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Sam at his workspace in the UCL neurology labs

Last week, we attended a presentation at University College London by PhD student Sam Bryce-Smith to find out how our grant has funded vital research into Motor Neurone Disease (MND).

Having studied for an undergraduate degree in Biochemistry, Sam was keen to further his studies in neuroscience.

“Since my undergraduate course I have always been interested in DNA, and with this kind of project on MND it is interesting to understand and see how things change in the disease.” – Sam

The focus of Sam’s research was to understand why certain patients become affected by MND and discover whether this is something that can be predicted and reduced. Our funding for Sam’s research meant he could be a learner of science as well as an active contributor to the field he loves.

I want to say thank you to the Masonic Charitable Foundation for supporting my work. It’s been great to be able to do my research and then apply it to where it’s needed. The real appeal of this study is knowing that it will help people down the line.

Sam Bryce-Smith

How will Sam’s research make a difference?

Sam’s research has the potential to make a big impact since the study of MND is an up-and-coming area of neuroscience, especially over the last five years. This was particularly relevant in April 2023 following some experimental clinical trials in the same area.

Prof Pietro Fratta (Sam’s PhD supervisor) believes that research like this will make a significant difference to patients living with MND:

In terms of the future of Motor Neurone Disease, we are definitely at a turning point. There is a technical time to take an idea through clinical trials – there is no doubt – but we are definitely more hopeful with the approaches in this area of research. So we are optimistic because, for the first time, we know what to do.

Prof Pietro Fratta, Professor of Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience
What’s next for Sam?

There is a real potential for Sam’s research to make a difference in the treatment of MND. His findings could be directly transferable to similar neurological diseases, such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and muscular diseases.

But there is still work to be done, and Sam has a keen interest in continuing his study within the field. His research has been an important and relevant contribution to our understanding of MND, and with an increasing interest from pharmaceutical companies as well as a £50 million proposal of government funding towards the area of study, Sam’s work is just beginning – and we are proud to have been able to support him on behalf of Freemasonry.

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