After the initial craze around the #IceBucketChallenge, the MND team have created even more momentum this month in raising donations and awareness.

“Donations from the challenge have reached $50,000 throughout August and September,” says Medical Philanthropy Manager Karen Gair. “More importantly, our patients, their families and friends are grateful for all the opportunities they’ve had to talk about the disease.”

Professor Dominic Rowe’s challenge to broadcasters Ray Hadley and Peter Overton saw them highlight their reasons for ongoing involvement with MND research on Channel 9’s The Footy Show.

Dr Nicholas Cole’s challenge to the BitFury Group also saw a major response from the company, who donated 100 bitcoins – the equivalent of USD$50,000 – to the MND research centre.

The Macquarie University MND Research Centre will use BitFury’s generous donation to buy a powerful Leica M205FC fluorescent stereo microscope that the center will be using in its search for cure.

“We are thrilled about the donation,” said Nicholas. “We partnered with BitFury because the company has a solid reputation. I think that Bitcoin is a different and innovative, yet efficient approach to common issues, perhaps reflecting my own novel approach using zebrafish for ALS [MND] research. Previous methods have not yet given us a treatment or a cure, so it is clear that a different approach is much needed.”

Next door to the MND team, Doctor of Physiotherapy students and staff also took part in the challenge, with an informative angle to ‘break the ice’ on MND, too!

Want to help the fight against MND? Donate or find out more about this research now.