Photo: Bryan Goodchild
The Angel Fund for ALS Research has awarded $800,000 to UMass Chan Medical School to accelerate research into amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.
The donation supports the work of two recognized leaders in ALS research: Robert H. Brown Jr., DPhil, MD, the Donna M. and Robert J. Manning Chair in Neuroscience and professor of neurology, and Daryl Bosco, PhD, the Paul J. DiMare Chair in Neurodegenerative Disease, professor of neurology and biochemistry & molecular biotechnology, and associate vice chair of research for the Department of Neurology, along with their research colleagues at UMass Chan. A pioneer in the field of ALS research, Dr. Brown discovered the first gene linked to hereditary ALS and led the first clinical trial for ALS using gene therapy.
“The most recent donation will help propel the work being done at UMass Chan to get a better understanding of the mechanisms of ALS, identify new therapeutic targets, and accelerate the development of more effective treatments to change the trajectory of this devastating disease,” said Angel Fund for ALS Research President Rich Kennedy. “Each dollar raised by The Angel Fund is important, not only because of the research it helps to fund, but also because historically more than 92 percent of funds expended goes to research.”
“All of us in the UMass Chan ALS research program feel deeply grateful to The Angel Fund for its continuing support,” said Dr. Brown. “This has made a decisive difference in the breadth of our program, which almost exclusively focus on investigations related to therapy development. Some of our most innovative programs have been possible because of the generosity of The Angel Fund.”
Kennedy was diagnosed with ALS in 2016 at the age of 56. ALS has been a part of his family since 1989 when the disease claimed his father, followed by his brothers Jimmy and Jake. The disease also affected the family of the original founders and original angel, Ginny (Scaturo) DelVecchio, who died as did her mother, brother, and son.
“The Angel Fund for ALS Research has been dedicated to the mission to support groundbreaking research for more than 20 years,” Kennedy said. “Tremendous progress has been made in the last few years, and I am confident that The Angel Fund has been a factor in moving this research forward through the discretionary funding that we provide.”
ALS is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects neurons in the brain and the spinal cord. People with ALS slowly lose the ability to initiate and control muscle movement, which often leads to total paralysis and death within two to five years of diagnosis. While 10 percent of ALS is familial in origin because of a genetic defect, the other 90 percent of ALS cases are considered sporadic, or without a family history.
The Angel Fund for ALS Research has raised millions of dollars to support scientific research, clinical trials and collaborative efforts aimed at ending ALS. Since its inception in 1997, the Angel Fund has contributed more than $10 million to ALS research and more than $2 million in the last three years.
