Thanks to your generous support, MND NSW has funded a grant as part of the 2025 MNDRA research grant program.
Congratulations to Dr Abigail Pfaff from Murdoch University, who has received the Dr Paul Brock MND Research Grant for her studies of retrotransposons, a type of mobile DNA ,and their activity profile in people experiencing MND. We look forward to the knowledge gained about MND and potential treatment improvements as a result of your research.
Dr Paul Brock MND NSW Research Grant
Lead investigator: Dr Abigail Pfaff
Institution: Murdoch University
Title: Examining the role of L1 retrotransposons in motor neuron disease
Mobile DNA or ‘jumping genes’ make up nearly half of a person’s DNA and can affect how cells function. Some of these pieces of mobile DNA are more active than others and their increased activity has been identified in people with motor neuron disease (MND). Pieces of mobile DNA are large and repeat themselves throughout a person’s DNA which make them difficult to study with current techniques. However, a new type of technology will allow us to analyse these pieces of mobile DNA in more detail and with greater accuracy. We will use this data to identity the specific pieces of mobile DNA that are the most active in people with MND. We hope to generate a mobile DNA signature to identify those people who have the most active mobile DNA and could potentially benefit from treatments available to reduce this activity.