Awards

Each year, the International Alliance of ALS/MND Associations honours individuals and teams who make outstanding contributions to the global ALS/MND community. We present four annual awards to recognize excellence in care, research, advocacy, and innovation:

• Forbes Norris Award
• Humanitarian Award
• Allied Health Professional Award
• Student Innovation Award

Nominations for the 2025 Awards are now open! Click the links below to learn more about each award and submit a nomination.

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Forbes Norris Award

Established in 1994, the Forbes Norris Award  honours the legacy of Dr. Forbes “Ted” Norris (1928-1993), a neurologist who dedicated his career to helping people with ALS/MND. This prestigious award recognizes individuals who contribute to the management and advancement of understanding ALS/MND to the benefit of people living with the disease.

Submit a nomination for the 2025 Forbes Norris Award. 

2024 Recipients: Dr. Jonathan D. Glass & Dr. Zachary Simmons

Dr. Jonathan D. Glass has dedicated himself to ALS/MND community for over 30 years. He leads the Emory ALS Center, one of the largest centres in the United States, where he has earned a reputation for providing compassionate, expert care. He has been at the forefront of important research, including the first human trials of stem cell treatment for ALS/MND. He has also built a large collection of patient samples that has helped scientists around the world study ALS/MND, leading to new discoveries about the disease.

“What sets Dr. Glass apart is his passion for bringing science to the clinic,” say Dr. Christina Fournier and Meraida Polak of the Emory ALS Center. “Dr. Glass is an outspoken proponent for the ethical and responsible involvement of ALS/MND patients in research about their disease, and then ensuring that patients reap the rewards of those efforts.”

Dr. Glass’s impact is global. He has collaborated on international projects like Answer ALS and Project MinE, sharing data and insights to help researchers worldwide. He is also a respected mentor, guiding many young doctors and scientists, and strengthening the ALS/MND research community.

Dr. Zachary Simmons has dedicated over four decades to the management of ALS/MND, including his long tenure as the Director of the Penn State Health ALS Center at Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center. Through his leadership, he has directly impacted the lives of thousands of ALS/MND patients, providing compassionate care and advancing critical research. His work spans from pioneering telehealth initiatives to developing an ALS/MND-specific quality of life instrument.

Dr. Simmons has also led numerous clinical trials and research projects focused on ALS/MND, cognitive dysfunction and the use of technology in patient care. His contributions to the ALS/MND community have been recognized not only in clinical settings but also through his educational work as Professor of Neurology and Humanities at Penn State College of Medicine and as an active volunteer with The ALS Association in the United States.

“The research and care services he has been associated with demonstrate teamwork, creativity and innovation,” says Tony Heyl from ALS United Mid-Atlantic. “His work enriches the lives of persons living with ALS/MND and their families, giving them help and hope.”

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Humanitarian Award

Established in 2000, the Humanitarian Award recognizes non-scientific contributions that have a global impact on the quality of life for people affected by ALS/MND.

Submit a nomination for the 2025 Humanitarian Award. 

2024 Recipient: Evy Reviers (Belgium)

Evy Reviers’s dedication to improving the quality of life in the ALS/MND community comes from her personal experience as the daughter of a person living with ALS/MND. She has worked hard to influence important laws in Belgium that provide of people living with ALS/MND easier access to care, support and resources. These include funding for personal assistance, specialized physiotherapy and dedicated care centres. She also helped establish Middelpunt, a care centre on the Belgian coast, where people living with ALS/MND and their families can enjoy a holiday together, providing much-needed respite.

Evy’s impact goes beyond Belgium. She founded EUpALS, a network of 28 ALS/MND organizations from 22 European countries, to help ensure people living with ALS/MND in Europe have access to clinical trials. She also plays a key role in the TRICALS research initiative, which focuses on finding a cure for ALS/MND, and serves as a patient representative at the European Medicines Agency, helping to shape research and policy decisions.

On a global scale, Evy has led projects to provide equipment like electric wheelchairs to people living with ALS/MND in other countries, directing impacting their quality of life.

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Allied Health Professional Award

Established in 2018, the Allied Health Professional Award recognizes individuals who provide exceptional care to people living with ALS/MND, share their expertise and innovative practices to improve patient care, and contribute to the advancement of ALS/MND clinical management.

Submit a nomination for the 2025 Allied Health Professional Award. 

2024 Recipients: Dr. Alisa Apreleva  and Dr. Tatiana Mesquita e Silva

Alisa Apreleva, PhD, MT-BC, NMT, is a music therapist, researcher and community educator who has spent over 10 years working with ALS/MND patients. She has developed music-based therapies that improve quality of life, focusing on speech, breathing and emotional wellbeing. Alisa also runs Music.ALS, a free online resource filled with practical tools for using music in ALS/MND care.

“I know how difficult it is to find support for complementary programs and treatments for ALS/MND,” says Marina Bialik, CEO of Palliative Care Initiative. “I strongly believe that the decade-long innovative work of Dr. Apreleva in ALS/MND clinical care deserves to be recognized.”

Tatiana Mesquita e Silva, PT, PhD, is a physiotherapist in Brazil who has been a leader in developing new treatments for ALS/MND, particularly in the field of hydrotherapy. She has published educational materials and trained professionals on best practices for care. She is also a long-time advocate for the ALS/MND community, serving as a vice-president of the ALS/MND association in Brazil, and sharing her expertise internationally through her work with the Alliance.

“She has extensive knowledge of physiotherapy for individuals with neurological and neuromuscular diseases, including ALS/MND,” says fellow physiotherapist Sara Feldman, “It is evident she is truly a leader in her area of expertise.”

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Student Innovation Award

Established in 2023, the Student Innovation Award aims to raise awareness of ALS/MND within the global student community. It offers students a platform to showcase creative ideas that improve the quality of life for people living with ALS/MND and helps spark innovation in the field.

Submit a nomination for the 2025 Student Innovation Award. 

2024 Recipients: Valeria Otalora Garces, Valentina Gonzalez and Luisa Maria Hormizda Infante

Valeria Otalora Garces, Valentina Gonzalez and Luisa Maria Hormizda Infante, three medical students in Colombia, are being recognized for their work to improve the lives of people living with ALS/MND and other rare diseases.

Over the past three years, these students have developed digital tools that help doctors, caregivers and patients manage rare diseases. They started by creating an app focused on cystic fibrosis, enabling the medical community to exchange experiences and knowledge on this topic.

Valeria, Valentina and Luisa María then turned their attention to ALS/MND, working closely with the ALS/MND association in Colombia to understand the needs of those affected. As a result, they created two key resources: a digital guide for caregivers, doctors and patients with practical information on care, nutrition and managing symptoms; and an app that tracks the progression of ALS/MND. Both are currently being used by the Colombian ALS/MND community.

“It is necessary to give importance to this selfless work and [encourage] more students to become interested in these initiatives,” says research professor Mauricio Plaza Torres. “I am very proud of the work of these students, which uses technology to improve the quality of life of patients affected by diseases such as ALS/MND.”

Valeria, Valentina and Luisa María are continuing their research and are now studying ways for people living with ALS/MND to use brain-computer interface technology to help control devices.

Their work is making a difference in the ALS/MND community, and their achievements serve as an example to others in the student community and beyond.