NC State Researcher Uses CIF Funding to Further Understanding of ALS

It’s a Tuesday morning, and Michael Bereman is in his office on Centennial Campus, poring over data on a deadly toxin found in ponds and lakes that many of us pass by every day.

He has little use of his left hand, so he uses his right hand to alternate between the keyboard and the mouse. He reads a lot — looking for causes, clues, shreds of evidence that might yield truths about a devastating disease. Then he goes next door to his lab, where his students and postdocs are gleaning new knowledge from the chemical composition of frozen fish.

What is he searching for? New information about amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a deadly condition that affects approximately 30,000 people in the United States today.

Why is he so invested? Because his fight with ALS is personal. He was diagnosed with the disease two years ago.