ALSA in Cutting Edge Programs

 Florida ALSA Chapter


We are so pleased to have Dr. Lucie Bruijn, Science Director and Vice President of The ALS Association National Office, directing our cutting-edge research.

The Research Grant Program is the principal approach the organization has used to find a cause and cure for ALS.  The application review process is modeled after the grant system used by the National Institutes of Health.  The organization solicits investigator-designed research proposals, which are peer-reviewed by the organization’s Scientific Review Committee and competitively evaluated for their scientific merit and ALS relevancy.  Underlying premises are that the newest promising research deserves to be funded, and the review process lessens or eliminates favoritism and bias.

1.  The Lou Gehrig Challenge was created by ALS in 2000 and is committed to raising $25 million in five years to accelerate new directions in research.  This is the largest ALS-specific research program ever conducted by a non-governmental health organization and, to date, has raised over 7 million dollars.  It is a goal oriented, pro-active strategy aimed at stimulating and coordinating research in academic institutions and private industry.  Its purpose is to accelerate progress from research to therapy, and it is expected this research approach will lead to new clinical treatments and drug development.

2.   Scientific Workshops and Symposia encourages aggressive new research that explores the origins, progression and treatment of ALS by holding scientific research workshops, usually twice a year, and bringing together ALS researchers and non-ALS investigators to explore specific ALS-relevant topics.  ALSA also partners with other scientific and voluntary organizations to host symposia on neurodegenerative diseases where mechanisms of the diseases may be similar and offer clues to understanding ALS. 

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Scientific research areas funded by
The ALS Association:

Assay Development

Disease Mechanism

Environment

Genetic

Glutamate

Modifier Screens

MRI

Neurofilaments

Oxidation

Pathology

SOD1

Stem Cells

Therapy

Transgenic Mice


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