Andrea Pauls Backman, chief executive officer of the Les Turner ALS Foundation, has been invited by the U.S. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) to serve as a working group member on its ALS Strategic Planning Team and help guide the direction of ALS research nationwide.
“I’m grateful for the opportunity to bring our community’s needs, concerns, and insights to this important work,” said Pauls Backman. “At the Les Turner ALS Foundation, people living with ALS and their families are at the center of everything we do. During this strategic planning process, we can set a course for research that recognizes their expectations and priorities.”
With the new ALS Strategic Plan, NINDS – which is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) – is engaging people living with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), caregivers, advocates, clinicians, and the broader ALS community to identify the most important knowledge gaps and research opportunities that will lead to the discovery of effective interventions for diagnosis, treatment, management, prevention, and cures for ALS.
Pauls Backman and fellow working group members will present their findings on October 26-27, 2022 at a virtual meeting that will be open to the public. The research priorities will be posted online for public comment before they are presented to the NINDS for approval.
In partnership with the members of the Les Turner ALS Center at Northwestern Medicine, the Les Turner ALS Foundation is committed to connecting ALS research, clinical care and support services across the country and fostering collaboration among people worldwide who share the Foundation’s vision of a world free of ALS.
Over the past 45 years, the Les Turner ALS Foundation has directly funded over $31 million in ALS research and clinical care at the Les Turner ALS Center, as well as millions more in indirect funding. Offering access to enrollment in multiple clinical trials and with dedicated clinical trial coordinators, the Lois Insolia ALS Clinic at the Les Turner ALS Center is Chicagoland’s first and largest multidisciplinary ALS clinic.
By raising awareness of the Foundation’s support services, participating in fundraising events such as the upcoming ALS Walk for Life on September 24, or making donations of any amount, you can guide and support these strategic efforts – and ensure that the tenacity, wisdom, and courage of the ALS community continues to drive the future of ALS treatment and research.
