The Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) has awarded Jonathan Glass, director of the Emory ALS Center, with the 2018 Steve Ennis Hope Award for his dedication to ALS research and the families affected with ALS. The award was presented at the MDA’s 13th Annual Night of Hope Gala event on Oct. 20 in Atlanta.

ALS is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. People with ALS lose the ability to initiate and control muscle movement, which often leads to total paralysis and death within two to five years of diagnosis. There is currently no cure for the disease.

Glass, professor of neurology and pathology at Emory University School of Medicine, has dedicated more than 20 years to the development of the Emory ALS Center, the first organized clinical and research center in Georgia and one of the largest clinical centers for ALS care in the United States.

Glass leads a team of clinical providers and researchers participating in multiple international collaborations focused on the discovery of the underlying causes and factors that influence the progression of ALS.

He has been an investigator in more than 20 ALS clinical trials and was the principal investigator on the first-in-human trial of neural stem cell transplantation for patients with ALS.

In 2010, the Hope Award was created to honor Steve Ennis, former chairman of the board of Coca-Cola Bottling Works in Tullahoma, Tennessee. Ennis was diagnosed with ALS in July 2005 and lost his battle with the disease in January 2012. Each year, MDA recognizes an individual who has dedicated their time and resources to help eradicate this fatal disease.

About the Emory ALS Center

The Emory ALS Center is dedicated to performing cutting edge research while providing comprehensive care for people and families with ALS and related motor neuron diseases. For more information about ALS care and research at Emory, please visit