2000 Sheila Essey Award for ALS Research

The ALS Association Presents The Sheila Essey Award for ALS Research to Montreal Researcher

May 2, 2000

The ALS Association will join the American Academy of Neurology in presenting The 2000 Sheila Essey Award for ALS Research to Jean Pierre Julien, Ph.D. at the Academy's 52nd Annual Meeting in San Diego, California on Tuesday, May 2nd. Dr. Julien is associate professor of neurology at McGill University, Montreal, Canada, and a research professor at the Montreal General Hospital Research Institute. This is the first time that the Essey Award is being presented to a researcher outside the United States.

The award is being presented by Richard P. Essey, Trustee for The ALS Association and creator of the Sheila Essey Award to honor his wife who is living with ALS.

"I decided to establish a prize, to be given each year, to the scientific researcher whom a jury of his peers selects for outstanding research in the field of ALS," stated Richard Essey. Mr. Essey adds "My wife Sheila and I are very gratified that we have been able to publicize the accomplishments of those receiving The Sheila Essey Award so that others will be interested in performing ALS research to help discover the cause and cure for ALS."

The award is being presented to Dr. Julien for his work in ALS research to advance the understanding of this devastating disease. His research, "Transgenic Mice the Overproduce Peripherin: New Mouse Models of Motor Neuron Disease," conducted on genetically altered mice, suggests that peripherin, a protein detected in the majority of cells affected with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), may be a major contributor to the debilitating symptoms of the disease. Dr. Julien will receive a $25,000 prize, funded by a grant from the Essey family, to be used for continuing his ALS research.

Adds Mr. Essey "I am so hopeful that Dr. Julien's research, to date and in the future, will help others unlock the secret as to what causes ALS and how to cure it."

"The ALS Association is very proud to be able to acknowledge the efforts of outstanding ALS researchers through the generosity of the Essey Family," stated Michael Havlicek, ALSA's President. Havlicek adds, "Dr. Julien's work clearly moves us closer to finding not only the cause of ALS, but the development of treatments for this disease."

The nomination process and selection of the award winner is under the direction of the American Academy of Neurology as part of its annual Scientific Awards Program.