Saturday, 21 June 2025
Research into Motor Neurone Disease (MND) at the University of Nottingham has been given a boost with funding from East Midlands charity Stand Against MND to support undergraduate and postgraduate research projects.
The funding has been announced today (21 June) on this year’s global MND Awareness Day, and will extend a research partnership established last year to speed up the race to find new treatments. It is specifically aimed at encouraging early career researchers and developing the next generation of MND research leaders.
MND affects up to 5,000 adults in the UK at any one time. Specialised nerve cells called motor neurones gradually lose the ability to control muscles, causing them to weaken, stiffen and waste. MND is life-shortening with currently no cure.
In recognition of the significant impact that Sam Perkins, founder of Stand Against MND had in early 2020, raising funds to support this vital research, the new schemes will be named:
‘The Sam Perkins, Stand Against MND Research Squad MRes’ and the ‘The Sam Perkins, Stand Against MND Research Squad Vacation Scheme’.
Sam Perkins on a visit to the labs at the University of Nottingham in March 2024
Sam’s wife and trustee of Stand Against MND, Emma said: “Sam, you are missed everyday, we will keep your legacy alive and continue in our Stand Against MND. In your words, MND isn’t incurable, it’s just underfunded.”
The new funding builds on previous support from the charity for a Stand Against MND PhD Studentship funded in collaboration with the MND Association. Nottingham has a long history of research into neurodegenerative disorders, previously involved in the discovery of the condition Dementia with Lewy bodies and with other major contributions to Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease research. Support from Stand Against MND, with the MND Association, has helped grow Nottingham’s MND research programme across the past decade.
This ongoing and incredibly generous support from Stand Against MND is a vital part of the global effort to fight MND. The MND research base is growing and collectively the research community is making tremendous progress, but making sure we continue to attract the most talented young scientists remains a priority. Sam was a big football fan, and I remember talking with him and realising that the 1 in 300 lifetime risk of MND equates to 100 people in a football stadium the size of Nottingham’s City Ground. That really put things into perspective. We must do all that we can to together beat MND.
Story credits
More information is available from Professor Rob Layfield on Rob.Layfield@nottingham.ac.uk
Notes to editors:
About the University of Nottingham
Ranked 97 in the world and 17th in the UK by the QS World University Rankings, the University of Nottingham is a founding member of Russell Group of research-intensive universities. Studying at the University of Nottingham is a life-changing experience, and we pride ourselves on unlocking the potential of our students. We have a pioneering spirit, expressed in the vision of our founder Sir Jesse Boot, which has seen us lead the way in establishing campuses in China and Malaysia - part of a globally connected network of education, research and industrial engagement.
Nottingham was crowned Sports University of the Year by The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2024 – the third time it has been given the honour since 2018 – and by the Daily Mail University Guide 2024.
The university is among the best universities in the UK for the strength of our research, positioned seventh for research power in the UK according to REF 2021. The birthplace of discoveries such as MRI and ibuprofen, our innovations transform lives and tackle global problems such as sustainable food supplies, ending modern slavery, developing greener transport, and reducing reliance on fossil fuels.
The university is a major employer and industry partner - locally and globally - and our graduates are the third most targeted by the UK's top employers, according to The Graduate Market in 2024 report by High Fliers Research.
We lead the Universities for Nottingham initiative, in partnership with Nottingham Trent University, a pioneering collaboration between the city’s two world-class institutions to improve levels of prosperity, opportunity, sustainability, health and wellbeing for residents in the city and region we are proud to call home.
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