Hope Through Caring Gala Raises $800,000 for ALS Advancements

The Les Turner ALS Foundation raised more than $800,000 at its 38th Annual Hope Through Caring Gala on April 11, ensuring a promising future of research and care for people living with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS.

For more than 40 years, the Les Turner ALS Foundation has been an esteemed partner of Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, and numerous faculty and staff members from its Lois Insolia ALS Clinic and the Les Turner ALS Center were in attendance. More than 500 people attended the gala, held at the Radisson Blu Aqua Hotel in Chicago and streamed online.

John M. Coleman III, MD, associate professor of Medicine and of Neurology, was presented the Harvey and Bonny Gaffen Advancements in ALS Award for his impact on the ALS community through care, advocacy, and advancing research. Cecil Puvathingal, one of Dr. Coleman’s patients, praised Dr. Coleman’s listening ear and compassionate bedside manner in pre-recorded remarks.

“Coleman has an incredible ability to balance honesty with humanity,” Puvathingal said. “He explains the science. He answers every question. And he does it in a way that makes a very difficult road feel a little less lonely.”

Dr. Coleman told attendees that he was inspired to enter the medical profession by his grandfather, Jack Coleman, whose approach was likewise people-focused. “He treated people, not their diseases,” he recalled. “He made everyone he cared for feel like the most important person in the room.”

He said each of his patients and their stories have deeply affected him and that he takes his responsibilities as an ALS physician very seriously.

“As I look around this room, I see so many of you that inspire me every day. Your passion for living and your strength to overcome obstacles have taught me to appreciate the days that challenge me,” he said.

There are an estimated 350,000 cases of ALS worldwide, and the symptoms and progression of the disease can vary greatly by person. The degeneration of neurons leads to muscle weakness and impaired speaking, swallowing, and breathing, eventually causing paralysis and death. Thanks to generous investment from the Les Turner ALS Foundation, Feinberg scientists are working diligently to elucidate the mechanisms of the disease and, ultimately, find a cure.

In the last year, Northwestern scientists published several such papers in leading journals. Scientists led by Evangelos Kiskinis, PhD, associate professor of Neurology (Neuromuscular Disease), and Neuroscience, discovered a breakdown in cells’ RNA “quality control” system, which normally keeps genetic messages clean and functional. Dr. Kiskinis’s team also uncovered how a key disease protein, TDP-43, drives overactive nerve cells in neurodegenerative diseases and highlighted a promising new antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) drug that could slow or prevent disease progression.

Vladimir Gelfand, PhD, the Leslie B. Arey Professor of Cell, Molecular, and Anatomical Sciences and professor of Cell and Developmental Biology, revealed that a genetic mutation in an RNA-binding protein disrupts the stability of the cytoskeleton in motor neurons, leading to impaired neuron growth and function.

And Robert Kalb, PhD, director of the Les Turner ALS Center, chief of Neuromuscular Disease in the Ken and Ruth Department of Neurology, the Joan and Paul Rubschlager Professor, and professor of Neurology (Neuromuscular Disease), zeroed in on a cellular gatekeeper that may hold promise for treating abnormal protein accumulation in neurodegenerative diseases.

These strides were not without challenges: In 2025, many universities faced a federal funding freeze that upended ongoing, vital research and caused deep uncertainty for the labs seeking to advance medical practice across the country.

Laura Freveletti, chief executive officer of the Les Turner ALS Foundation, acknowledged these challenges and thanked all who helped keep research operational at Northwestern. “Your donations made it possible for us to step forward with an emergency gift of $500,000 to keep our labs open and continue the search for a cure,” she said.

Additionally, she said, the Foundation was able to provide direct support to families affected by ALS, distributing 107 grants to families facing steep unexpected costs, loaning 170 wheelchairs and assistive technology to patients, hosting support groups, and providing online resources to hundreds of thousands of people—all thanks to philanthropy.

“That’s the difference you’re making through your support of the Les Turner ALS Foundation. That’s what’s possible with a community like this,” Freveletti said.

Make a gift to support ALS research.

For more information about supporting the Les Turner ALS Center, please contact Jordan Sund at jordan.sund@northwestern.edu or 312-503-2706.