Our Story: From Vision to Network
In 1995, in the wake of the first gene discovery of mutations in SOD1 as a cause of ALS that forever changed the understanding of ALS, a small group of New England researchers met to discuss how to bring new therapies to patients faster. Their idea was simple yet revolutionary: collaboration could overcome the barriers that slowed clinical research.
THAT CONVERSATION BECAME NEALS
The founding sites, including Massachusetts General Hospital , Brigham & Woman’s Hospital , University of Connecticut , Yale University , Brown University , Tufts University , and the Lahey Clinic , laid the groundwork for what would become a model of scientific collaboration. Their shared goal was not only to conduct rigorous research, but to create a sustainable infrastructure for education, data sharing, and trial readiness across the ALS field.
Guided by neurologist Dr. Ted Munsat, then Chair of the World Federation of Neurology, and inspired by pioneering ALS investigators such as Dr. Merit Cudkowicz, Dr. Jeremy Shefner, and Dr. Robert Brown, the group sought to unite academic centers that were eager to share ideas, train investigators, and build better trials for people living with ALS.
The group’s first NIH-funded clinical trial launched in 1999, marking the first time NIH had ever funded a trial in ALS.
From those early roots, NEALS quickly grew into an academic powerhouse developing standards, outcome measures, and open data practices that became the foundation of modern ALS research.
Over thirty years, NEALS has become synonymous with excellence, partnership, and progress.
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