The MND Accelerator has been designed to support the MND community develop its programme of translational research. The streamlined application process, rapid peer review, and infrastructure support releases MND researchers to focus on delivering innovative high-quality science.

The MND Accelerator programme is open to human-based proposals which have a clear route to patient impact. The successful projects will include:

  • people with, or at risk of, MND;
  • clinical studies with samples, tissues, cell-lines, or data derived from people with, or at risk of, MND.

Watch our webinar for researchers about how to submit an application for funding. https://youtu.be/ojwd0fU-vN4

You can also download the webinar slides for the key details from the presentation.

All Expressions of Interest (EOI) must be submitted by 1 December 2023

 

 

 

Funded Projects

8-12 projects will be accepted to join the Accelerator programme. These are expected to start within 3 months and to complete within 6-18 months.

Single and multi-site consortia can take part. Applicants will be requested to justify their resource needs.

The MND Accelerator will consider the value and impact of individual projects as well as the expected impact of the portfolio as a whole. This will likely be a balance of high and low-cost proposals. We also encourage leveraging separately funded translational initiatives.

Who can apply?

Applications are welcome from HEI and pharma partnerships, existing MND research trials and consortia where additional investment will provide a substantial increase in impact. Whilst investigators from DPUK and UKDRI communities can apply, there is absolutely no restriction to the profile of applicants.

What types of research can be included?

The range is extensive, but here are some examples to give you an idea.

  • Tools to subtype disease
  • Tools to monitor disease progression
  • Tools to show engagement in early phase clinical trials
  • Trial cohorts to validate biomarkers
  • Evaluation of novel fluid biomarkers for diagnosis, proximity or monitoring
  • Patient-derived cellular models of disease (e.g. organoids, iPSCs)

Request for proposals

Download a copy of the REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS document.

Applicants’ Webinar

We hosted two webinars about applications and expressions of interest in the MND Accelerator.

Watch the webinar on this link: https://youtu.be/ojwd0fU-vN4

Download the slides from this webinar

Process

This is a two-stage process:

  1. Expressions of Interest are invited from eligible institutions. Submitting an expression of interest involves completing an online template on the MNDAcc website. Expressions of interest will be reviewed by the MNDAcc Scientific Steering Group which will recommend those proposals to progress to the full application stage.
  2. Full applications will be invited by her MNDAcc Executive. Submitting a full application involves completing an online template on the MNDAcc website. Full proposals will be open from Monday December 16th. Full applications will go to independent peer review, including the Scientific Steering Group and other experts. The Scientific Steering Group will make funding recommendations to the MNDAcc Executive.