MonSTaR raises funds for Motor Neurone Disease as well as supporting educational programmes for children with disabilities and special learning needs.

Special Teaching and Research (STaR) Limited

Special Teaching and Research (STaR ) Limited works across early years, school-aged and post-school settings to ensure progressive, meaningful and inclusive learning for people with disabilities. We do this through special education, which is specially designed teaching instruction to meet the unique learning needs of a person with disability. Special Educators are qualified professionals with a postgraduate degree, who promote, advocate for, and facilitate inclusion.

STaR develops and delivers evidence-based training for educators, teachers and support workers.

Through STaR’s coaching and mentoring, we equip those who support people with disabilities with the knowledge and skills needed to maximise their potential and promote inclusion.

Greg Hargreaves has a sister with learning difficulties and Mark Golding had a disabled sister who died at a young age so STaR was a perfect choice as a beneficiary. STaR has recently expanded services from just early years to now work across the lifespan of people with disabilities.

The Motor Neurone Disease Service at MQ Health Neurology

The MND service at MQ Health manages the integrated care of around 10% of MND patients in Australia, providing expert diagnosis and management in all phases of the disease. They work alongside the largest MND research unit in Australia, now with a biobank of samples from over 700 individuals and over 20,000 samples in all, in an aim to unravel the biology of MND. Their 60 scientists and 10 clinicians work daily to try to understand and hopefully treat and cure this wretched disease.

Led by the incredible Professor Dominic Rowe, they have now almost completed two clinical trials of some novel therapies and are very optimistic that for some patients with MND, they can perhaps slow the disease.

MND Research Australia

MND Research Australia is driven by the vision to understand the causes, find effective treatments and discover cures for MND. They were chosen as a beneficiary alongside Dominic Rowe’s MND clinic at MQ Health, following the all too early onset of Motor Neurone Disease suffered by Fiona Pearce the late wife of Hamish. Fiona was diagnosed at age 32, and died within 18 months.

The MND Research Australia Committee awards grants each year for scientific research projects and we are very proud that MonSTaR MND Research Grants have been awarded in our name since 2016. We believe that researchers will one day find a cure for MND.