Career Development Award (ALS Research)

Career Development Award (ALS Research) is sponsored by Live Like Lou Foundation. This financial grant is awarded to a tenure-track junior investigator (assistant professor level or equivalent) within 5 years of starting their own independent group/lab and has not yet received their first RO1-level grant, to conduct innovative research on neurodegenerative di…

The Live Like Lou Foundation focuses on developing partnerships to facilitate learning amongst ALS scientists and supporting innovative ALS research to find treatments or a cure. This financial grant has an annual payout of up to $100,000 for up to two years.

It is awarded to a tenure-track junior investigator (assistant professor level or equivalent) within 5 years of starting their own independent group/lab and has not yet received their first RO1-level grant.

2019 —Dr. Veronique Belzil , Mayo Clinic of Florida; and Dr. Manolis Kellis , MIT 2020 —Dr. Aaron Haeusler , Thomas Jefferson University 2021 —Dr. Stephanie Moon , University of Michigan 2023 —Dr. Devesh Pant , Emory University 2025 —Dr. Zevik Melamed , Hebrew University READ ABOUT 2025 RECIPIENT This program aims to encourage and expand the number of investigators conducting innovative research on neurodegenerative diseases, with the goal of finding treatments or cures for ALS.

This grant supports emerging scientists with an interest in ALS who are in the early stages of postdoctoral training at an academic institution or equivalent research environment. Eligible applicants must be in their first four years of postdoctoral training. The fellowship covers direct costs of up to $75,000 per year for up to two years.

2022 —Dr. Daryl Fields , University of Pittsburgh 2023 —Dr. Alexander Cammack , University College London; and Dr. Yifu Han, University of Southern California 2024 —Dr. Gregory Mohl , University of California at San Francisco; and Dr. Carlo Scialo , University of Zurich 2025 —Dr. Tereza Filipi, Research Centre of the University of Montreal Hospital (CRCHUM); and Dr. Larissa Traxler, University of California, San Diego APPLICATION IS NOW CLOSED.

This Fellowship is intended to attract and encourage new researchers in PhD graduate programs conducting innovative neurodegenerative disease research aimed at finding treatments or cures for ALS. The Fellowship awards up to two graduate students enrolled in an academic institution or equivalent research environment up to $50,000 annually for up to two years to be awarded beginning April 2025.

2025 — He "Lilian" Gao , University of California at San Diego; Thao Nguyen , Stanford University 2026 APPLICATIONS ARE NOW CLOSED. For awards funded by the Live Like Lou Foundation, our grants to institutions support our research priorities. As such, none of our money may be used for indirect costs, facilities, and/or administrative costs.

All funds awarded by the Live Like Lou Foundation are expected to be used for research in this field (after costs, if applicable). Scientific Review Process Two independent reviewers with relevant expertise review each application. All applications are ranked based on average score, and the top 10 percent are considered finalists.

A second independent review panel consisting of Live Like Lou Scientific Advisory Board members, reviews and discusses all applications and makes a recommendation for the award to the Live Like Lou Foundation Board of Trustees. Do you want to be notified when our research grants open?

Working in partnership with the Live Like Lou Scientific Advisory Board, the organization selects and partners with leading ALS scientists to nominate host institutions, presenters, and the invitation list for hybrid and in-person research learning events. Together we provide opportunities for collaboration, research partnerships, unique instruction, and grant opportunities not otherwise available to emerging ALS investigators.

Biennial In-Person Research SYMPOSIUM In 2018, Live Like Lou launched a biennial, two-day symposium that brings together emerging ALS investigators to collaborate, share research, exchange ideas and build connections.

2018 — UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH 2022 — BARROW NEUROLOGICAL INSTITUTE 2024 — UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN 2026 — PENN STATE COLLEGE OF MEDICINE Interested in sponsoring the The pace of change in ALS research and our hope for future treatments and cures for ALS increase when communities come together.

Live Like Lou is proud to have funded research at two world-class institutions to date: The University of Pittsburgh Funded during Live Like Lou’s grassroots days in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Neil and Suzanne Alexander were devoted to advancing ALS research upon Neil’s diagnosis with Lou Gehrig’s disease.

With the funds raised from 2011–15, the Live Like Lou Center for ALS Research at the University of Pittsburgh Brain Institute was created. Its mission is to unlock the mysteries of normal and abnormal brain function and translate discoveries into new approaches for overcoming brain disorders. Since its inception, the brain institute has grown to include two primary investigators and leading laboratories of more than a dozen scientists.

They have three patents pending and a spinoff therapeutics testing lab that went public in July 2022. Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) Live Like Lou teamed up with VUMC for new ALS research in Middle Tennessee. The It’s a Whole New Ballgame for ALS Research campaign has raised more than $5 million to fund new, pre-clinical, and innovative ALS science at this top-tier research institution.

Learn more about the latest campaign news and fundraising success. Scientific Advisory Board Live Like Lou develops its research grants, programming for emerging ALS investigators, and strategy for research investments based upon the recommendations of a volunteer Scientific Advisory Board comprised of experts in the field.

Scientific advisory board Associate Professor and Vice Chair, Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Saint Louis University School of Medicine ‍ Associate Professor of Neurology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor Veronique Belzil, PhD, MS Director, Vanderbilt ALS Research Center and Associate Professor, Department of Neurology Senior Investigator, Development of Neurodegeneration, National Institutes of Health/NICHD Associate Professor of Neurology and Neuroscience, Northwestern University; Live Like Lou Foundation Scientific Director 2 South Campus Ave.

, Oxford, OH 45056 LIVE LIKE LOU is a qualified 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization with EIN: 82-3524872