Bequest targets motor neuron disease

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Tags: medical research, MND, philanthropy, QBI, winter-2011

Dr Robyn Wallace is able to spearhead research into motor neuron disease thanks to a generous bequest from the late Harry Mills

A generous donation is funding important research into motor neuron disease (MND) at The University of Queensland.

More than 1400 Australians are living with MND, a progressive neurological disease in which the nerve cells controlling muscles that allow people to move, speak, swallow and breathe fail to function normally.

Dr Robyn Wallace is the Ross Maclean Senior Research Fellow who heads the laboratory dedicated to MND research at the Queensland Brain Institute (QBI), a world-leading facility focused on discovering the fundamental mechanisms that regulate brain function.

Dr Wallace’s work has been made possible through the generosity of the late Harry Mills, who made a bequest to the University for research into the disease.

Mr Mills, a journalist who served in a secret signals and intelligence unit during World War II, made the donation in memory of his wife Patricia, whom he nursed until her death from MND.

There are more than 250 dedicated neuroscientists working at the QBI to improve understanding of how the human brain operates, thanks in part to the generous gifts from donors such as Mr Mills.

To learn more about how you can support QBI research, contact Jenny Valentine on (07) 3346 6413 or j.valentine1@uq.edu.au

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