DPUK capabilities extended to boost motor neurone disease research
11 November 2024
Over 10 years, Dementias Platform UK (DPUK) has built capacity and expertise to bolster the research world’s drive towards finding a cure for dementia. Our development of a world-leading data portal, a Trusted Research Environment and streamlined, effective processes, are enabling research projects to achieve so much. Now, DPUK is helping scientists focused on the life-shortening neurological condition motor neurone disease (MND). This is a life-shortening disease affecting 1 in 300 people. There is no known cure.
MND is a devastating disease caused by damage to motor neurons in the brain and spinal cord, leading to muscle weakness and paralysis. There is a pressing need for more research. Through two projects, DPUK is part of the effort to build the infrastructure necessary to boost MND research.
MND Accelerator
The MND Translational Accelerator (MNDAcc) was announced by the Medical Research Council in 2023 as a rapid-response ecosystem for MND research.
It is a £6 million investment by the Medical Research Council and the National Institute for Health and Care Research to quicken the development of treatments for MND, and the related condition of frontotemporal dementia (FTD).
MNDAcc is part of a national drive to translate new discoveries into treatments, providing infrastructure, facilities, services, and funding for high-quality in-human research. Using our rapid processing experience, we appraised applications and enabled approvals to be announced within 6 months. Projects funded through the programme all had to be capable of delivery in 18-24 months. As Professor John Gallacher reflected:
“The MND Accelerator is a major opportunity to advance the pace of research. The idea is to use the experience and infrastructure of DPUK to provide a flexible and responsive environment for innovative MND research.”
Key services are being provided by both DPUK and UK Dementia Research Institute (UK DRI). A hub is being created to house the resulting data from the 12 funded projects so their data and outcomes can be made available for other MND researchers, and built upon over time.
Read more about the MND Accelerator
MND Catalyst
Following the MND Accelerator, it was announced in 2024 that DPUK and Health Data Research UK (HDR UK) were to create a new MND Research Data Catalyst. This is financed by £2 million in funding from the Department of Health and Social Care, through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).
This initiative, which includes input from the UK Dementia Research Institute (UK DRI), will use the HDR UK and DPUK’s expertise in trustworthy, large-scale health data infrastructure to accelerate the discovery of new diagnostics, treatments and support better care for MND patients. At the heart of the project will be a central repository of MND-related data sources that will be available to researchers from a hub, hosted on DPUK’s Data Portal.
At the time of the launch, Professor John Gallacher, Director of DPUK, said:
“DPUK is delighted to add to our growing MND portfolio by supporting the MND Research Data Catalyst. We expect the Catalyst will make a fundamental contribution to MND therapeutics; delivering high-quality translation science. Through our project management and SeRP-led informatics solutions, DPUK will provide the necessary infrastructure for rapid project delivery and data access.”
Professor Mike Lewis, NIHR Scientific Director for Innovation, said:
"We are pleased to support our partners in the MND Research Data Catalyst. It represents an important next step in our ability to safely and securely open up data in this area to researchers from diverse disciplines, who can hopefully uncover new ways of understanding and treating this debilitating disease and improving the lives of everyone affected by it."