Beyond the Ice Bucket Challenge: the Latest Research on Lou Gehrig’s Disease (ALS)

Friday, May 15 at 12 noon in LPL’s Callahan Hall: Dr. Brett Morrison, Assistant Professor of Neurology, Johns Hopkins Medical School, “Beyond the Ice Bucket Challenge: the Latest Research on Lou Gehrig’s Disease (ALS).”

The “Ice Bucket Challenge” brought new awareness and critical research funding for the neurodegenerative disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), commonly called Lou Gehrig’s disease.  However, despite greater recognition of the disease, most of the non-medical community remains unaware of the challenges facing patients, caregivers, physicians, and researchers who deal with ALS on a daily basis.

In this Great Falls Forum presentation leading ALS researcher, Dr. Brett Morrison will describe the clinical disease, the state of current treatments, the challenges of clinical trials, and our expanding knowledge of the disease. Despite the fact that there is currently only one FDA-approved drug used to treat the disease, Brett will discuss the current state of ALS research and the potential for more effective treatments on the horizon.

Dr. Morrison is the director of the inpatient neurology consult service at Johns Hopkins University where he is involved in training both neurology residents and medical students. He is a 1988 graduate of Edward Little High School and holds both an M.D. and Ph.D. from Mount Sinai Medical School in New York City.

Admission is free to all Forum events and no reservations are required. This program is a bring-your-own brown-bag lunch event.  Coffee, tea and bottled water will be available on site at the library.

The Great Falls Forum is co-sponsored by the Androscoggin County Chamber of Commerce, Bates College, Lewiston Public Library and the Sun Journal. The Lewiston Public Library is located downtown at 200 Lisbon Street at the corner of Pine Street.

For more information, contact our Adult & Teen Services Desk at 513-3135 or via email at LPLReference@gmail.com