Mar 2026 Team presentation at the Options Roundabout of the NE of Scotland Innovate UK ICURe Discover Programme meeting
Our team took part in the Options Roundabout of the North East of Scotland Innovate UK ICURe Discover Programme this March. This has been an incredibly valuable opportunity to explore the commercial potential of our research and to gain clarity on possible routes forward.
A huge thank you from the team Jenna Gregory, Sergio Dall’AngeloSergio (see here presenting) Holly Spence, Kirsty McIntosh to APTehon, the ICURe team, Veronica Ferguson and delivery partners University of Aberdeen, Robert Gordon University, ONE Life Sciences, Scottish Enterprise, The Helix Way, and Brilliant Red Digital, our coaches Tara McKay John J Hughes, and the UoA Tech Transfer team. Your feedback and support have been instrumental in shaping our next steps.
We are now assessing the most promising direction for our technology. Exciting possibilities ahead – watch this space! http://www.testyourguttoday.com.
Mar 2026 Eduardo Locatelli & Gaby Cora visit to talk imaging in ALS
This week we had an incredible visit from Eduardo Locatelli, MD, MPH (Director of the Nova Southeastern Neuroscience Institute, Davie, FL, USA) and Dr. Gaby Cora MD MBA, filled with insight, energy, and forward-thinking discussion.
Together, we explored cutting-edge ideas on how novel imaging techniques and biomarker-driven approaches can transform the way we understand and tackle ALS and related conditions. The conversation highlighted not only the rapid pace of innovation in this space, but also the importance of collaboration in turning these ideas into meaningful impact.
Exciting times ahead as we continue pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in neurodegenerative disease research University of Aberdeen.
March 2026 Prof. Jenna Gregory webinar with Genetic ALS & FTD: End the Legacy
In this webinar, Prof. Jenna Gregory spoke to Genetic ALS & FTD: End the Legacy about “Improving Translation in Neurodegenerative Diseases”, and her work on early detection of ALS/MND through the development of new disease pathology biomarkers. Jenna highlights how the gut and skin, in particular, offer potential for early neurodegenerative disease detection using recently developed pathology biomarkers with increased sensitivity and specificity.
Genetic ALS & FTD: End the Legacy (endthelegacy.org) is a patient led organization dedicated to the needs and interests of the Genetic ALS & FTD community.
Feb 2026 Prof. Jenna Gregory on The Naked Scientist podcast (MND/ALS special)
This month, ALS/MND on the The Naked Scientists podcast – Prof. Jenna Gregory of University of Aberdeen, along with Sarah Ezekiel co-chair at NW London MND Branch, Brian Dickie of Motor Neurone Disease (MND) Association & Prof. Kevin Talbot of University of Oxford, discuss “Motor Neurone Disease: What does the science say?” with presenters Dr. Chris Smith from University of Cambridge and Rachael Ralph of University of Warwick.
Created and launched in 2001 by Chris Smith, the The Naked Scientists was one of the first podcasts to exist and is now one of the world’s most popular science shows, achieving over 50 million programme downloads in the last 5 years.
Jan 2026 Holly and Katie awarded MNDA non-clinical fellowships
Huge congratulations the Gregory lab’s Dr. Holly Spence and Dr. Katie Hanna who were awarded prestigious Motor Neurone Disease Association (MNDA) Non-Clinical Fellowships this month. Holly’s work will explore fast field-cycling approaches to develop novel, accessible MRI biomarkers for diagnostics and stratification in MND, and Katie will be Investigating the skin as a biomarker for MND that could significantly improve translational success and open the door to earlier, more effective intervention. Jenna Gregory is also collaborative sponsor to other MNDA non-clinical fellowship awardee Dr Heather Marriot based at the Sheffield Institute for Translational Neuroscience (SITraN).
– for 2026 and beyond, with University of Aberdeen-linked awards for 3/6 of the MNDA non-clinical fellows, and an MNDA PhD studenship awarded to the Gregory lab, the future looks bright for MND/ALS research here in Aberdeen. Congratulations to Gregory lab friend and collaborator Björn Vahsen on his MNDA non-clinical fellowship too! See the MND research blog here for the full fellowship story https://tinyurl.com/yjdpfukb.
Dec 2025 Dr. Valeria Gerbino wins prestigious 2025 Paulo Gontijo Award for at MNDA for Gregory lab collaborative neuroimmunology study published in Brain.
