Our Three Major Programs

PATIENT SERVICES  

The Patient Services program was initiated formally in the fall of 2008, as the students of AMND desired scheduled monthly visits with ALS patients in the immediate area. The students are welcomed into the homes of ALS patients and spend time visiting them in hospitals and rehabilitation centers all over Long Island. The students have formed invaluable relationships with every ALS patient they have come in contact with, and are grateful for the opportunity to help in the daily struggles families of ALS patients face. In addition to helping around the house, playing with the kids and easing many physical challenges patients face, the committee members have gotten to know every ALS patient they visit on a very personal level. They interact with them and learn first-hand what it means to face a terminal illness with strength, courage and grace. With every visit, the students become even more energized and determined to find a cure for this terrible disease. 

Pictures from our Patient Servives Program

ALS RESEARCH  

The ALS Research Program was developed at the 2006 AMND event, after a Dr. Ratnesh Lal, from the University of California, Santa Barbara led a Science Research Symposium before the event. His talk was titled, “Can Nanoscience and Technology Accelerate our Search for a Cure for ALS?” This meeting created opportunities for Northport High School students to become active participants of ALS Research in both the clinical and laboratory setting.  In the summer of 2006, four students performed ALS research at the following research centers: The Robert Packard Center for ALS Research at Johns Hopkins University with Dr. Jeffrey Rothstein, The University of California at Santa Barbara with Dr. Ratnesh Lal, ALS Therapy Development Institute with Dr. Ken Thompson and Columbia University with Dr. Serge Pzerborski.  Again in the summer of 2007, four students gained first hand experience with ALS research at The Robert Packard Center, Columbia University and the newly opened, Jenifer Estess Stem Cell Lab. The lab, founded by Meredith and Valerie Estess of Project A.L.S., is the first privately-funded stem cell lab focused exclusively on the study of stem cells to treat ALS and related motor neuron diseases. Project A.L.S. is at the front-line of both stem cell theory and research surrounding ALS and was recently recognized by Time Magazine as “The Number One Medical Breakthrough of 2008” for their work in reprogramming iPS cells. For all of the fortunate students able to conduct ALS research over the past three years, their experiences, both invaluable and rewarding, have shaped many of their career plans and changed the way they view the disease. To have been a small part of the journey towards a cure is certainly an experience unmatched by any lesson taught in a classroom and one our students will never forget.

Pictures from our Research Program

ASSEMBLY INITIATIVE 
 
The Assembly Initiative was created after the students of AMND were invited to speak at the 2007 National Honor Society convention in Atlanta, Georgia. After preparing an assembly for the other National Honor Society students in attendance, the committee was met with an outpouring of enthusiasm and passion. Their assembly was so effective that a high school in Carson City, Nevada, took the “Challenge for a Cure” offered by AMND, and raised over $2,000 for ALS in a little less than 2 months. AMND invited these remarkable students to the 4th annual A Midwinter Night’s Dream and honored them at the event. After witnessing the inspiration that had come from their first assembly, the students decided to spread the Assembly program to other schools in the area. The committee has organized two successful assemblies at local elementary schools and is currently in the planning stages for two more to take place in the coming month. The students are working to inspire others to believe that their efforts can change the world and to never stop dreaming big! 

Pictures from our Assembly Program

If you would like to get more information about our three programs, please contact Don Strasser.  We are always looking for more ALS patients to visit, new labs to place students and more schools to tell our story to.  Thanks for your time.