Research

The Packard Center is an ALS research and support organization; we know there are many people living with ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, for whom our research progress may come too late. We want to help people live with ALS for as long and as well as they can and provide those affected by ALS with ways to get involved in the fight against it.

We are working to provide ALS support through global scientific research. Our Center acts as a one-stop collection of ALS resources so scientists can collaborate together and so that people can learn about the latest ALS clinical trials and treatment options. Through ALS education, a dedication to science and an active fundraising program, we are committed to providing the ALS community with a source of – and a resource for – hope.

Research is the KEY

MJ's Army raises funds to give to current research efforts.

ALSTDI (Therapy Development Institute) is a great organization and is a constant recipient of funds from MJ's Army.

What makes ALSTDI so different from other biotech companies and research labs?
Our unique and comprehensive approach leverages more than a decade of treatment-focused ALS research and applies it on an industrial scale to get therapeutics to today’s ALS patients as quickly, efficiently, and cost-effectively as possible. Our research team evaluates the most promising therapeutic hypotheses through the lenses of the richest ALS research databases in the world.
Treatments of all kinds are considered and tested rigorously and rapidly. Dr. Steve Perrin, CEO frequently speaks about our research plan to patients, families, industry executives and academics worldwide.

Click here to Read more about ALS TDI's research plan.
For ALSTDI FAQ's go here.

If you don’t find the answers you need here, feel free to ask us your question.

Putting Patients First

The National ALS Association is an organization that supports ALS patients, their families and the most promising research.

The Leader in Global ALS Research The ALS Association has committed more than $67 million to find effective treatments and a cure for Lou Gehrig’s Disease. Our global research effort has helped increase the number of scientists working on ALS, advanced new discoveries and treatments, and has shed light on the complex genetic and environmental factors involved in ALS.

The ALS Association has funded significant research milestones in the fight against ALS, including:

The groundbreaking discovery of a genetic abnormality that is, to date, the most common cause known of ALS and FTD.
The recent exciting finding involved in familial ALS shows how two proteins work together to buttress the survival of motor neurons.
Discovery of the ALS gene, SOD1, responsible for 20 percent of all inherited ALS cases.
Discovery of ALS6 in 2009, a new gene responsible for about 5% of all inherited ALS cases.
The first clinical trial of ISIS-SOD1, a new drug that specifically targets the SOD1 gene.

MJ's Army - Foundation Fighting ALS

MJ's Army raises money specifically to help fight ALS. These funds are distributed at the direction of the board. Today these funds are split evenly between the organizations we support listed on this page. They include the Robert Packard Center @ Johns Hopkins, ALSTDI - ALS Therapy Development Institute and the ALS Association - Fighting Lou Gehrig's Disease. Please read on to learn more about these benevolent organizations doing the urgent work required in the ALS Community.

Finally, we are always looking for new organizations which are working towards the goal of curing ALS.