Dr. John Ravits, Professor of Clinical Neurosciences and Head of the ALS Translational Research Program at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) is a physician-scientist at the forefront of ALS thought and research of sporadic and familial ALS. Yesterday, at the 69th Annual American Academy of Neurology (AAN) Meeting in Boston, he was presented the prestigious 2017 Sheila Essey Award by Dick Essey, founder of the award named in honor of his wife Sheila who battled with ALS for ten years and died from the disease in 2004.

The ALS Association today announced the election of Stephen Winthrop as Chair of The ALS Association Board of Trustees. Stephen was diagnosed with ALS in 2013 and joined the Board in 2015. He replaces Doug Butcher, who will remain a member of the Board.

Families living with ALS are faced with a whole host of everyday challenges that can become a burden over time. The ALS Association created the Care Connection program to provide support to meet families’ needs to ultimately alleviate stress. Learn more about this extraordinary program and all the help it delivers.

Today, we are happy to feature Dr. Nicholas Olney, this year’s recipient of the prestigious Clinical Research Training Fellowship in ALS Research Award given in partnership with the American Academy of Neurology (AAN). Dr. Olney is currently working on an ALS biomarker project aimed at developing clinical markers of disease progression, a major unmet need in ALS, at the University of California at San Francisco (UCSF) School of Medicine under the mentorship of Drs. Howard Rosen, Cathy Lomen-Hoerth and Bruce Miller.

Last night, WCVB, the Boston ABC affiliate, featured a half-hour show called “Unlocking ALS,” highlighting all the great work coming out of the Boston area in the fight against ALS. The show did a wonderful job covering all the progress that has occurred since the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge (ALS IBC), an organic online movement that catapulted ALS into the spotlight while raising $220 million worldwide.

The Association is pleased to continue on the tradition of supporting bright, young scientists in ALS research through the Milton Safenowitz Postdoctoral Fellowship Program. This year, we are supporting six new postdoctoral fellows out of a highly competitive applicant pool. In this series, we highlight the dedication and unique contribution each fellow makes to ALS research. Today, we feature Dr. Amanda Gleixner from the University of Pittsburgh.

The Association is pleased to continue on the tradition of supporting bright, young scientists in ALS research through the Milton Safenowitz Postdoctoral Fellowship Program. This year, we are supporting six new postdoctoral fellows out of a highly competitive applicant pool. In this series, we highlight the dedication and unique contribution each fellow makes to ALS research. Today, we feature Dr. Vicente Valenzuela from University of Chile.

This week, former San Francisco 49ers receiver Dwight Clark announced he has ALS. He joins other NFL football greats including Steve Gleason, Tim Shaw, Kevin Turner, O.J. Brigance, and others, who have been diagnosed with ALS following their pro football careers. These announcements have brought much attention to the connection between football and traumatic brain injury (TBI) and the question of whether such injuries from football can lead to ALS or chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). Here, we highlight some research behind the possible connection.

In late-February 2017, The ALS Association announced the release of 11 new Living with ALS resource guides on our website, www.alsa.org. The guides were designed to inform and educate people about ALS in a comprehensive and easily understood format, addressing many of the common concerns and issues that face people living with ALS.

Former San Francisco 49ers receiver Dwight Clark, best known for his leaping catch in the end zone to help the 49ers win the 1982 NFC Championship game, announced on Sunday that he has ALS. Clark wrote a letter explaining his story.

The Association is pleased to continue on the tradition of supporting bright, young scientists in ALS research through the Milton Safenowitz Postdoctoral Fellowship Program. This year, we are supporting six new postdoctoral fellows out of a highly competitive applicant pool. In this series, we highlight the dedication and unique contribution each fellow makes to ALS research. Today, we feature Dr. Jeanne McKeon from University of Massachusetts Medical School.

The Association is pleased to continue on the tradition of supporting bright, young scientists in ALS research through the Milton Safenowitz Postdoctoral Fellowship Program. This year, we are supporting six new postdoctoral fellows out of a highly competitive applicant pool. In this series, we highlight the dedication and unique contribution each fellow makes to ALS research. Today, we feature Dr. Bruno Miguel da Cruz Godinho from University of Massachusetts Medical School.

Many of us here at The ALS Association are enormous fans of SpongeBob SquarePants. It has brought joy to millions of children – and adults – for a long time. So we were saddened to learn that SpongeBob creator Stephen Hillenburg has ALS, as he said in a statement to Variety.

The Association is pleased to continue on the tradition of supporting bright, young scientists in ALS research through the Milton Safenowitz Postdoctoral Fellowship Program. This year, we are supporting six new postdoctoral fellows out of a highly competitive applicant pool. In this series, we highlight the dedication and unique contribution each fellow makes to ALS research. Today, we feature Dr. Tiffany Todd from the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Fla.

The Association is pleased to continue on the tradition of supporting bright, young scientists in ALS research through the Milton Safenowitz Postdoctoral Fellowship Program. This year, we are supporting six new postdoctoral fellows out of a highly competitive applicant pool. In this series, we highlight the dedication and unique contribution each fellow makes to ALS research. Today, we feature Dr. Sergey Stavisky from Stanford University.

There is a need to continue to educate Members of Congress about ALS and its true impact on people living with ALS and their loved ones. This is where you and your voice come in. Advocates – people living with ALS, their families, friends, doctors and researchers – successfully sharing their stories with members of Congress will result in more legislative victories.

In preparation for this week’s ALS Association Advocacy Fly-In in Washington D.C., we are giving a preview of our 2017 legislative priorities. Here we focus on the ALS Disability Insurance Access Act, which was introduced last week in the Senate and United States House of Representatives (S.379/H.R.1171).

In January, CEO and President Barb Newhouse hosted a Listening Tour with Association staff leaders, BOT Chairman Doug Butcher and Bill Thoet, former BOT Chairman and current Chairman of The Association’s Research Committee.

The ALS Association’s annual Leadership Conference earlier this month brought together leaders from all 39 chapters across the country in Irvine, Calif., to share ideas and collaborate. At this year’s conference, we were pleased to honor several heroes who are living with ALS and who have provided great inspiration to all those around them.

The men’s basketball coaching staffs of Duke University and the University of North Carolina are wearing ALS Association lapel pins tonight in honor of Jeff Capel, Jr., who was recently diagnosed with ALS. Capel was the head coach at Old Dominion University for seven seasons and also served as an assistant for the Charlotte Bobcats and the Philadelphia 76ers. His son, Jeff, is an assistant on Duke’s staff, and his son, Jason, played at UNC and now is an announcer on the ACC Network.