Fernando Vieira, M.D., started working at ALS TDI in 2001 after studying biological engineering and medicine. As Chief Scientific Officer, Fernando is responsible for leading ALS TDI’s science strategy and overseeing all lab operations and research.

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Alex has been with ALS TDI since 2015. With a background in biology, Alex is a member of the Translational Research Team and works on genetic analysis as part of the Precision Medicine Program (PMP). Alex is responsible for the development and implementation of automated testing using ALS TDI's custom-built Integrated Robotic System.

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Beth joined ALS TDI in 2007 and has more than 20 years of pharmaceutical and biotechnology experience. As a senior member of the science team, Beth ensures projects are running at maximum efficiency. Beth also studies the C9orf72 mutation, a cause of many previously unexplainable cases of hereditary ALS.

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Melissa worked on the Precision Medicine Program (PMP) at ALS TDI from 2018-2020. Although Melissa is no longer with ALS TDI, she played a crucial role in ensuring the PMP ran smoothly. Melissa collaborated with program participants daily and analyzed data, contributing to a key goal of the PMP—to make clinical trials faster and more efficient. Melissa's responsibilities have recently been transitioned to our new Senior Director of Clinical Operations, Nancy Poole.

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Theo Hatzipetros, Ph.D., is an in vivo pharmacologist who joined ALS TDI in 2011 after working on treatments in another neurodegenerative disease, Parkinson's. As Director of Pharmacology, Theo oversees the execution of multiple studies of experimental drugs in ALS. He focuses on the development of novel animal models of ALS and evaluating therapeutic strategies for the treatment of ALS.

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Josh has been working to end ALS with ALS TDI since 2004, testing potential treatments in models of ALS. He studies the behavioral effects of different treatments in the SOD1-G93A mouse model.

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Ken has been with ALS TDI since 2000. As Director of Lab Operations Ken supports the In Vivo Team, manages daily lab operations, and serves as the clerk on the Board of Directors.

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Alan started working at ALS TDI in 2013. He splits his time conducting C9orf72 experiments, analyzing accelerometer data, and enhancing our Precision Medicine Program.

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Kyle joined ALS TDI in 2016 after receiving a Ph.D. in neuroscience from the University of Connecticut. In the lab, Kyle focuses on developing human cell-based models of ALS to learn more about disease mechanisms and screen therapeutic compounds.

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The Robot Room at ALS TDI houses our custom-built Integrated Robotic System. Using automation allows our scientists to scale up drug screening to quickly discover the most promising compounds.

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ALS TDI's Animal Care Facility is where our scientists work with animal models of ALS. Our scientists work 24/7 to ensure great care goes into testing drugs in animals humanely and effectively. Compared to cell models of ALS, animal models can do a better job revealing how a drug will behave when delivered to humans.

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ALS TDI scientists study human and animal cells on a daily basis in our Biosafety Level 2 (BL2) Cell Culture Suites. The cells can be used as models of ALS. Scientists challenge the cells with ALS-related stressors and treat the cells with drugs to discover potential treatments for ALS.

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ALS TDI is the world's foremost drug discovery lab focused solely on ALS. Most equipment in the main lab identifies and quantitates specific DNAs, RNAs, or proteins. Here, our scientists ask questions, like: How will the results of compounds tested in the lab translate into clinical studies?

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