Hiller's Market chief donates $1 million to Wayne State, DMC to endow ALS center
Sofia Kosmetatos / The Detroit News

Jim Hiller, CEO of Hiller's Markets, has pledged $1 million to establish a Lou Gehrig's disease research center at Wayne State University and the Detroit Medical Center.

Hiller operates six grocery stores in Metro Detroit, a business his father started in Detroit in 1941.

The Hiller ALS Clinic and Research Center will focus on team-centered research and patient care, and will collaborate with other universities and programs that conduct neuromuscular research. Dr. Richard Lewis, Wayne State's associate chair of neurology, will direct the center

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll...710300447/1361

Hiller's mother died of Lou Gehrig's disease in 2000. The fatal disease attacks the central nervous system and causes motor neurons to die in the brain and spinal cord, ultimately causing paralysis, loss of muscle control and eventually, atrophy throughout the body.

You can reach Sofia Kosmetatos at (313) 222-2300 or skosmetatos@detnews.com.