International Symposium on ALS / MND

The International Symposium on ALS/MND is a unique annual event that brings together leading international researchers and health and social care professionals to present and debate key innovations in their respective fields. The Symposium is planned as two parallel meetings, one on biomedical research and the other on advances in clinical research and treatment of people affected by ALS/MND. Joint sessions consider issues of mutual interest, challenging current views and practices.

About the Symposium

The International Symposium encompasses innovation, education and collaboration, as researchers and healthcare professionals come together to update colleagues from across the world on the latest developments in the diagnosis, treatment and management of ALS/MND. This meeting allows researchers to share the latest information on disease pathology, clinical practice, and potential therapeutic targets to a global audience. The Symposium also offers the unique opportunity for researchers to appreciate the reality of the disease from the perspective of the people living with MND, medical practitioners and caregivers, to feel part of the whole MND community.

What’s on offer this year?

The Symposium Programme Committee, chaired by Professor Ammar Al-Chalabi, will consider a broad range of cutting-edge topics for this year’s programme. We will continue to showcase a mix between biomedical research and clinical science, therapy development and clinical management, through dedicated oral presentations and poster sessions (which have always been a Symposium highlight). We would encourage as many members of the ALS/MND research and clinical/care communities to join us in-person, but to remain inclusive to those unable to travel (particularly people living with ALS/MND), we are once again offering a virtual option. The virtual option will consist of a selection of live-streamed sessions, and access to all session recordings post-event (until early March, 2026).

We look forward to welcoming you

We hope the Symposium will once again motivate you to make a difference in the work you do for people living with ALS/MND. Last year’s closing session showcased how the latest advancements in technology could help to improve quality of life for people with ALS/MND. The BrainGate Consortium Team was presented with the International Healey Award for Innovation in ALS for their work on Brain Computer Interface (BCI) technology. The development of this technology offers the opportunity to restore communication, mobility and independence in people living with ALS/MND. This research illustrates hope for the future and the impact research can have on the lives of people with ALS/MND. We hope that this year’s meeting will offer inspiration and the opportunity to stimulate new ideas, partnerships and collaborations that will lead to further advances in ALS/MND.

Registration

Registration for in-person attendance will be available from 6 May and registration for those who wish to attend virtually (access the selected live and recorded content only) will be available from 6 September at www.symposium.mndassociation.org/register. A provisional Symposium programme will be available on our website in August. The final programme will be available in November.

Call for abstracts

Abstracts must be submitted online, via a link on the MND Association’s Symposium website (https://www.symposium.mndassociation.org/abstracts). Abstracts cannot be accepted via email.

Abstracts must be submitted by the presenting author of the abstract, who must provide an email address to which all Symposium correspondence will be sent. The presenting author is the only person who will receive email correspondence from us.

Submissions are limited to two abstracts per presenting author.

Authors may submit an abstract for consideration in one of three categories: oral, poster or work in progress/care practice (WIP/CP) poster presentations. WIP/CP is defined as: preliminary work (little or no data/results), care practice or case studies.

Important: Authors accepting the offer of an oral or poster presentation must attend the Symposium in-person in San Diego, USA and be present for their assigned session.

The presenting author is not required to fully register for the Symposium before submitting an abstract. However, formal acceptance of an abstract is conditional upon payment of the appropriate registration fee no later than 5 September 2025. Failure to pay the registration fee by this date will result in withdrawal of the abstract.

Abstracts must be in English and be no longer than 450 words. The MND Association will not correct any errors, so authors must ensure their abstract is checked for grammar, understanding and accuracy. Authors should provide a clear description of methodology and present statistically robust data (including ‘n’ and ‘p’ values) where appropriate.

Authors must ensure they have the correct permissions to submit their abstract (e.g. from collaborators and funders).

The corresponding oral/poster presentation must discuss the same work as the accepted abstract.

Abstracts will be published in an open access online supplement to the journal Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and Frontotemporal Degeneration. Abstracts accepted as ‘WIP/CP’ will be published on the MND Association’s Symposium website.

Authors will also be asked to confirm if the presenting author is eligible and willing to be included in the poster prize competition (see below). The deadline for withdrawing an abstract is 5 September. Abstracts withdrawn after this date will still be published in the journal supplement.

Full instructions and Conditions of Acceptance will be available on the MND Association’s website before the opening of the submission system on 6 May 2025. These must be read before an abstract is submitted. Queries should be sent to abstracts@ mndassociation.org.

Abstract submission system opens: 6 May 2025

Deadline for abstract submission: 10 July 2025

Poster prize

The International Symposium on ALS/MND poster prize celebrates early-stage career ALS/MND researchers’ outstanding work, presented at the conference poster session.

Prizes will be awarded for the best clinical and best biomedical posters presented at the conference.

Early career researchers are eligible to enter if they are aged 35 years or under on the abstract submission deadline date OR if they were awarded their PhD within three years of the abstract submission deadline.

The initial stage of judging will be based on the abstracts, as submitted by the abstract submission deadline of 10 July 2025. Final judging of shortlisted posters will take place at the conference.

Full terms and conditions for the poster prize will be available on the MND Association’s website (https://www.symposium.mndassociation.org/for-presenters/poster-prize) following the opening of the abstract submission system in May 2025.