Importance of Coordination in ALS Collaborative Research: Kuldip Dave, PhD

WATCH TIME: 5 minutes

“I think what's more critical in ALS is coordination. Can we collaborate in a coordinated way? What I mean by that is, we don't all have to do the same thing. If someone is doing A and B, then another organization can work on C and D. I think that's the type of collaboration that is needed more in the ALS field.”

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a complex neuromuscular disease that impacts the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. Collaboration between patients, clinicians, researchers, and organizations is essential to improving the quality of care for patients with ALS and critical for developing new therapies for the disease. Although collaboration helps to move the field of ALS forward, there may be more effective ways to go about it.

At the recent 2023 Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) Clinical & Scientific Conference, March 19-22, in Dallas, Texas, Kuldip Dave, PhD, and colleagues presented on the importance of understanding how coordination could transform the ALS field in a session that covered collaboration in ALS. During the rest of the session, presenters shared case studies involving different models of collaboration to highlight some of the benefits and challenges of collaborations in ALS from research to care.

Dave, senior vice president of research at The ALS Association, sat down with NeurologyLive® in an interview at the conference to detail more about his presentation. He provided an overview of what is currently known in ALS research, such as disease biology and treatment options, as well as why both collaboration and coordination is critical to patient care.

Click here for more coverage of MDA 2023.

REFERENCES
1. Dave K, Hesterlee S, Sawicki D. Coordinated Philanthropy for Transforming ALS. Presented at: MDA Clinical & Scientific Conference; March 19-22, 2023; Dallas, TX. ALS Collaborations: A Continuum from Research to Care Session.