The physical impact of living with ALS presents many challenges, especially as the disease progresses. With the help of assistive technologies, people living with ALS can maintain their independence and pursue their passions for as long as possible.
We urgently need more and better ALS treatments. Because of this, getting promising therapies out of the laboratory and into clinical testing as quickly as possible is key to making ALS a livable disease.
Our grandfather, Herbert Hoffman, died from ALS in February 1943. This was less than two years after Lou Gehrig passed away and his name became forever attached to this disease. We never knew our grandfather. But we knew and loved and treasured our time with our uncle, Hugh Hoffman. Our uncle’s incredible donation will be spent to expand access to existing multidisciplinary ALS clinics and to certify new ones. In addition, the donation will fund new and promising clinical trials.
February 11th marks the ninth annual International Day of Women and Girls in Science, which serves as an opportunity to recognize the achievements of women working in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. To celebrate, we are shining a spotlight on Annie Collins, one of our 2023 Milton Safenowitz Postdoctoral Fellows, and how she is helping move the development of new ALS treatments forward.
The type of care that people with ALS receive affects survival and quality of life. That is why the ALS Association is committing nearly $2 million over the next two years to support research focused on optimizing the effectiveness, efficiency, and accessibility of ALS care. These funds, granted through the new Quality of Care Research Awards, will be distributed across five projects that focus on the health and care for people living with the disease.
There is an urgent need for new and improved therapies for ALS, as there is still no cure. To help accelerate drug development and get promising treatments one step closer to regulatory evaluation, the ALS Association has committed nearly $4 million to support four early-stage clinical trials through our Hoffman ALS Clinical Trial Awards.
While the number of ALS clinical trials has greatly expanded over the last five years, the number of people living with ALS participating in this research remains low and highly variable across trial sites. Our five 2023 Trial Capacity Award winners are working hard to eliminate barriers to trial participation.
Learn about the five bright, young researchers from prestigious academic institutions across the country who have been selected to join The ALS Association’s 2023 Class of Milton Safenowitz Postdoctoral Fellows.
In order to make ALS a livable disease and ultimately find a cure, we need to increase the number of clinical trials and make it easier for more people to participate in those trials. No one knows this better than Dr. Merit Cudkowicz, Director of the Sean M. Healey & AMG Center for ALS and Chief of Neurology at Massachusetts General Hospital.