Sean M. Healey & AMG Center Biorepository

The NEALS Biorepository/ALS Living Library at Mass General stores and shares over 100,000 plasma, serum, cerebro-spinal fluid and whole blood samples from people with ALS and controls for use by the ALS research community. These samples are linked to detailed clinical information, and managed by the knowledgeable Healey Center staff, making them a truly rare resource available throughout the globe. The biorepository has proven instrumental in contributing to both the ALS therapeutic pipeline and the discovery of ALS biomarkers over the years, for ALS researchers in academia and industry performing leading biomarker and drug development research.

A recent publication, “Longitudinal biomarkers in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis,” exemplifies the true benefit of the biorepository, capitalizing on samples collected over a five-year period to explore the behavior of key potential biomarkers over time. The work secures our knowledge about neurofilament as a biomarker and sheds light on inflammatory biomarkers and their potential use in ALS drug development. This work was a collaboration between Dr. James Berry at Mass General and researchers at Barrow Neurological Institute and Denali Therapeutics.