Tuesday 17th October 2023 from 19:00 for 19:30
Abingdon United Football Club (Northcourt Rd, OX14 1PL, Abingdon)

Please note our move to the third Tuesday of the month for 2023.

A motor neuron in culture

Humans seem distinct in being vulnerable to a form of cellular degeneration, distinct from normal aging, which specifically affects the nervous system. This is manifest as a group of specific diseases, of which Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s are the most prominent. Motor neuron disease, also known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), is a relentlessly progressive and uniformly fatal neurodegenerative disease which leads to paralysis of voluntary movement. This talk will explore the nature of neurodegeneration, using the example of ALS, and explain how recent research provides a roadmap to improving the prospects for treatment and to ultimately make ALS preventable.

Speaker: Professor Kevin Talbot MBBS, DPhil, FRCP

Kevin Talbot is a clinician scientist, specialising in neurodegenerative disease, principally amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). He is a clinically active specialist in neurological diseases and co-leads the Oxford Motor Neuron Disease Centre, which provides diagnosis and care for approximately 1

Professor Kevin Talbot

0% of the UK population. He is Head of the Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences at the University of Oxford, and also leads the Neurodegeneration and Cerebrovascular Theme of the Oxford Biomedical Research Centre. The main focus of his laboratory research is to improve pre-clinical models of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, focussing on early stage disease. Using these tools his laboratory has identified disease-specific phenotypes in motor neurons which provide the tools for screening drugs of potential therapeutic benefit in ALS. This is closely linked to work with Oxford colleagues on biomarkers with application to experimental medicine studies to accelerate translation of promising drugs.