Professor Dominic Rowe greets friends of the Macquarie University Motor Neuron Disease Research Centre at the MND Gala.

This year’s MND Gala at the Art Gallery of NSW has raised $125,000 for vital research at the Macquarie University Motor Neuron Disease Research Centre.

Three hundred guests attended a sit-down dinner on 23 June, which included a private viewing of the 2023 Archibald, Wynne and Sulman Prizes exhibition and live music.

Following a welcome from Vice-Chancellor Professor S Bruce Dowton, guests were moved by speeches from MND researcher and clinician Professor Dominic Rowe and MND patient Gill Truman (pictured below), who delivered her speech through eye gaze technology.

Fifty thousand dollars was donated to research coffers through the night’s auctions, which included money-can’t-buy experiences including a private tour of the research centre, boutique holidays at Lake Nojiri in Japan and Hamilton Island, and a very special calf named Elvis.

Elvis is one of the herd of purebred Herefords on Professor Rowe’s Hunter Valley farm. This is the third year he has put up a calf for auction to support the centre’s research goals.

But don’t worry – Elvis isn’t going anywhere. Like auctioned calves in previous years, Elvis will live a life of comfort on Professor Rowe’s property, and his new owners have a standing invitation to visit for tea and scones.

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Learn more about ground-breaking work of the Motor Neuron Disease Research Centre, including how you can support their research by donating.