ALS TDI

10/20/2026

Thank you to the NFL for supporting the Champion Insights Study. This research is helping us better understand ALS and investigate why some groups, including elite athletes, may face a higher risk of the disease.

Big news for the ALS community! 💙

The NFL has committed $500,000 to Champion Insights, our study investigating why athletes, veterans and first responders face up to twice the risk of ALS.

Steve Gleason put it best: “I do not spend time on speculation. I spend it asking why.”

Steve was the very first person to join the study. Here he is with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell at Domecoming in the Superdome. We’re so grateful to the NFL for standing with us. ⚜️

Are you a former athlete, veteran or first responder? You can take part from home. For more information about Champion Insights participation eligibility or to enroll, please visit championinsights.org or contact [email protected].

Champion Insights is led by Answer ALS and Augie's Quest to Cure ALS, with research conducted by ALS TDI. The study is enrolling up to 500 participants, entirely remotely, with in-home blood collection.

📸 David Grunfeld, The Times-Picayune

10/20/2026

"We're looking at a crossroads with many, many different options, many, many different paths that we have to pursue."

At our recent ALS TDI Summit, CEO and Chief Scientific Officer Dr. Fernando Vieira described the current state of ALS research as a crossroads with many promising paths, each one its own drug discovery program. The challenge isn't a shortage of leads. It's capacity to pursue them.

That's what our expansion is built to solve. In early 2027, we move into a new 33,000 square foot facility and double our science team — and as Dr. Vieira explains, doubling the team doesn't double the output. It multiplies it.

Hear more from Dr. Vieira at our Town Hall tomorrow, Wednesday, October 21 at 3:00 PM ET. Don't miss it: https://www.als.net/als-town-hall/

Couldn't make it to the Summit? Watch all the sessions here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLV9fTeqbMjNQ&si=hsNu6Ew21F2UHnw2

10/17/2026

What a weekend!

Thank you to everyone who came to Boston for ALS TDI's 2026 Leadership Weekend — our Open House at the lab, a full day of science at the ALS TDI Research Summit, and our 15th annual White Coat Affair we won't soon forget.

We came together for collaboration, connection, and the research that moves us closer to treatments for ALS. We leave with new partnerships, new ideas, and a renewed sense of exactly who we're doing this for.

To our guests, sponsors, researchers, volunteers, and the ALS community who made the trip: thank you. You are the reason this work keeps moving forward. 💜

10/13/2026

Why is ALS TDI expanding, and what will it actually change?

Join ALS TDI CEO and Chief Scientific Officer Fernando Vieira, M.D., on Wednesday, October 21, from 3:00 to 4:00 p.m. ET for a Town Hall about ALS TDI’s expansion.

Dr. Vieira will explain why this expansion is needed, how we’re growing our lab and research team, and how that added capacity will enable us to test more potential treatments and move the most promising ones forward faster. He’ll also discuss what the expansion means for people living with ALS and what you can expect from us in the months and years ahead.

The Town Hall is free and open to everyone. Register here: https://www.als.net/als-town-hall/

10/07/2026

Here's what Summit Friday looks like.

The 2026 ALS TDI Summit brings our scientists, collaborators, and community together for a full day of the research driving us toward treatments for ALS — from TDP-43 modeling and the SOD1 mouse model to the ARC platform, AI-guided data science, and digital measures of how ALS changes everyday life.

Highlights include a panel on hereditary vs. sporadic ALS featuring Dr. Fernando Vieira, Dr. Danielle Boyce, Dr. Michael Robinson, and Dr. Steven Altschuler, plus our Leadership Awards to close out the day.

Virtual attendance is free and open to everyone. Save your spot: https://fundraise.als.net/alssummit/

10/06/2026

Lauren Clausman will run her fourth marathon for ALS research on October 25th at the Marine Corps Marathon in Arlington, VA.

She began fundraising after losing a family member to ALS in 2012 and discovering how little the disease was understood at the time. This year, she's directing her efforts toward ALS TDI's Champion Insights Study — research into why military service members, first responders, and elite athletes appear to develop ALS at elevated rates. As a lifelong competitive runner with service members in her family, it's a question she takes personally.

"When I finish a big goal or a race like this, it feels 10 times more successful, more productive, knowing I was also able to raise awareness and raise money for people that are close to me."

The Martha Olson-Fernandez Foundation

Read her full story and support her run: https://www.als.net/news/lauren-clausman/

10/05/2026

Leadership Weekend doesn't happen without them.

Thank you to the sponsors who made this year's ALS TDI Leadership Weekend possible; your support brings our community together and keeps our research moving forward.

From all of us, and from everyone living with ALS who benefits from the work you help fund: thank you. 💜

10/05/2026

To everyone who turned their September birthday into something bigger: thank you. To celebrate your day, you asked your friends and family to give to ALS research, and together you raised over $850 for ALS TDI. That's real fuel for the work happening in our lab every day.

Want to do the same? Start a Facebook fundraiser for your next birthday and put it toward a treatment for ALS!

10/05/2026

Watch Steve Gleason’s GMA interview to hear about his connections with other football players living with ALS and why studies like Champion Insights are so important to understanding why certain populations may be at greater risk of developing the disease.

Learn more about Champion Insights here: https://www.championinsights.org/

10/04/2026

Pevindi knew she wanted to be a scientist when she was nine years old.

She was often sick as a child, and every new medicine made her wonder how it worked. Then she learned that some diseases still have no cure. “Why is this incurable?” That question became the foundation of her career.

Pevindi joined ALS TDI’s research team this year as part of our ongoing expansion. Today, she is studying C9orf72, one of the most common known genetic causes of ALS. Her work involves differentiating stem cells into motor neurons to create cellular models that can help us better understand the biology of C9orf72-associated ALS and evaluate potential treatments.

We are thrilled to have her on our growing team.

Follow along to meet more of the scientists behind the work.