MND Scotland is proud to announce a free interactive and educational research event taking place on 26 September 2024, 2pm at Bonnie and Wild Marketplace, St James’ Quarter, designed to bring together people affected by motor neuron disease (MND) and local MND Scotland researchers.
The Lived Experience and Researcher Network (LEARN) is a project first run by MND Scotland in 2023. The 2023 pilot invited people with MND to take tours of researcher’s labs and provided useful feedback to improve engagement events for people with MND and researchers.
This year, MND Scotland’s research team has organised a series of local events in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee and Aberdeen to build relationships between researchers and people affected by MND and allow them to share knowledge and experiences.
At the Edinburgh event, there will be an opportunity to allow people with MND, carers, family and supporters to meet and engage with local MND researchers, to learn more about their work, and hear from presenting researchers Prof Tom Gillingwater, Dr Hannah Smith, Andrea Salzinger and Dr Marcus Keatinge.
Paul Jensen, research lead for MND Scotland, said: “As a charity that directly supports people living with this devastating disease, it’s so important to be able to provide these opportunities to allow researchers and people affected by MND to come together and get to know one another.
“People are so keen to hear about the fantastic MND research going on in Scotland and our events will provide that learning opportunity in a relaxed and personal environment.”
MND Scotland supports the idea that the input and viewpoints of those with lived experience is vital to help guide research.
Paul added: “MND Scotland is now at the forefront of involving those with lived experience in research funding calls. We know it is so important that both scientific merit and opinions of those with lived experience are used to help ensure we fund the best MND research.
“Our LEARN events will help build relationships between people affected by MND and researchers and allow them to share their opinions to help guide MND research in the future.”
The informative and engaging event will explore the latest developments in research for those affected by MND and hopes to build relationships between those with lived experience and researchers to make sure that research reflects the needs of people with or affected by MND.
MND Scotland invites those interested in th researceh learning event to hear more about their contribution in the fight against MND.
Event details:
- Date: 26 September 2024, 2pm
- Location: Bonnie and Wild Marketplace, St James’ Quarter Level 4, St James Cres, Edinburgh EH1 3AD
- Organiser: MND Scotland
For more information or to register, please visit the MND Scotland website:
www.mndscotland.org.uk/events