ALS doesn’t stop and neither do we. The reality is, people living with ALS can’t wait for treatments and a cure, and just as importantly, the tireless researchers working together around the world can’t wait to make the next breakthrough.
Meet Jinsy Andrews, M.D., MSc, FAAN, Director of Neuromuscular Clinical Trials at Columbia University, and member of The ALS Association Board of Trustees. Dr. Andrews is a clinical neurologist, neuromuscular specialist, and an ALS specialist.
People with ALS and their caregivers face a substantial burden accessing and understanding insurance coverage and paying for medical treatments and services, causing high stress, added work burden and debt for the ALS community.
We support the A.C.T. for ALS Act (H.R. 7071) and believe it should be strengthened by helping fund ALS research and by ensuring people with ALS in clinical trials can continue receiving treatments that may be helping them. We believe these steps will help improve its chances for passage and ensure it helps even more people with ALS.
Collaboration is critical to scientific research, which is why the Ice Bucket Challenge was so transformational to ALS research, particularly in the field of genomics.
I call ALS “the nice guys’ disease.” For, as indiscriminate as it appears, ALS certainly has a way of finding the best and most courageous people to attack. Watching people endure the wasting of their muscle control and seeing them defiant in the face of the sure and steady loss of communication and independence, makes me defiant too. People with ALS fight the disease with great courage. Seeing the fire and determination of my patients inspires me every day. Our team puts that inspiration to work in the clinic and in my lab, where we are on a promising path to finding effective therapies to slow ALS.
Furthering our understanding of disease and the creation of effective therapies won’t happen in a vacuum. My peers and colleagues in the medical research community know first-hand the necessity of global collaborations that bring diverse specialties into the process of understanding complex medical mysteries such as ALS.
There was a lot of skepticism in the research community when we proposed development of designer DNA drugs as a way to treat ALS. This therapy is an approach that uses DNA-based designer drugs to "silence" genes that are known to cause a particular disease. The ALS Association was the first funding organization to invest in designer DNA technology research and development for therapy in neurodegenerative disease.
Our Milton Safenowitz Postdoctoral Fellowship Program continues to support young scientists and is the only program of its kind specifically funding early ALS postdoctoral fellows.
Our Milton Safenowitz Postdoctoral Fellowship Program continues to support young scientists and is the only program of its kind specifically funding early ALS postdoctoral fellows. The awards were founded in memory of Mr. Safenowitz by the Safenowitz family – through The ALS Association Greater New York Chapter. The program encourages young scientists to enter and, importantly, to remain in the ALS field.
Our Milton Safenowitz Postdoctoral Fellowship Program continues to support young scientists and is the only program of its kind specifically funding early ALS postdoctoral fellows. The awards were founded in memory of Mr. Safenowitz by the Safenowitz family – through The ALS Association Greater New York Chapter. The program encourages young scientists to enter and, importantly, to remain in the ALS field.
Our Milton Safenowitz Postdoctoral Fellowship Program continues to support young scientists and is the only program of its kind specifically funding early ALS postdoctoral fellows. The awards were founded in memory of Mr. Safenowitz by the Safenowitz family – through The ALS Association Greater New York Chapter. The program encourages young scientists to enter and, importantly, to remain in the ALS field.
Every two years, hundreds of ALS health care professionals come together to discuss new trends, share best practices and guidelines, exchange ideas and successes, and talk about challenges and potential solutions. To capture the collaborative power of the 2018 event in Fort Worth, Texas – our largest-ever Clinical Conference, with more than 500 attendees – we put together a short video highlight reel.
Earlier this month, The ALS Association was happy to travel to Dublin to participate in the 27th International Symposium on ALS/MND. The Symposium, the largest ever, brought together top ALS researchers and clinicians from all over the world. People in attendance, including those from The ALS Association, used the hashtag #alssymp during the event. Here are some of our favorites!