“Ride for Life” Raises $160,000 for Stony Brook ALS Research and Clinical Care

The Ride for Life Organization, which raises funds and awareness for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, has just surpassed $160,000 that will be given to Stony Brook University in 2014 to support ALS research and clinical care. 

The funds will be divided with $100,000 going straight to support the development of ALS clinical trials at Stony Brook Neurosciences Insitute, while the other $60,000 is going to be set aside for clinical care services at the Stony Brook's Christopher Pendergast ALS Center of Excellence.

“Without the cooperation and support of the Stony Brook University community, the Ride for Life would not have achieved our unbelievable level of success,” said Christopher Pendergast in a statement. 

Pendergast has been battling ALS for over 20 years and has dedicated his life to being an advocate for others dealing with ALS. Pendergast is the founder and president of Ride for Life. The organization began in 1998 and has since raised $1.7 million in funds for ALS research and $1.1 million to support ALS clinical care and patient services nationwide. 

Pendergast emphasized that an ongoing focus of the organization is to support research that can lead to clinical trials of new treatments against ALS that improve upon current treatments, slow down the disease process or cure ALS.

“Neuroscience is getting ever closer to the goal of finding new approaches to treating ALS and other devastating neurodegenerative diseases,” said Dennis Choi, MD, PhD, Professor and Chair, Department of Neurology and Director of the Neurosciences Institute. “With Stony Brook’s expertise in neuroscience research, we hope to contribute importantly to this global effort.”

Most of the funds generated by the Ride for Life organization can be attributed to the annual Ride for Life event that occurs during ALS Awareness Month each May. The 2014 event begins on May 5. Prior to that, the Ride for Life will hold its Bike Trek, a multi-length bicycle fundraiser that courses through the Stony Brook University Campus on April 27.