A neuroimmunology-focused collaborative study between the University of Aberdeen’s Prof. Jenna Gregory and Dr. Fergal Waldron, and researchers at Columbia University (New York) and the Fondazione Santa Lucia (Italy), was recognised at the Motor Neurone Disease Association (MNDA) International Symposium held in San Diego in December, winning the prestigious Paulo Gontijo medal for 2025, awared to senior author Dr Valeria Gerbino. The award-winning study for 2025, published in the journal Brain, identified an unprecedented and crucial correlation for the future of the field: the activity of Type I Interferon, traditionally known as a primary regulator of the immune system, is directly linked to the accelerated progression of ALS.
The award winning study – Carletta O, Perfetto C, Rifai OM, Manganelli F, Waldron FM, Maniatis T, Gregory JM, Gerbino V. Genotype-specific interferon signatures in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis relate to disease severity. Brain. 2025 Sep 5:awaf324 – is available here https://academic.oup.com/brain/advance-article/doi/10.1093/brain/awaf324/8248214
Dec 2025 MNDA 2025: 36th International Symposium on ALS/MND, San Diego
What a fantastic meeting we had at MNDA 2025 in San Diego, hearing all about fantastic new science, and catching up wtih collaborators and friends. With over 1000 delegates from over 40 countries and with over 250 speakers, the 36th International Symposium on ALS/MND, was the largest medical and scientific conference on MND in the world this year, and the Gregory lab and PhD alumni were very proud to present 6 talks on our current research – many thanks to the organisers for a great meeting.
Nov 2025 Aberdeen University Alumni & Supporters Magazine: “Mind over matter: Aberdeen researchers are working to improve outcomes for people with cognitive decline.”
Aberdeen University Alumni & Supporters Magazine includes a lovely piece featuring Jenna Gregory, David Blackbourn & @louisephillips on how a transformational legacy gift (The Smith Legacy gift) for neurosciences is impacting research on early detection and disease prevention: “Mind over matter: Aberdeen researchers are working to improve outcomes for people with cognitive decline.” https://lnkd.in/d68VzkMi
Nov 2025 Scotland-Rheinland-Pfalz Life Sciences meeting; “Molecular Communication in Brain Health”
Jenna had a wonderful time representing the University of Aberdeen in Mainz this November, taking part in an inspiring workshop on “Molecular Communication in Brain Health” ⭐️🤓⭐️
The discussions were incredibly stimulating, and the exchange of ideas across teams from Scotland and Mainz made it a truly energizing experience. 🏴🇩🇪
Nov 2025 SMMSN Summer Scholarship Symposium Showcases Outstanding Student Research
The 2025–2026 School of Medicine, Medical Sciences and Nutrition Summer Scholarship Symposium was held at the Suttie Centre on Wednesday 19 November, bringing together an impressive programme of high-quality oral presentations and posters from this year’s research and medical education scholarship awardees.
The event brought together over 50 students and their supervisors to celebrate the breadth and excellence of student-led research supported by the Academy of Medical Sciences INSPIRE programme and generous philanthropic donors, which help ensure equal access to scholarship opportunities across a wide range of disciplines.
Professor Jenna Gregory, INSPIRE and Aberdeen Clinical Academic Track (ACAT) Lead, praised the dedication of the students, supervisors and organisers, offering special thanks to Ryan Watson for coordinating the programme, and to the Aberdeen Student Society for Academic Medicine (ASSAM) for their contributions to the symposium.
This year also saw presentations from students involved in the Medical Education Scholarship Programme, supported by the University of Aberdeen Development Trust and NHS Grampian partners. Dr Christine Kay, Curriculum Manager, highlighted the programme’s role in developing future academic clinicians and educators, with many students going on to present their work nationally and returning to education roles later in their careers.
The symposium reflected the University of Aberdeen’s continued commitment to improving patient care through high-quality research and education.
Pictured in the photograph (from left to right) are Dr. Christine Kay (curriculum manager, SMMSN), Rheure Alves-Lopes (poster prize winner), Fatimah Jaffrey (medical education presentation winner), Christine Addae-Kyereme (research presentation winner), Prof. Jenna Gregory (INSPIRE and Aberdeen Clinical Academic Track (ACAT) lead), and Ryan Watson (SMMSN summer scholarship co-ordinator).
Nov 2025 Gregory and Vallejo labs visit University of York
Jenna had a wonderful time in (a very Christmassy 🎄) York giving a seminar at York Biomedical Research Institute on improving translation in neurodegenerative diseases. Jenna was joined by Fergal, and Herriot-Watt University collaborators Marta Vallejo and Lukas Jurcaga. It was a real pleasure to share ideas, meet new colleagues, and catch up with old friends. ⭐️🤩🤓🔬
Oct 2025 Jenna gives talk at Synature Discovery
Jenna was delighted to give a talk at Sygnature Discovery on “Improving translation in neurodegenerative diseases” this October 14th.
