King's College London

The annual International Symposium, which this year took place virtually from 9-11 December 2020, is the largest medical and scientific conference specific to Motor Neuron Disease/Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (MND/ALS) and is the premier event in the MND research calendar for discussion on the latest advances in research and clinical management.

Professor Al-Chalabi was announced as winner of the Forbes-Norris Award. The award is given annually to a neurologist who has shown exceptional care and compassion in the study and management of MND/ALS. The purpose of this prestigious award is to recognise outstanding care of people living with the disease coupled with excellent research into the condition.

At the same event, Professor Al-Chalabi was also announced as co-winner of the Healey Center International Prize for Innovation in ALS, a global prize celebrating excellence in research for a team of investigators who catalyse exceptional discoveries leading to a transformative advance in therapy development in ALS.

He received the award for his work on Project MinE, one of the largest whole genome sequencing projects in the world, which aims to sequence 15000 people with ALS and 7,500 controls. He shares the award with an international team consisting of Professors Leonard van den Berg and Jan Veldink from University Medical Center Utrecht (Netherlands), Professor Orla Hardiman from Trinity College Dublin (Ireland), Professor John Landers from University of Massachusetts Medical School (USA), Professor Jonathan Glass from Emory University (USA), Evy Reviers, Chairwoman of European Organization for Professionals and Patients with ALS (Belgium), and Professor Philip Van Damme from University of Leuven (Belgium).

Professor Al-Chalabi is Head of the Department of Basic and Clinical Neuroscience at the IoPPN. A Professor of Neurology and Complex Disease Genetics, his research focuses on amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as ALS or motor neuron disease (MND). His research team works on finding the causes of ALS, and what might influence the way the disease manifests and progresses, particularly where this involves genes, environmental exposures, or changes in thinking and coping. He has held two MRC Fellowships and won numerous academic prizes and awards, including the Charcot Young Investigator Award from the MND Association, and most recently the American Academy of Neurology’s Sheila Essey Award. He is Director of the King’s Motor Neuron Disease Care and Research Centre, a world-leading motor neuron disease clinical service.

The International Symposium on ALS/MND attracts over 1,000 delegates, representing the energy and dynamism of the global MND research community. The symposium aims to promote and foster strong collaboration between leading researchers around the world, and sharing new understanding of the disease as rapidly as possible.