Merit E. Cudkowicz, MD, MSc. has had a connection to – and a passion for – ALS since she met her first patient with the disease in 1994. More recently, she was personally impacted when she lost a dear friend to ALS.

She’s currently working on a variety of “very exciting and promising” ALS-related projects and clinical trials.

One such study examines biomarkers: people with ALS donate blood, spinal fluid and skin cells, which global researchers study for answers about this mysterious disease.

Twenty-five NEALS Centers are currently participating in this project, searching for identifying factors that contribute to ALS. This study strives to facilitate earlier and more accurate disease diagnosis and treatment interventions. Additionally, it gives hope that scientists will ultimately discover new treatment options.

This biomarker project is sponsored by the ALS Association (ALSA), ALS Therapy Alliance (ATA) and the National Institute of Health (NIH), in conjunction with Metabolon, Inc. Dr. Cudkowicz will discuss this study in an upcoming webinar on April 6th.

“We’re also working on some very exciting trials, and we’re hoping to have more answers in a year or a year and a half,” Dr. Cudkowicz explained. One of the hopeful studies is a NIH supported study of Ceftriaxonein people with ALS. Ceftriaxone protects motor neurons from injury and is currently in phase 3 testing for ALS. The study is actively recruiting participants throughout the United States and Canada.

Dr. Cudkowicz is also involved in a promising gene therapy trial for people with familial ALS from mutations in SOD1currently in a Phase 1 study.

“It’s really important to try to turn off the gene that causes familial ALS,” Dr. Cudkowicz explained.

Dr. Cudkowicz joined the ATA Board of Directors two years ago, due in part to her strong, long-standing professional relationship with Dr. Robert Brown.

“Dr. Brown has been a role model and mentor to me since my resident days,” Dr. Cudkowicz said. “He’s been fundamental in teaching me about ALS, including research and patient care, which has changed dramatically in the last decade.”

Dr. Cudkowicz is the Julieanne Dorn Professor of Neurology at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School. She earned her Bachelors of Science degree in Chemical Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and completed medical training at Harvard Medical School. She obtained a Master's degree from the Harvard School of Public Health.

Her research and clinical activities are dedicated to the study and treatment of patients with neurodegenerative disorders, in particular ALS. Dr. Cudkowicz directs the Massachusetts General Hospital ALS clinic and the MGH Neurology Clinical Trials Unit, and is one of the founders and co-directors of the Northeast ALS Consortium (NEALS), a group of 97 clinical sites in the United States and Canada dedicated to performing collaborative, academic-led ALS clinical trials.

For more information about Dr. Cudkowicz, visit or Directors & Staff page.