Details: 1pm, Friday, August 29th, 2014, Front Square, Trinity College Dublin.
Dublin, August 27th, 2014 – Come rain, hail or shine, Trinity College’s iconic Front Square and some of its leading lights in MND research along with College staff and students will be awash with ice cold water this Friday at 1pm.
Trinity’s internationally recognised MND research group led by Professor Orla Hardiman, Professor of Academic Neurology, Trinity, and Consultant Neurologist at Beaumont Hospital together with Aisling Farrell, CEO of the Irish Motor Neurone Disease Association (IMNDA), which has been the beneficiary of the Ice Bucket Challenge for MND, will jointly meet the Ice Bucket Challenge and will be joined by Trinity staff and students in Front Square for a collective ice cold soaking.
Trinity received the Ice Bucket Challenge from Sheffield University http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/
The disease, which causes a gradual degradation and death of motor neurons, affects about 300 Irish people, with some 110 new cases reported each year. Professor Hardiman has made several significant discoveries in the area, including the identification of a gene for MND. Her research, which is funded by the Health Research Board (HRB), has found that particular variations in genes make certain populations more susceptible to the disease than others.
Professor Hardiman said, “We collaborate widely with colleagues across the world to understand the causes of this terrible disease, and to find new and effective treatments. People in Ireland have responded with incredible enthusiasm and generosity to the Ice Bucket Challenge and I am looking forward to joining their efforts and meeting the Ice Bucket Challenge this Friday. Creating awareness about the disease is extremely important – hopefully we can put more resources into tackling MND for the ultimate benefit of patients.”
For media queries contact:
College Press Officer, Caoimhe Ni Lochlainn, tel: 8962310 or 087-9958014 /[email protected]
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