Oct 2025 Tatiana Wins Best Poster Prize at 2025 Euan MacDonald Tribute Symposium
Gregory Lab PhD student Tatiana Langerová has been awarded the Best Poster Prize at the 2025 Euan MacDonald Tribute Symposium in Edinburgh for her research on pre-symptomatic gastrointestinal pathology as a predictor of neurodegenerative disease.
The 1.5-day symposium highlights cutting-edge motor neuron disease (MND) research from across the UK, bringing together leading scientists, clinicians, and trainees.
Tatiana’s interdisciplinary project brings together collaborators from across the University of Aberdeen, NHS Grampian, NHS Highland, the NHS Grampian Biorepository, and the SMMSN medical school, with contributions from:
• Consultant colorectal surgeons Angus Watson (Clinical Chair & Vice-President, Royal College of Surgeons) and George Ramsay (Senior Lecturer, Health Services Research Unit), along with core surgical trainee Emma MacVicar
• NHS Grampian Biorepository staff: Mattia Piana, Sarah Murdoch, Jayne Innes, and Joan Wilson.
• Former Aberdeen Summer Research Scholarship student Rollo Press, and Gregory Lab member Fiona Read.
This award recognises the strength of Tatiana’s collaborative approach and the growing importance of early-stage pathology in understanding neurodegenerative disease progression. Her work is available to view on medRxiv here: https://tinyurl.com/4axf8kbn.
Oct 2025 MND Scotland LEARN Highlands event in Dingwall
The Gregory Lab were proud to be at Ross County Football Club in Dingwall this October 30th for the MND Scotland LEARN event. ⚽🤓🔬
It was an inspiring day of connection and collaboration 💙 bringing together researchers, clinicians, and, most importantly, people living with MND and their families.
Hearing directly from those with lived experience reminds us why our work matters. 💙 These conversations shape our research in meaningful ways, helping us focus on what really counts, from improving quality of life to driving progress towards better treatments.
A huge thank you to MND Scotland 💙 for organising such an impactful event, and to everyone who shared their experiences and insights.
Together, we learn, we listen, and we move closer to a future free from MND.
In her talk for the Dingwall MND Scotland LEARN event, Prof. Jenna Gregory presented “Tackling MND together: Early clues, early action and precision treatments” (see recording taken afterwards below).
Sep 2025 MND Scotland LEARN Aberdeen event at Pittodrie Stadium
We have had an amazing day at the Aberdeen LEARN (Lived Experience and Researcher Network) event today – organised by MND Scotland at the Pittodrie sports ground (home of Aberdeen Football Club) this September 23rd.
LEARN is an initiative where people affected by Motor Neuron Disease and researchers come together to share knowledge, hear presentations on current research, and build relationships to ensure research reflects the needs of the MND community as a whole.
Tatiana Langerová and Fergal Waldron gave wonderful presentations (see below) discussing the work that we are carrying out in our lab. Also 🔥Holly Spence🔥took part in the fire walk, raising funds for MND Scotland.
So proud of our team and the amazing work that they do and feeling very lucky to work in such a wonderful place with amazing charities like MND Scotland.
In his talk for the Aberdeen MND Scotland LEARN event, Gregory lab Advanced Research Fellow Dr. Fergal Waldron presented “Developing tests to improve access to MND therapies”(see recording taken afterwards below).
In her talk for the Aberdeen MND Scotland LEARN event, Gregory lab PhD student Tatiana Langerová presented “MND: Clues in the body, answers for the brain” (see recording taken afterwards below).
Sep 2025 Arturo Falaschi Conference: 2nd Biennial Conference on TDP-43 Function and Dysfunction in Disease, Trieste, Italy
Jenna and Fergal were delighted to attend the 2nd Biennial Conference on TDP-43 Function and Dysfunction in Disease, in Trieste, Italy this September 9th-11th, with Jenna presenting. Many thanks to the organisers for the invitation, and for a fabulous meeting ⭐️🤩🤓.
July 2025 Gordon Conference on ALS and Related Diseases, Portland, Maine.
We had such an amazing time at the Gordon Research Conference for ALS and related motor neuron diseases in Portland, Maine 🦞🇺🇸 with Jenna and Holly presenting.
Thank you so much to the organisers Ludo Van Den Bosch and Christine Vande Velde for such an incredible meeting (and to co-chairs Magdalini Polymenidou and Sami Barmada).
It has been amazing to spend a week with friends and colleagues old and new, discussing lots of new ideas.
