Getting the gang back together: Rob Akins and the joy of Rob’s Mob For more than 20 years, Rob Akins has lived with ALS — and for the past three, he’s walked with Rob’s Mob, the team that bears his …
Connecting the immune system to ALS to develop new therapies
Researchers have long suspected the immune system to be a key player in the connective breakdown between the brain and the muscles in people with ALS. At the Les Turner ALS Center at Northwestern Medicine, neuroimmunologist and assistant professor David …
August 2026 Foundation eNews
Family, faith, and a reason to walk together For Michael Jaquez and his family, the ALS Walk for Life is about one thing: seeing his mom, Luz, smile. Diagnosed with ALS in early 2025, Luz faced the first months with …
Running a Marathon for Mom: Kevin Dispensa and Team Race for ALS
Kevin Dispensa never planned to run a marathon. But when his best friend from high school, Ross, suggested they tackle the Chicago Marathon in honor of Kevin’s mom, Janie Gobeli, everything clicked. Now, Kevin, his brother, his dad, and three …
July 2026 Foundation eNews
Kravitz Krew is going 22-years strong at the ALS Walk for Life For Gary Kravitz, the ALS Walk for Life is a tradition over two decades in the making. Since his first Walk at Montrose Harbor in 2004, Gary and …
Finding the exact target for potential ALS drug
More than 15 years ago, Northwestern University professor Richard Silverman set out to discover a small molecule compound that could prevent toxic protein aggregation in the brain. From that journey came NU-9, a drug that prevents the aggregation of the …
June 2026 Foundation eNews
Unite with us along the lakefront for a world free from ALS Join us at Soldier Field on Saturday, Oct. 24, for the ALS Walk for Life — the largest ALS walk in the Midwest. Registration is officially open, and …
Researchers discover cause of neuron excitability in ALS, leading to new potential treatment
Digging deep into the molecular mechanisms behind ALS, researchers at the Les Turner ALS Center at Northwestern Medicine have discovered why nerve cells overfire in the disease. Not only that—they have also designed a new drug to stop this overfiring, …
June 2026 Foundation eNews
You helped us raise awareness all May With ALS Awareness Month coming to a close at the end of last month, we wanted to acknowledge once more the community members who made these videos possible. Throughout the month, we focused …
May 2026 Foundation eNews
Help us share stories from our community This May, we’re continuing to illuminate the realities of the disease to foster deeper understanding and spark change. Throughout ALS Awareness Month, the focus is on the financial impact, the diagnostic journey, the …
