This is my second time participating in the London City Swim. I will be swimming to raise funds for project AMBRoSIA. AMBRoSIA could be a huge step towards a future without MND – and it needs your support. 900 participants living with motor neurone disease, plus a further 450 healthy participants to compare them with, will take part in AMBRoSIA. Research will take place across three world-class research centres in London, Oxford and Sheffield. The project will take between 3 to 5 years to complete. What does the project aim to do? Our research teams will analyse thousands of samples taken from participants. They will look at how motor neurone disease progresses in different people. This will help us better understand the various types of MND and how each type affects those living with the disease. AMBRoSIA could eventually lead us to: •A faster process for diagnosing MND. •Earlier access to treatment, improving the prognosis for many patients. •Better understanding of the various types of MND and their speed of progression, meaning we can help patients according to their individual needs. •New drugs testing according to different causes of MND, leading to bespoke approaches to treatment. •Ultimately, advances made from AMBRoSIA may even let us begin working towards developing preventative treatments for MND. What are biomarkers? Biomarkers are the ‘fingerprints’ of MND, chemical signals unique to the disease. We will analyse thousands of blood, cerebrospinal fluid and skin samples from each of our participants and monitor the progress of their disease every three months. Finding the biomarkers unique to MND will make testing the effect of drugs and treatments much more accurate. In the future, these biomarkers may be critical in our search for a cure. to raise awareness and funds for MND research. This is particularly important to me as an old friend and colleague was diagnosed with the condition a couple of years ago. Their fight against the disease is incredible, However, further research will lead to developments in the treatment, and one day cure for this disease.