Hi - I'm running because I've seen one of my best friends just got diagnosed with ALS. He is facing down this disease with courage and conviction, and working hard to build strength and flexibility to hold off the disease, all while raising a family and working as hard as possible, while he still can.  Since he's doing all that, I can run a marathon to raise money for ALS research!

I've never run a marathon before, but I am going to train and think of beating ALS with every step, and then go to the lab to work long hours in the day. I have a genetics laboratory at Weill Cornell Medicine, where we utilize cutting-edge technologies (spatial RNA/protein maps, cell encapsulation tools for dendrites and axons) that can characterize neurons in novel ways to help better understand the disease. Also, we are building a database for all known clinical trials for ALS, to keep an eye on emerging therapies, with new machine-learning tools and interfaces with the NIH's Clinical Trials site. Finally, our lab is helping with efforts at New York Genome Center (NYGC) and whole genome sequencing and analysis, to understand the genetics of the disease, and to help all future patients.

Please donate if you can, and thank you for your support.