2022 YEAR IN REVIEW
Building the most comprehensive clinical, genetic, molecular, and biochemical assessment of ALS, while openly sharing the results with the global research community.
A Note from the Answer ALS Team
This week marks the 2nd anniversary of the Answer ALS Program completing enrollment and launching the unprecedented Data Portal, Neuromine. While the last two years have been challenging, the work to bring the results of over 1000 patient participants and hundreds of researchers to the world has never stopped.

Plans in 2023 will accelerate this work, bring greater opportunities to expand access, forge global partnerships and collaborations, and open unique conversations.

We were challenged in 2014 by Steve Gleason to create a viable business plan to ultimately end ALS. He clearly stated that the status quo was not acceptable. That vision, coupled with extraordinary leadership from our Advisory Board, incredible researchers and clinicians, data architects and analysts, a motivated team, and finally, committed supporters, will be unstoppable.

Thank you all, and let's go, 2023!
Answer ALS in Nature Neuroscience
Answer ALS, a large-scale resource for sporadic and familial ALS combining clinical and multi-omics data from induced pluripotent cell lines
A group of more than 100 Answer ALS scientists published the massive Answer ALS resource paper in the journal, Nature Neuroscience.

“We’re getting close to finding variables hidden in the data that we intend to publish soon. There are some disease subtypes that are emerging.” Leslie Thompson, Ph.D. at the University of California, Irvine.

Launched in January 2021, Answer ALS' Neuromine has combined clinical and biological data from over 1000 participants to generate a rich data resource for the global science community, allowing open access to this data to drive discovery faster.
Nature Science Features Answer ALS as a Resource
Identifying patterns in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis progression from sparse longitudinal data
A machine-learning method finds patterns of health decline in ALS, informing future clinical trial designs and mechanism discovery. The technique also extends to Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

The work makes significant strides to find the signal amongst the noise in the time-series of complex neurodegenerative diseases. “The patterns that we see are reproducible across studies, which I don't believe had been shown before, and that may have implications for how we subtype the [ALS] disease,” says Ernest Fraenkel, Ph.D., Professor of Biological Engineering, MIT.

Sean M. Healey & AMG Center for ALS at Mass General awards second annual Drs. Ayeez and Shelena Lalji & Family ALS Endowed Award for Innovative Healing to an outstanding Answer ALS Team
The award is an annual global prize with the goal of identifying therapies and modalities to regain lost function in people living with ALS.
One of the 2 awards was presented to Dr. Clive N. Svendsen, Executive Director, Board of Governors Regenerative Medicine Institute Cedars-Sinai, Regenerative Medicine Institute, and Professor of Biomedical Sciences at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, CA, for his team’s work on transplanting progenitor cells producing the growth factor GDNF into the spinal cord of patients with ALS, Dr. Jeffrey Rothstein, Director of the Robert Packard Center for ALS Research and Professor of Neurology at Johns Hopkins, and the Answer ALS Team. Answer ALS is a global project dedicated to developing and implementing a unified strategy to stop ALS. The team aims to achieve change by unifying the global community toward agreed upon goals in research, science, technology, and education.
"Both teams have exemplified outstanding abilities to transform ALS treatment and care” said Merit Cudkowicz, who is also the Chief of Neurology at MGH. "With the innovation and research coming from these teams, I am certain they will continue to make strides in the fight against ALS and make an enormous impact on the ALS community."
2023 AND BEYOND: WHAT'S NEXT
New technology and collaborative science allow discoveries to happen at a much faster pace than individual research. Answer ALS is empowering the scientific community by creating and giving open access to data that they might not easily find or generate on their own... and it could very well be, the answer to ALS.
Campaign Spotlight:
Team Chace
Friends and family sought to raise $1000 in honor of Chace Brundige, who is living with ALS. They are shown here with over $14,000 raised for Answer ALS! 75 people joined in total and with a matching gift to support our mission to help end ALS for all.

Thank you, Team Chace!
Join Us for the 2023 Game Changer Golf Classic!
Please join us for 2 exciting days in Fort Worth, Texas for extraordinary food, entertainment, golf, and engagement to support those living with ALS.

May 22 & 23, 2023
Fort Worth, Texas

The inaugural Game Changer Golf Classic is being hosted by Aviators Against ALS to raise critical funds for Answer ALS and Team Gleason. Title Sponsor, American Airlines, will be honored for their tremendous support of Answer ALS, and we are proud to announce that Citi Group will once again be the Golf Classic's Presenting Sponsor.
For sponsorship levels, foursomes, to donate, or for more information, please click the link above. Teams and sponsors are limited, so sign up now!
They were game-changers before their ALS diagnosis. Now they are changing the game for ALS.
At 37, Brian Wallach, an Answer ALS participant, was diagnosed with ALS on the same day he and his wife Sandra brought their youngest daughter home from the hospital. The current system offered no hope for a cure. So Brian and Sandra set out to forge their own path.

They are featured in the documentary, No Ordinary Campaign, which is unfolding in real time as one couple fights for their own future while seeking to build a brighter one for thousands of others.
Answer ALS Advisory Board Chair, Ed Rapp, retired from Caterpillar Inc. in 2016 after his ALS diagnosis. Prior to his retirement, Ed was a Caterpillar Group President. 

Ed recently co-wrote, The Flywheel of Life and Leadership, published in 2022. This book is for those who want a comprehensive approach to both life and leadership. It highlights key principles and practices to deal with our hectic, interconnected, and demanding world.
Our singular goal is to end ALS in our lifetime. Please help us not only continue the momentum in progress, but accelerate this critical work.