News & Announcements
Read the latest news from the Les Turner ALS Center at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. The links below take you to articles where you can learn more about our members' latest achievements, awards and honors.
10.16.2025A Northwestern Medicine study has revealed a key mechanism underlying the development of motor neuron diseases, offering new insights into potential treatment options, according to a study published in the Journal of Neuroscience.
10.03.2025Robert Kalb, MD, Director of the Les Turner ALS Center at Northwestern Medicine is optimistic that more breakthroughs in the basic biology of the disease are on the way and a cure is possible.
09.03.2025The Les Turner ALS Foundation has announced that it will make a $500,000 gift to support ALS research at Feinberg; the historic gift will support researchers in pursuit of a cure for the disease during a federal funding freeze on Northwestern research.
11.08.2024Northwestern scientists, clinicians, and members of the ALS community gathered in the Feinberg Pavilion for the 14th annual Les Turner Symposium on ALS to celebrate progress and share the latest research in hopes of better understanding and treating the disease.
04.11.2024Recent studies from Feinberg scientists have uncovered new insights into these disorders, elucidating the mechanisms behind Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS.
11.10.2023A pair of recent studies from the laboratory of Evangelos Kiskinis, PhD, have uncovered novel cellular mechanisms that are involved in two types of genetic ALS, providing support for future development of targeted therapies to treat the disease.
11.10.2023Northwestern investigators, clinicians, and people living with ALS convened in the Feinberg Pavilion for the 13th annual Les Turner Symposium on ALS to celebrate and share new scientific breakthroughs that improve the understanding of ALS and advancements in treating the disease.
08.17.2023Northwestern Medicine investigators have uncovered how the ALS-associated gene NEK1 disrupts neuronal function in a new study published in Science Advances.
01.12.2023Northwestern scientists have created the first highly mature neurons from human induced pluripotent stem cells, a feat that opens new opportunities for medical research and potential transplantation therapies for neurodegenerative diseases.
11.10.2022Northwestern physicians, scientists and people living with ALS gathered at the 12th annual Les Turner Symposium on ALS to share knowledge and celebrate advances in understanding and treating the disease.
11.11.2021A new injectable therapy harnesses “dancing molecules” to reverse paralysis and repair tissue after severe spinal cord injuries, allowing animal subjects to regain the ability to walk.
11.08.2021The damaging effects of toxic proteins created in one inherited form of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) are mediated by an enzyme called SPOP.
11.04.2021Northwestern scientists and clinicians demonstrated their continued commitment to advancing knowledge and therapies for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis during the 11th annual Les Turner Symposium on ALS.
01.27.2021An experimental drug called ezogabine reduced spinal neuron excitability in patients with ALS, according to a recent study.
11.17.2020The 10th Annual Les Turner Symposium on ALS — the first held virtually — featured scientific presentations, updates on innovative clinical trials and a question-and-answer session for patients and caretakers.
02.13.2020Northwestern Medicine scientists have discovered that mutations in the largest genetic contributor to ALS leads to the dysfunction and eventual degeneration of certain specialized subtypes in the brain. The findings may lead to development of novel therapeutic interventions for the disease.
11.15.2019Faculty, staff, students and trainees gathered for the ninth annual Les Turner Symposium on ALS and NeuroRepair, a one-day event highlighting the present and future of treating ALS.
10.24.2019Evangelos Kiskinis, PhD, has received a New York Stem Cell Foundation – Robertson Investigator Award to study the origins of ALS and pediatric epilepsy.
- 09.05.2019
Two Northwestern University scientists have received a $3.1 million grant from the National Institute on Aging to collaborate and investigate drug therapies for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
05.31.2019Northwestern scientists have discovered how certain genetic mutations can weaken protein “quality control,” identifying a pathway that may contribute to neurodegenerative diseases.
11.15.2018The 8th Annual Les Turner Symposium brought together investigators, clinicians, patients and families to share the latest discoveries in ALS research, promote scientific collaboration and provide patient education.
09.01.2018Robert Kalb is moving Northwestern’s Les Turner ALS Center forward. Read the story in Northwestern Medicine magazine.
08.08.2018Basic Science conducted by investigators at Northwestern’s Les Turner ALS Center is building a foundation for future ALS care.
06.20.2018Northwestern Medicine scientists used an innovative technique to measure electrical activity in ALS neurons, finding changes in excitability that indicated disease, according to a study published in Stem Cell Reports.
03.22.2018Northwestern Medicine scientists have uncovered how DNA methylation triggers stem cells to transform into more specialized neuronal cells.
11.13.2017The 7th Annual Les Turner Symposium showcased the integration of ALS investigation and clinical care at Northwestern Medicine and the Les Turner ALS Foundation.
09.19.2017Robert Kalb, MD, has been named to lead the Les Turner ALS Research and Patient Center at Northwestern Medicine, as the center’s inaugural director.
09.07.2017The major features of Parkinson’s disease have been linked to a toxic cascade beginning with oxidized dopamine, providing a possible therapeutic pathway.
02.07.2017A new review, published in Nature Reviews Neurology, outlines how upper motor neuron degeneration is an important feature in ALS pathology, and could be key to developing better diagnostic tools and treatments for ALS.