The new grant will help to fund a world-class sister facility adjoined to SITraN, providing University research programmes with additional cutting-edge facilities and equipment. This will allow Sheffield researchers to continue their groundbreaking work into neurological conditions including motor neurone disease (MND), dementia, Parkinson’s disease and multiple sclerosis (MS).
As a result, SITraN and the University’s cross-faculty flagship Neuroscience Institute will continue the development of a globally recognised hub of research excellence. It will lead to expanded drug discovery programmes, and support further work on promising areas of research in cell and gene therapy.
The Wolfson Foundation is an independent charity with a focus on research and education. It aims to support civil society by investing in excellent projects in science, health, heritage, humanities and the arts. Since it was established in 1955, around £1 billion (£2 billion in real terms) has been awarded to more than 14,000 projects throughout the UK, all on the basis of expert review.
A grant from Wolfson helped to establish SITraN in 2010, and since then it has notched up some remarkable achievements and reached full capacity. Sheffield’s application this year articulated not only an urgent need for new space and equipment, but also an ambitious programme of further research into some of the most deadly and debilitating neurological diseases. We are delighted to support this bold vision.
Paul Ramsbottom
Chief Executive, The Wolfson Foundation
The new grant follows a generous £3 million gift to SITraN from Sheffield alumnus Mark Crosbie and his wife Sarah - a transformational pledge that has helped to secure world-leading MND and neuroscience work at SITraN for the next decade.
Sarah and I know that SITraN is uniquely configured to have the best chance of delivering major breakthroughs to these truly devastating conditions. The passion and commitment of academics and clinicians like Professor Dame Pam Shaw is inspiring, and we are both confident that our gift will make the greatest impact at SITraN. We are looking forward to keeping in touch with the progress.
Mark Crosbie
University of Sheffield alumnus
Over the last 10 years, world-class researchers at SITraN have made huge progress in understanding the complex biology of these diseases across multiple areas:
- Clinical trials
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SITraN has led over 250 clinical trials and developed targeted approaches to treat the root causes of neurological conditions, with a particular focus on MND.
- SOD1
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It provided early scientific evidence for a gene silencing approach for the first identified genetic cause of MND - an inherited mutation in a particular gene called SOD1 - that causes MND in two per cent of patients.
- Tofersen
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Sheffield spearheaded the UK arm of the groundbreaking international trial of tofersen (QALSODY™) for patients with SOD1-MND. For the first time, patients showed improvements in lung and muscle function a year into treatment, demonstrating the drug’s ability to slow progression of the disease. Tofersen is now approved by the FDA and European Medicines Agency as a new genetic therapy treatment for MND.
- GTIMC
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SITraN has also spearheaded the development of a PET-MRI imaging facility and the Gene Therapy Innovation and Manufacturing Centre (GTIMC), again supported by The Wolfson Foundation.
One in six people - and one in four people over the age of 80 - will develop a significant neurological disorder in their lifetime. Dementia, Parkinson’s disease, MND and multiple sclerosis (MS) are classed as the leading international causes of disability, impacting the lives of millions and placing a significant strain on healthcare systems.
As well as finding neuroprotective treatments, researchers at SITraN are developing a robust evidence base for delivering supportive and symptomatic care for patients living with MND. Currently, experts at Sheffield are developing digital technologies to facilitate monitoring patient wellbeing from home when hospital visits become difficult.
Medicine in the field is rapidly evolving, with increasing focus on advanced therapies and treatments tailored to people’s individual health needs. This is creating an urgent need to accelerate the progress made in Sheffield, with SITraN on the threshold of several extraordinary breakthroughs.
Our research teams have grown from 64 people in 2010 to more than 300, but in order to continue momentum and take us a step closer to finding a cure for diseases such as motor neurone disease, we need to expand our neuroscience facilities.
A state-of-the-art sister facility, made possible by generous donations and grants such as these, will enable us to continue to grow our research programs supported by cutting-edge scientific facilities and equipment, expand our drug discovery programmes, and build on promising areas such as cell and gene therapy.
This will enable us to continue to develop our globally-recognised hub of research excellence, dedicated to combating MND and related neurodegenerative conditions.
Professor Dame Pamela Shaw
Professor of Neurology and Director of SITraN, University of Sheffield
Cutting-edge facilities to be supported by the new funding will include an integrated drug-screening area to discover and develop new treatments, and a super-computing satellite workstation to allow rapid use of machine-learning that will inform future drug discovery projects.
Sheffield is a world-leader in motor neurone disease research, working to understand the causes of MND and other related neurodegenerative conditions.
This important grant is a tremendous opportunity for the University to progress its work to fight these cruel diseases, for the benefit of patients and their families across the globe."
Professor Koen Lamberts
President and Vice-Chancellor, University of Sheffield
Other fundraising for MND research at the University includes this year’s Big Walk, in which 418 Staff, students, alumni and friends of the University of Sheffield raised by participating in a marathon walk across the Peak District. Collectively they walked over 9,800 miles - further than the distance from the UK to Australia - to raise vital funds for MND research.
For more information about the new facility at SITraN, and to learn more about how Sheffield scientists are bringing hope to people with this cruellest of diseases, please visit the University's Motor Neurone Disease Appeal hub.