Welcome to ALS Finding a Cure®

Vision

Lee Rizzuto, the founder of ALS Finding a Cure®, had a bold vision. He was interested in doing something to help his son and daughter-in-law who were fighting a battle with ALS. Together with friend Peter Foss, he envisioned convening a group of experts from complementary fields to identify and address critical gaps in the scientific understanding of ALS preventing the field from developing a cure. The decision-making body for ALS Finding a Cure® was formed from a mix of world-renowned neurologists, neuroscientists, engineers, health-care leaders, ALS advocates, and corporate officers – all with a common interest in and devotion to finding a cure for ALS.

ALSFAC Principles​

  • Invest in shared challenges/new technologies to find a cure​
  • Partner and collaborate​
  • Pool and share data (open source)​
  • Transparency/no red tape​
  • Every study informs/moves field closer to cure​
  • Everyone participates in research​

Overview of ALSFAC​

The sole purpose of the ALS Finding a Cure® Initiative is funding research to find a cure.​

Our goal is to bring together some of the top minds in ALS to develop novel biomarkers and diagnostics, provide resources to help advance new therapies to the clinic, accelerate innovation in clinical trial design, and expand access to shared research resources.​

Our team of researchers is led by our Chief Medical Officer Dr. Merit Cudkowicz, Chief of Neurology and Director of the Sean M. Healey & AMG Center for ALS at Massachusetts General Hospital, and the foundation is overseen by Peter N. Foss and Denis Rizzuto. ALS Finding a Cure® is a program of the Leandro P. Rizzuto Foundation. We are proud to report that 100% of donations go directly to funding research.

ALS Finding a Cure® is inspired by and is a tribute to Christie Rizzuto, who was diagnosed with ALS in 2009 at the age of 41. It is Christie, and the many others like her, who drive our work.​

ALSFAC FUNDING PORTFOLIO

ALSFAC has committed almost $31M to the programs and projects it supports, these dollars have leveraged an additional $50M from partners sources towards finding a cure for ALS. ​

Total ALSFAC Funding 100% = $31 M