Call for Nominations: 2025 Drs. Ayeez and Shelena Lalji & Family Student Scholar Award for Repair and Regenerative Mechanisms in ALS

The Sean. M. Healey & AMG Center for ALS at Massachusetts General Hospital is accepting nominations for the 2025 Drs. Ayeez and Shelena Lalji & Family ALS Student Scholar Award for Repair and Regenerative Mechanisms in ALS in honor and memory of Dr. Ayeez Lalji, a devoted father and husband who valiantly and courageously lived with ALS until 2024. This award will recognize and attract the brightest young scientists into the field of ALS and facilitate meaningful research to understand the mechanisms underlying axonal and neuronal repair and regeneration in ALS and/or other neurodegenerative disorders that may be translatable to ALS.

This award is open to undergraduate, graduate, or summer students conducting research under the direction of a mentor. Applications must be accompanied by a letter of support from the mentor who oversees the laboratory where the research will be performed.

2025 Nomination Portal

Selection

The awardees will be selected by members of the Lalji family, Healey Center Scientific Advisory Council, and advisors who are living with ALS. The selection will be based on the academic credentials of the student, the scientific merit of the proposed project, and the relevancy of the proposal to axonal and neuronal repair in ALS.

Examples include but are not limited to:

• Identification of key modulators of axonal, glial, and neuronal health and degeneration
• Novel therapies including stem cell therapies to repair and/or regenerate axons, motor neurons or glia
• Modalities to enhance neuroplasticity that lead to repair and regeneration
• A root cause-based protocol or system that leads to reduction of inflammation and improvement of neuronal, glial, and/or axonal function
• Neuro-technologies that restore function or communication and enhance quality of life
• Novel methods to increase and improve endogenous neurogenesis
• Restoring nerve muscle communication

Timeline for Submission

• Application Due Date: Friday, July 18th, at 5 pm EDT
• Presentation of Award: NEALS Annual Meeting October 7-10, 2025
• Award: $5,000

Submit completed nomination form via portal

If you need assistance completing the nomination form, please contact healeyamgcenterforals@mgh.harvard.edu