Weinberg ALS Center

LABOlympics Game 5: Eyewash Station Hunt 🚿

In ALS, the muscles controlling the eyes are often among the last to be affected. As the disease progresses and voluntary movement becomes increasingly difficult, maintaining visual communication becomes one of the few remaining connections between a person and the world around them.
That contrast is what makes this disease so devastating: the gradual loss of ways to interact with the world, while awareness often remains intact.

We train to protect our sight in the lab. We research to protect it in our patients.

The everyday habits we take for granted are the very things ALS takes away.
When independence fades, families must trust others' hands.

May is ALS Awareness Month. While ALS changes how a person moves and speaks, it cannot diminish who they are.

LABOlympics Game 3: Molarity Medley ⚗️

Preparing solutions of exact concentration is one of the most practiced skills in any research lab. Too little, and an experiment loses meaning. Too much, and the system you are studying is pushed beyond its limits.

In ALS, the fine balance of neurotransmitters — particularly glutamate — becomes dangerously disrupted. This imbalance contributes to excitotoxicity, a process in which motor neurons are overstimulated and progressively damaged, accelerating disease progression.

We train to master molecular precision in the lab. We research to preserve balance in our patients.