Sean M. Healey & AMG Center for ALS Announces 2025 ALS Young Investigator Awards

The Sean M. Healey & AMG Center for ALS is thrilled to announce the 2025 MGH ALS Young Investigator Awards. These awards celebrate the work of researchers and innovators in the field of ALS research.

2025-2027 Mussallem Transformative Scholars in ALS

Supported by the Linda and Mike Mussallem Foundation, the Mussallem Transformative Scholars in ALS are brilliant young scientists committed to advancing the most innovative and exciting ALS research. These scholars are integral members of the Healey & AMG Center and benefit from mentorship by world-renowned scientists and clinicians. While working closely with their primary mentors, the Scholars attend Healey & AMG Center meetings and learn first-hand current approaches to drug discovery and development. Importantly, Scholars have the opportunity to engage directly with people living with ALS.

While Jin Cai, PhD (Understanding human neuronal activities during natural conversation), Aaron Held, PhD (Understanding TDP-43 aggregates and identifying potential therapeutic targets), Christine Marques, PhD (Evaluating a family of compounds, including an FDA-approved drug, for effectiveness in mouse models) and Tiziana Tetrozziello, MS, PhD (Targeting tau to promote innervation at the neuromuscular junction in ALS), continue in their second year as Mussallem Transformative Scholars in ALS, two new scholars, Yuyu Song, MD, PhD (Selective Vulnerability in ALS and FTD: from cells to molecules) and Seung Hun Park, PhD (Development of Mitochondria-Targeted Probes for Non-Invasive Monitoring and Therapeutic Intervention in ALS) will pursue their ALS research projects from 2025-2027.

Yuyu Song, MD, PhD: Selective Vulnerability in ALS and FTD: from cells to molecules
Assistant Professor, Department of Neurology, associated with the MassGeneral Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases

Heterogeneity in FTD and ALS patients presents both a challenge and an opportunity. As a Mussallem Transformative Scholar in ALS, Dr. Song will examine molecule and cellular pathways in motor versus frontal temporal cortical neurons in postmortem tissues, as well as their iPSC neurons, and test the therapeutic value of some kinase inhibitors that may restore axonal trafficking, as well as those that may restore nuclear structure and function. By focusing on pathogenic mechanisms rather than symptoms in ALS and FTD, I expect to gain insights that will lead to novel therapeutic strategies tailored to fit the neuropathology in a given patient. She will also develop a new platform for future drug screens and for testing drugs for each patient in vitro before dosing them in vivo.

Seung Hun Park, PhD: Development of Mitochondria-Targeted Probes for Non-Invasive Monitoring and Therapeutic Intervention in ALS
Instructor, Gordon Center for Medical Imaging, Division of Radiological Sciences, Mass General

A critical hallmark of ALS is mitochondrial dysfunction, which drives oxidative stress, disrupts cellular homeostasis and compromises the integrity of the blood-brain barrier, exacerbating neuronal loss. While mitochondrial-targeted therapies hold promise, the lack of non-invasive tools to monitor mitochondrial dynamics and therapeutic responses in real-time represents a significant barrier to advancing ALS treatment. As a Mussallem Transformative Scholar in ALS, Dr. Park will address this unmet need by developing a theranostic agent for ALS by modifying mitochondria-targeted antioxidant probes, enabling real-time, in vivo monitoring of ALS progression using near­infrared fluorescence imaging. We hypothesize that ALS04 will not only serve as a diagnostic tool but also reduce oxidative stress and preserve mitochondrial function, slowing disease progression. The successful development of ALS04 would represent a transformative advance in ALS research, providing a dual-function platform for real-time disease monitoring and targeted therapy.

2025 Byrne Family and Judith & Jean Pape Adams Endowed Fellowship

Adel Boudi, PhD is the recipient of the 2025-2026 Byrne Family Endowed Fellowship and Judith & Jean Pape Adams Charitable Foundation Early Career Research Award, Investigating gene fusion-driven impairments in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis.

Dr. Adel Boudi, a post-doctoral fellow in the Sadri-Vakili Lab, is investigating the role of gene fusions, a well-established driver of cancer pathology, in ALS. Previously, the team identified a significant number of ALS-specific gene fusion events in post-mortem brain and spinal cord tissues that they are currently investigating in depth to determine whether they play a role in ALS. Through this fellowship, Dr. Boudi will study the functional effects of one of the top candidates, FAM69A-EVI5 fusion, using neuron-like and induced Pluripotent Stem Cell (iPSC)-derived motor neurons to determine its potential role in ALS pathogenesis. By establishing a functional link between FAM69A-EVI5 and ALS, these findings will lay the groundwork for future studies offering new insights into disease mechanisms and therapeutic strategies.

About the Sean M. Healey & AMG Center for ALS at Mass General

At the Sean M. Healey & AMG Center for ALS at Mass General, we are committed to bringing together a global network of scientists, physicians, nurses, foundations, federal agencies, and people living with ALS, their loved ones, and caregivers to accelerate the pace of ALS therapy discovery and development.

Launched in November 2018, the Healey & AMG Center, under the leadership of Merit Cudkowicz, MD and a Science Advisory Council of international experts, is reimagining how to develop and test the most promising therapies to treat the disease, identify cures and ultimately prevent it.

With dozens of active clinical trials and lab-based research studies in progress right now, we are ushering in a new phase of ALS treatment and care. Together, we will find the cures.