Jul 2025 Congratulations to Dr Stella Orjona Taso
Congratulations to Dr Stella Orjona Taso for passing her PhD viva this July 10th. So proud 🥹 of everything that Stella has achieved and can’t wait to continue working together on more exciting research in the future. Keep an eye out for this one – she’s a star ⭐
Thank you so much to Luc Dupuis and Kat Bowles for examining Stella and giving her such a great experience.
Thanks also to Rickie Patani 🧫🧠 and. Chris Sibley for co-supervising Stella’s amazing work, and to Dan Elbaum and Sandy Hinckley from QurAlis who were so generous with their time supporting Stella’s internship. 🏆⭐️💪🏻🤩🤓🧠🥹
May 2025 ENCALS 2025, Turin, Italy
So proud of our team at ENCALS2025, Europe’s largest ALS meeting 😊 . 3 talks & 8 posters from 9 superstars of the Gregory lab (University of Aberdeen, School of Medicine, Medical Sciences and Nutrition). Huge gratitude to the organisers for a fantastic meeting in Turin 🇮🇹 👏 . We continue our work on early disease detection (precision prevention) biomarkers & treatment stratification (precision medicine) in ALS/FTD and look forward to Madrid next year 🇪🇸 .
May 2025 Target ALS 2025, Boston
In the first week of May, something special happened in Boston, and the Gregory Lab were proud to be a part of it.
Researchers, clinicians, advocates, and people living with ALS from over 30 countries came together at the 2025 Target ALS Annual Meeting—sharing bold ideas, forming new collaborations, and driving momentum toward a future shaped by breakthroughs.
April 2025 McGill University Bellairs Research Institute Workshop on ‘RNA regulatory mechanisms’, Holetown, Barbados
It was such a treat to be invited to participate in the ‘RNA regulatory mechanisms’, workshop at the McGill University Bellairs Research Institute this April, where Jenna and Fergal presented their work. Many thanks to McGill Univeristy and Éric Lécuyer for the invite. What a fabulous meeting!
March 2025 LifeArc Translational Science Summit on MND and Rare Dementias, London
At LifeArc’s recent first ever Translational Science Summit on MND and Rare Dementias, Jenna set out a vision for early diagnosis and prevention in MND.
Jenna outlined that while in cancer, patients are often diagnosed in the GP surgery or by screening programs, all MND diagnoses occur in outpatient settings, perhaps when it’s already too late for effective intervention. She emphasized the importance of early detection for MND through minimally invasive, point-of-care assays. Through the collaborative development and optimisation of new aptamers for pathology detection, she mapped out a clear strategy for creating these vital diagnostic methods.
Some of the highlight themes from Jenna’s talk include:
🤔 Perspectives > What can we learn from cancer, where early detection methods have revolutionised outcomes.
🤔 Detection > How can we develop sensitive and specific tools for early detection of MND years before motor symptoms arise – aptamers are showing great potential.
🤔 Precision-Prevention > Understanding individual’s risk factors & heterogenous disease manifestations is key to empowering prevention strategies through safe interventions.
March 2025 Packard Centre Annual Symposium, Baltimore, Maryland
We had an amazing time in Baltimore at the 25th Robert Packard Center for ALS Research Annual Symposium at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. Many thanks to the organisers for the invite, for such an incredible meeting, and a fantastic opportunity to forge and extend collaborations.
Nov 2023 (NanoString GeoMx Digital Spatial Profiler training)
We have had a great training week with Daniel Blakeway, PhD at NanoString Technologies, Inc. setting up our new GeoMx spatial sequencing machine in the Institute of Medical Sciences at the University of Aberdeen.
We are very lucky to be part of an amazing team of genomics and sequencing specialists (Ewan Campbell, Elaina Collie-Duguid) histology experts (Kristine Roberts, Gillian Milne) and scientists (Holly Spence, Fergal Waldron, Paul Fowler) and so excited for all of the awesome data we will generate with this expertise and equipment.
Thank you so much to the Medical Research Council for funding this platform.
Jenna was very grateful to the opportunity to present at the 5th UK-Japan Neuroscience symposium this Aug-Sept.
The 5th UK-Japan Neuroscience symposium was be held at the Vale Resort in Wales (UK), jointly sponsored by the Medical Research Council (UK) and AMED (Japan).
This annual meeting aims to bring together leading scientists from the UK and Japan to present talks and foster discussion on the latest areas of fundamental and medically applied Neuroscience research.
Speaking with End The Legacy‘s Jean Swidler, Jenna presents some of her groups research on the role of the gut in ALS, and the development of precise biomarkers for the early, presymptomatic identification of ALS.
