A major donation to ALS research at Umeå University

The donors are the Fort Knox Charitable Foundation and the Olson and Olson Charitable Foundation, which each donated SEK 20 million to research into ALS over ten years.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, ALS, is the name of a group of neurodegenerative diseases in which nerve cells in the brain, brainstem and spinal cord degenerate. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is a disease for which there is currently no cure and is underdiagnosed for early detection.

– We in the Olson family have always had great respect for Umeå University and its importance to Umeå, and we have done our part in many ways to support the development of the university. When one of our relatives developed ALS, it was only natural that as a family we would contribute to ALS research at Umeå University, says Christer Olsson, an entrepreneur who, along with his two children Markus Olsson and Johanna Olsson, is behind the foundations.

Ten years of enhanced research

Umeå University is a pioneer in Sweden and a world leader in research into this disease and now has the opportunity to strengthen this activity further over ten years. Today there are already a number of promising international pilot treatment studies involving researchers from Umeå University and Norrland University Hospital, and the donation now gives researchers at Umeå the opportunity to become more involved in this research.

The ambition of the College of Medicine is to develop research environments that can contribute to the development of health care. Research into nervous system function and neurodegenerative diseases is an important area, and this donation will promote development in it, says Patrick Danielsson, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine at Umeå University.

– The donation is very important for our research into amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and the university hopes to be able to contribute in the long term to the development of both diagnostics and effective treatments, concludes Hans Adolfsson, Rector of Umeå University.