Aiming at highlighting similarities, differences, challenges and opportunities for the Mediterranean island populations of Malta and Sicily in ALS genetic risk factor discovery, the University of Malta Motor Neuron Disease Laboratory successfully organised the third edition of the UM ALS/MND Summit on Saturday 25 March, on campus.
Loosely focusing on risk factors that trigger ALS in island populations, the event hosted an exciting series of talks by national and international ALS experts as well as early career researchers. The Summit was chaired by Prof. Ruben Cauchi from the Department of Physiology and Biochemistry at the University of Malta’s Faculty of Medicine and Surgery. The Keynote speaker was Prof. Vincenzo La Bella, head of the ALS Clinical Research Centre at the University of Palermo in Sicily, Italy. This edition’s clinical lecture was delivered by Neurologist Dr Rossella Spataro from the University of Palermo. Talks focused on the latest research on brain-computer interfaces for locked-in conditions including ALS, genetic risk factors for ALS that are unique for the Maltese population, how flies are used in the lab to model ALS patients, how omics technologies are being exploited to decipher mechanisms and eventual drug targets for ALS, the development of animal models that mimic ALS patients, the first described juvenile ALS case in Malta and the epidemiological, clinical and genetic landscape of ALS in Sicily based on a two-decade analysis. The Summit was well attended by medical students, clinicians, researchers, ALS patients and their relatives. The UM ALS/MND Summit provides a platform for the delivery of enlightening talks on various aspects of Motor Neuron Disease by national and international experts with a vast research experience in neurology or neuroscience. Keynote speakers of past editions included Prof. Kevin Kenna from UMC Utrecht and Prof. Bradley Turner from the Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health at the University of Melbourne. The third edition of the UM ALS/MND Summit was supported by the University of Malta and the Malta Council for Science & Technology Internationalisation Partnership Award.
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