Professor Ian Blair from the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences is part of the Macquarie team that is at the forefront of Motor Neuron Disease (MND) research.
Work stuff
I’ve been at Macquarie for…
Five years.
In a nutshell, my job is to…
Find ways to better understand, diagnose, monitor and treat Motor Neuron Disease.
The question I hear most often in my work is…
“Where can we get funding for that?”
The top three things on my to-do list today are…
– Prepare a grant proposal
– Review a National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) grant
– Monitor grant expenditure
If I could do any other job at Macquarie (with instant qualifications/knowledge) it would be…
An ecologist, I recall great field trips from undergrad days. Otherwise, the Executive Dean for his car space.
A Macquarie staff member that impressed me last week…
Christina Cassidy, our Centre administrator (Centre for MND Research) who tirelessly and efficiently manages the Centre despite new challenges daily.
I get my campus coffee fix from …
Tea from the hospital café.
Personal life
My favourite subject at school was…
Woodwork. My mum got sick of receiving wooden spoons.
Outside work, you’ll often find me…
Surfing.
My most treasured memory…
Family holidays, all of them.
If I could have dinner with anyone (living or dead) it would be…
My son. He makes me laugh every day.
My favourite animal and why…
Any of the marine mammals. I want to be one!
The last great movie I saw was…
Star Wars. Is there any other?!
In ten years from now, I hope to be…
Redundant… because Motor Neuron Disease has been solved.
Read more about Macquarie’s work in MND in The Good Weekend Magazine‘s story on Peteris Ginters, who is being treated at the Macquarie University Hospital.
Back to homepage
My husband was diagnosed with ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) when he was 61 years old 4 years ago. The Rilutek (riluzole) did very little to help him. The medical team did even less. His decline was rapid and devastating. His arms weakened first, then his hands and legs. Last year, a family friend told us about Rich Herbs Foundation (RHF) and their successful ALS TREATMENT, we visited their website www. richherbsfoundation. com and ordered their ALS/MND Formula, i am happy to report the treatment effectively treated and reversed his Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), most of the symptoms stopped, he is able to walk and able to ride his treadmill again, he is pretty active now.
You might be redundant in finding a solution to Motor Neurone Disease in 10 years time (I certainly hope so) but you’ll just have moved those fantastic skills on to solving another awful disease needing attention.