Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease) is perhaps the cruelest of the neurodegenerative diseases. Relentlessly progressive, the premature degeneration and then loss of motor neurons in the spinal cord and brain result in loss of mobility, dexterity, speech and swallowing. Patients become wheelchair-bound, and later, bedbound. They lose their capacity to communicate, eat, or breathe on their own. But there is hope: new discoveries have emerged and are leading to the development of innovative new therapies to help slow down and hopefully stop ALS. We will explore what causes ALS, how discovering ALS genes are leading to new gene-targeted treatments, how brain-machine interface technology is changing the lives of people living with ALS, how AI is joining the fight for new treatments, and discuss the latest challenges and opportunities. We will meet leading ALS researchers, doctors, biotech leaders, and biotech investors / venture capitalists, including field trips to a local biotech company to learn about ALS translational research and to a neuropathology lab to see first-hand what ALS pathology looks like. We will work together to come up with new project ideas and students will end the Introductory Seminar with a better understanding of the ALS field, how discoveries are being translated into new medicines and companies, and ways they can potentially contribute to research efforts. The lessons we learn about ALS will likely be applicable to other age-related neurodegenerative diseases, like Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease.
3 units · Letter or Credit/No Credit
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease) is perhaps the cruelest of the neurodegenerative diseases. Relentlessly progressive, the premature degeneration and then loss of motor neurons in the spinal cord and brain result in loss of mobility, dexterity, speech and swallowing. Patients become wheelchair-bound, and later, bedbound. They lose their capacity to communicate, eat, or breathe on their own. But there is hope: new discoveries have emerged and are leading to the development of innovative new therapies to help slow down and hopefully stop ALS. We will explore what causes ALS, how discovering ALS genes are leading to new gene-targeted treatments, how brain-machine interface technology is changing the lives of people living with ALS, how AI is joining the fight for new treatments, and discuss the latest challenges and opportunities. We will meet leading ALS researchers, doctors, biotech leaders, and biotech investors / venture capitalists, including field trips to a local biotech company to learn about ALS translational research and to a neuropathology lab to see first-hand what ALS pathology looks like. We will work together to come up with new project ideas and students will end the Introductory Seminar with a better understanding of the ALS field, how discoveries are being translated into new medicines and companies, and ways they can potentially contribute to research efforts. The lessons we learn about ALS will likely be applicable to other age-related neurodegenerative diseases, like Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease.