Month: February 2022

Masters Scholarship – Prevalence of MND in New Zealand

An exciting research opportunity has become available for those interested in completing a master’s study and contributing towards the New Zealand MND research portfolio.

MND New Zealand is funding a study on the ‘’Prevalence of MND in New Zealand ‘’. This is a nationwide, point prevalence study of MND in New Zealand using capture-recapture methodology. It is anticipated that this project will take place over 12 months. The research team are pleased to be able to offer a master’s opportunity as part of this project. They are offering a $10000 stipend (tax free), plus domestic tuition fees for 1 year and are keen to appoint someone as soon as possible.

This is an exciting opportunity to kick start a research career and make a significant contribution to the rapidly evolving field of MND research. More information is available on The University of Auckland Find a Thesis  or click here for details.

TDP-43 pathology: From noxious assembly to therapeutic removal

Dr Scotter and Dr Swanson from the University of Auckland in collaboration with researchers at the University of Queensland have published a paper on everything you ever wanted to know about TDP-43 in ALS/MND/FTD. 

Topics explored include:

  • How the pathogenic changes to TDP-43, drive disease-associated aggregation in TDP-43 proteinopathies.
  • How pathological TDP-43 species are formed and contribute to cellular dysfunction and toxicity, via both loss-of-function and gain-of-function mechanisms.
  • The role of protein homeostasis mechanisms, in combating TDP-43 aggregation and discuss how their dysfunction likely promotes disease pathogenesis and progression.
  • Evaluation of pre-clinical studies aimed at enhancing TDP-43 protein clearance via these mechanisms and provide insight on promising strategies for future therapeutic advances.

Click here to read the full paper TDP-43 pathology: From noxious assembly to therapeutic removal