Overcoming Motor Neuron Disease in Malaysia - Prof Marina Kennerson & Prof Nortina Shahrizaila

Motor neuron disease (MND), also known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), is a devastating disease where the dying-off (degeneration) of motor nerves results in muscle weakness affecting an individual’s ability to move, speak, swallow, perform daily activities and breathe. There is still no effective cure for MND, as there is no clear understanding of why a previously healthy person develops this disorder at a later stage. Professor Marina Kennerson and Professor Nortina Shahrizaila chat with Dr Natali Pearson about MND and their efforts to develop a research program for MND screening in Malaysia, which will pave the way for obtaining invaluable information of this lethal disease across Southeast Asia. About Professor Marina Kennerson: Marina is a Principal Hospital Scientist with the Molecular Medicine Laboratory at Concord Hospital and Principal Research Fellow with the ANZAC Research Institute and Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney. She is a key international researcher in the field of hereditary neuropathies and has developed the genomics gene discovery and translational program at the ANZAC Research Institute. She is also the Malaysia Country Coordinator for the Sydney Southeast Asia Centre. About Professor Nortina Shahrizaila: Tina is currently Professor of Neurology at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya and Senior Consultant Neurologist at University Malaya Medical Centre in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. In 2015, Tina received an Endeavour Executive Fellowship award to undertake a sabbatical with Professor Matthew Kiernan at the Brain and Mind Centre, University of Sydney, which focused on the clinical aspects of Motor Neuron Disease. Upon returning to Malaysia, Tina led a team of clinicians to set up the first dedicated multidisciplinary MND clinic in Malaysia , which has since become the key tertiary referral centre for MND in the country. She is the current Chair of the Clinical Neurophysiology Section, Malaysian Society of Neurosciences. You can follow the Kennerson Lab on Twitter @KennersonLab. The Kennerson Lab is also on Facebook (Kennerson Laboratory) and has a fantastic website with plenty of resources that you can find at: http://anzac.edu.au/research/neurobiology.