The Gregory Lab were delighted to host Christine Addae-Kyereme, who was awarded a prestigious Aberdeen Summer Research Scholarship (ASRS) to join us in the lab to understand the role of brain iron accumulation in neurodegenerative diseases – here she is working hard at the cutting bench in our state-of-the-art pathology lab in Aberdeen 🧠.
The Gregory lab were delighted to receive two prizes at ENCALS 2023 in Barcelona (Jenna and Olivia, 2nd and 3rd from the left)!
It was a real privilege for Jenna’s work to be featured as a Case Study for neuroscience research in Scotland at the “Neuroscience Matters” Research for Future Health” event organised by the British Neuroscience Association held at Scottish Parliment in Edinburgh 🏴.
Jenna was honoured to be invited to give a talk and visit at the Sheffield Institute for Translational Neuroscience – many thanks to Johnathan Cooper-Knock and Pam Shaw 😊.
Here’s Jenna talking at the FTD UK meeting held at UCL in May – many thanks to Jonathan Rohrer for the invite 😊.
SO proud of our PhD student Olivia Rifai seen here accepted her AD/PD Junior Faculty Award at AD/PD 2023 in Gothenburg, Sweden 🇸🇪 😊.
Had a great few days with Noelia Pelegrina Hidalgo visiting us from Edinburgh. Noelia is a fantastic PhD student in the Horrocks lab in Edinburgh working on Parkinson’s Disease.
So proud of our Olivia Rifai doing a great job presenting her recent work showing two neuroinflammatory signatures in ALS patient cohorts at the MND Association International Symposium on ALS/MND 2022.
December 2022 (Christmas!)
On the fifth day of Christmas, SULSA gives to you … Jenna talking about non-CNS symptoms of ALS/MND and how the gut gives early warning signs of motor neurone disease.
Oct-Nov 2022 (Visiting Graz, Austria)
Had a fantastic time training for four weeks with the diagnostic and research team of Prof. Cord Langner training in gastrointestinal pathology at the European Society of Pathology Advanced Training Centre of Gastrointestinal Pathology at the Medical University of Graz, Austria.
Oct 2022 (Target ALS Grant Funding)
We’re delighted to announce the funding of a collaborative Target ALS Foundation Award of $1,000,000 with Jenna M Gregory as one of four PIs (with $250 K direct costs award to Gregory lab). Collaborative grant with Mathew Horrocks (Edinburgh University), Neil Shneider (Columbia University), and Gian Gaetano Tartaglia (Italian Institute of Technology, Genoa)..
Oct 2022 (Gut TDP-43 Paper Coverage)
Have a look at this news story covering our recent findings that imply that peripheral non-CNS tissues could hold promise as early indicators of ALS, prior to neurological involvement, & that tissue biopsies could help us to understand how fluid biomarkers e.g., blood and stool samples, could be utilized in early detection.
-Read the news story: https://www.abdn.ac.uk/news/16457/ – -Watch Jenna explain more about the study in her YouTube video: https://youtu.be/NQe1jV3UyU4
-Read the full journal article: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/cjp2.297 -Media https://wiley.altmetric.com/details/137193238#score
Please do get in touch if you’re interested in researching gut-brain axis themes with us!
Sept 2022 (MNDA Grant Funding)
We’re delighted to announce the funding of a collaborative Motor Neurone Disease Association Grant of £200,000 with Jenna M Gregory as one of 4 PIs ($10K direct costs award to Gregory lab). Collaborative grant with lead PI Valeria Gerbino (Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome), Tom Manniatis (Columbia University), and Jemeen Sreedharan (King’s College London).
August 2022 (Goodbye to Danah Sleibi)
We’re sad to be saying goodbye to Danah Sleibi who was with us over the summer as part of the Aberdeen Summer Research Scholarship Programme (ASRS) – this provides 1st & 2nd year medical students with an opportunity to participate in an active research programme under the mentorship of a senior clinical academic within the School of Medicine, Medical Science and Nutrition. We had fun investigating key clinical-pathological correlations of rare genetic variants in ALS using human tissue staining techniques combining BaseScope RNA ISH and immunohistochemistry – some very fun journal club paper discussions too!
Best wishes to Danah!
May 2022 (Visiting collaborators in New York)
Had a fantastic time visiting our collaborators in NYC at Columbia University | The Zuckerman Institute (Mortimer B Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute at the Jerome Greene Science Center), and The New York Genome Center.
May 2022 (TargetALS meeting in Cambridge, MA)
Fantastic meeting – TargetALS in Cambridge, MA! Three days of great talks and opportunities to build collaborations with academic and industry partners. Lots of fun wandering around Harvard, and spending some time in Boston too!