Researcher awarded $300,000 FightMND grant to study fast motor neurons, the most vulnerable cells in neurodegenerative disease’s progression
Fast motor neurons are the harbinger of Motor Neurone Disease (MND), the first domino in the nerve cell system to fall in people with the neurodegenerative illness.
University of Wollongong (UOW) researcher Dr Jeremy Lum is investigating this early warning sign using, for the first time, human stem cell models designed to recreate these vulnerable cells in the laboratory.
FightMND has awarded Dr Lum a $300,000 IMPACT Grant, which supports innovative projects tackling the barriers to MND research and treatments. The funding is part of Fight MND’s 2026 major grant announcements.
MND causes progressive paralysis due to the loss of motor neurons, the nerve cells that control muscle movement. Dr Lum’s project will focus on fast motor neurons, which support rapid, high-force movements, such as running and jumping and are among the first cells affected by the disease, but tire quickly.
“Current laboratory models do not produce these vulnerable cells, so our ability to understand why they degenerate or how to protect them is limited,” said Dr Lum, who is based in the Yerbury Lab in UOW’s Molecular Horizons.
“This project will develop the first human stem cell model that specifically generates fast motor neurons in the laboratory. By recreating the cells most affected in MND, we are aiming to uncover why these neurons are vulnerable and whether key disease features can be more clearly detected in this model.”
Dr Lum will work with fellow Molecular Horizons researchers Dr Dzung Do-Ha and Professor Mirella Dottori, who specialise in developing human stem cell models of disease, to create patient-derived models and uncover why fast motor neurons are at the frontline of MND.
“Every breakthrough in MND builds on the one before it. We are not working in isolation. This project adds another piece to the puzzle we have been assembling for years, attempting to understand what drives MND and how we can treat it and, ideally, cure it,” Dr Lum said.
“Ultimately, this project will provide a more realistic platform for studying MND and accelerate the discovery of treatments that protect vulnerable motor neurons. We are very grateful to FightMND for making this research a reality.”
FightMND has invested close to $4 million into MND research at UOW’s Yerbury Lab, founded by Professor Justin Yerbury before his MND diagnosis in 2016. Dr Lum is part of the team continuing Professor Yerbury’s work, investigating why MND develops and how new treatments might stop or slow its progression.
