Our Experts

Collaboration is the cornerstone of The ALS Association’s research program. We partner with academia, industry, government, and other nonprofit organizations.  We lead by spurring long-lasting collaborations among researchers across all sectors, leading to globally shared data, protocols, and research samples to accelerate progress towards treatments and cures. 

At the Golden West Chapter, two key collaborations within our service area include: The California ALS Research Network and our close alliance with over 30 clinic partners.

The California ALS Research Network

The California ALS Research Network is an ad hoc group of ALS researchers, investigators, clinicians, and advocates, along with representatives of industry, government, and partner organizations -- all of whom volunteer their time and expertise to advance the Network's mission.  

The mission of the Network is: (i) to find effective treatments and cures for ALS; (ii) to facilitate development and implementation of the best possible ALS research program in California; and (iii) to put California in the forefront of ALS research worldwide.

Currently, the Network includes:

  • Lucie Bruijn, PhD, MBA, Neuroscience R&D Consultant and Senior Advisor, Dementia Discovery Fund
  • Don W. Cleveland, PhD, Departmental Chair of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, UCSD
  • Steve Finkbeiner, MD, PhD, Associate Director and Senior Investigator, Gladstone Institutes
  • Fred Fisher, MSW, LCSW, President & CEO, The ALS Association Golden West Chapter
  • Aaron Gitler, PhD, Professor of Genetics, Stanford University
  • Justin Ichida, PhD, Assistant Professor of Stem Cell & Regenerative Medicine, USC
  • Catherine Lomen-Hoerth, MD, PhD, Director, ALS Treatment and Research Center, UCSF
  • Tahseen Mozaffar, MD FAAN, FANA, Director, ALS and Neuromuscular Center, UC Irvine
  • Robert Miller, MD, Neuromuscular Neurologist, ALS Center, Forbes Norris, CPMC
  • John M. Ravits, MD, Professor of Clinical Neuroscience, UCSD
  • Jeffrey Rosenfeld, MD, PhD, Director, Neuromuscular ALS/MND Program, Loma Linda University
  • Richard Smith, MD, Director, Center for Neurologic Study
  • Sheri Strahl, MPH, MBA, Chief Operating Officer, The ALS Association Golden West Chapter
  • Clive Svendsen, PhD, Chair, California ALS Research Network; Director, Cedars-Sinai RMI
  • Leslie M. Thompson, PhD, Chancellor’s Professor, University of California, Irvine
  • Martina Wiedau-Pazos, MD, Co-Director, ALS Center, UCLA

In Memoriam

  • Jim Barber, ALS Advocate and person with ALS

Our Clinic Partners

The Golden West Chapter of The ALS Association collaborates with 31 ALS clinic partners in California and Hawaii to help ensure that people living with ALS have access to world-class multidisciplinary care along with clinical trials and other opportunities to participate in research.  The Chapter brings these clinic partners together regularly to share information, progress, and issues connected to the ALS community, with a goal of accelerating the pace of discovery and ensuring the quality of ALS care. 

For more about our clinic partners, including a full list, please visit our ALS Clinics and Centers page.