Award: PhD studentship lasting three years, funded by the Motor Neurone Disease Association

Dementia is the greatest health challenge of our century.

Researchers at the UK Dementia Research Institute at King's College London are using innovative approaches to explore the biological mechanisms involved in neurodegenerative diseases. Their goal is to defeat dementia by uncovering vital new knowledge that will lead to the design of smarter diagnostics and effective treatments. The team aims to understand the fundamental biological processes involved in dementia at a molecular level - and to use that knowledge to design new ways to diagnose and treat disease more precisely.

Despite intensive research efforts to improve the outlook of patients with motor neurone disease (MND), significant therapeutic advances have not yet materialised. An on-going strategy involves the development of new and convenient ways to regularly monitor patients over long time-frames. This not only brings about a greater understanding of how neurons change and adapt over time, but also provides researchers with a validated way of tracking improvements to new drugs in clinical trials.

During this PhD studentship, the student will test a novel method based on non-invasive surface muscle recordings that will permit assessments in patients’ homes for the first time. The analysis will focus on key features of neuromuscular activity that indicate the number of functional neurons at a given time. The study design will incorporate a mixture of hospital and home assessments every 6-8 weeks in 20-30 patients, allowing for direct comparisons between the novel method and established markers of disease progression.

The student will combine powerful computational tools with a simplified recording setup to achieve a logistical convenience that does not compromise on the scientific output. In fact, by establishing the means to assess patients more frequently from the comfort of their own homes (e.g. weekly), we anticipate that this will significantly enhance our interpretation of the degree of neuronal degeneration. This is likely to translate into clinical trials of shorter durations, fewer patients and ultimately reduced costs, thereby allowing for a greater number of potential therapies to be tested.

Supervisors

Professor Chris Shaw  & Dr James Bashford