13th Annual Les Turner Symposium on ALS

13th Annual Les Turner Symposium on ALS

Join us for the 13th Annual Les Turner Symposium on ALS!

This one-day event will be held in person with opportunities to stream presentations from home between 8:45 a.m. to 5 p.m. Central Time on Monday, Nov. 6. The Les Turner Symposium on ALS has featured presentations from leading ALS scientists and clinicians, as well as people living with ALS; in addition research posters, a Q&A panel and more.

The symposium is free to attend, but we encourage attendees to make a donation to ALS research. This event is sponsored by the Les Turner ALS Center at Northwestern Medicine and our generous sponsors.

To learn more, please visit lesturnerals.org/symposium. Contact Teli Moore-Walker with additional questions at telicia.moore@northwestern.edu or at 312-503-5059.

NOTE: By registering and attending the symposium, you are consenting to being photographed and/or filmed by event organizers from Northwestern University, Northwestern Medicine and the Les Turner ALS Foundation for promotional purposes.

Symposium Agenda:

8 a.m. - Registration and Breakfast

8:45 a.m. - Welcome and Opening

Hande Ozdinler, PhD, Associate Professor of Neurology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine

Robert Kalb, MD, Joan and Paul Rubschlager Professor of Neurology, Chief of Neuromuscular Disease; Director, Les Turner ALS Center, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.

Laura Freveletti, CEO of Les Turner ALS Foundation

9 a.m. to 9:25 a.m. - Untangling the convergence of disease mechanisms in ALS using personalized iPSC technologies
Evangelos Kiskinis, PhD, Associate Professor of Neurology and Neuroscience, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine

9:35 a.m. to 10:05 a.m. - How neuronal stress and brain trauma may contribute to ALS pathogenesis
Daryl Bosco, PhD, Professor and Associate Vice Chair, Professor of Neurology, UMass Chan Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts

10:10 a.m. to 10:25 a.m. - Potential role of cardiolipin nanoparticles in improving upper motor neuron health in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
Mukesh Gautam, PhD, ​Research Assistant Professor, Ellen McConnell Blakeman Fellow, Department of Neurology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine

10:30 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. - Morning Break

10:50 a.m. to 11:20 a.m. - Countering deleterious phase transitions in ALS/FTD
James Shorter, M.A., PhD, Professor, Department of Biochemistry & Biophysics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania

11:25 a.m. to 11:55 a.m. - From axon damage to disease: common mechanisms in neurodegeneration
Claire Le Pichon, PhD, Investigator, NICHD / National Institutes of Health

12 to 2 p.m. - Lunch Break/Poster Session

12:15 p.m. - NU-9 Information Session (in-person only)
Hande Ozdinler, PhD, Associate Professor of Neurology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine

12:30 p.m. - Poster Session Begins

2 p.m.- Opening Remarks for Afternoon Session

Laura Freveletti, CEO of Les Turner ALS Foundation

2:05 p.m. - Keynote Address

Introduction: Robert Kalb, MD, Joan and Paul Rubschlager Professor of Neurology, Chief of Neuromuscular Disease; Director, Les Turner ALS Center, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine

Antisense based therapy for rare neurological diseases by C. Frank Bennett, PhD, Executive Vice President, Chief Scientific Officer, Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Moderator: David Gate, PhD, Assistant Professor, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine

3:20 p.m. - Afternoon Break

3:30 p.m. - Les Turner ALS Foundation Video & Clinical Conversations Panel

Introduction: Erik Pioro, MD, PhD, Herbert C. Wenske Professor of Neurology, Vice-Chair of Translational Neurology, Medical Director, Neuromuscular Division

Senda Ajroud-Driss, MD, Professor of Neurology; Director, Lois Insolia ALS Clinic; Les Turner ALS Center; Director, MDA Clinic, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine

Tina Cascio, RN, BSN, Board of Directors, Les Turner ALS Foundation

Janie Gobeli, ALS Research Ambassador for the Northeast ALS Consortium

Moderator: Lauren Webb, LCSW, Chief Advocacy and Outreach Officer, Les Turner ALS Foundation

4:35 p.m. - Closing Remarks

Robert Kalb, MD, Joan and Paul Rubschlager Professor of Neurology, Chief of Neuromuscular Disease; Director, Les Turner ALS Center, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine

*All Northwestern faculty members presenting in sessions are with the Les Turner ALS Center at Northwestern Medicine, unless otherwise noted.