Ludwig San Diego’s Don Cleveland and colleagues received the inaugural Healey Center International Prize for innovation in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) research for their discovery and development of antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) technology as a treatment approach for SOD1-mediated ALS. Over 100 different mutations to the SOD1 gene have been linked to inherited ALS, and ASO intervention is already being evaluated in clinical trials. The approach holds promise for other forms of ALS and a number of other neurodegenerative disorders as well. Don has made many significant discoveries on the molecular biology of neurodegenerative diseases, including the identification of tau, a protein that features in other cognitive disorders, including Alzheimer’s disease, frontal temporal dementia and chronic traumatic brain injury. Don and his colleagues received their award during the 30th International Symposium on ALS/MND in Perth, Australia on December 6th. Click here to see Don’s presentation at the award ceremony.
This article appeared in the April 2020 issue of Ludwig Link. Click here to download a PDF (1 MB).