certain cancers, this research will explore whether these medicines could be safely repurposed as a potential new treatment for MND.

“Awareness of MND has increased steadily in recent years but there remains so much that we do not know about this illness,” said Dr McGurk.

“To be supported by the My Name’5 Doddie Foundation is a great honour. We already know the impact that the cancer drugs we will be looking at have on the body. Should our research result in positive outcomes it could allow for the fast-tracking of new treatments for people living with MND, which would be hugely significant.”

The My Name’5 Doddie Foundation was established in 2017 by former Scotland and British & Irish Lions rugby player Doddie Weir. It came in the aftermath of his own MND diagnosis, which eventually claimed his life in 2022, aged just 52. Weir’s legacy continues through the charity he founded, which funds research into potential treatments and cures, raises awareness of the disease, and provides support for patients and their families.