Your Hero's Information
Jamie Heywood
founder of ALS TDF

Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142
6174417200
James_Heywood@mail.vresp.com

Your Information
bobby brannigan
spruce pine, North Carolina 28777
828 765 0610
robertb@mitchell.main.nc.us

About Your Hero

James Allen Heywood, Chief Executive Officer and d'Arbeloff Founding Director An MIT-educated mechanical engineer, James entered the ALS research field in 1999 when his younger brother Stephen was diagnosed with the disease. His innovative approach to finding effective treatments for Stephen's illness has significantly impacted the ALS drug discovery field and won the support and resources of numerous biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies. The organization James founded, The ALS Therapy Development Foundation, runs the only nonprofit biotech laboratory of its kind in the world. ALS TDF - with an annual budget of $4 million and staff of about 30 - reflects James' understanding of the needs of ALS patients, as well as the potential of the ALS/orphan disease market. ALS TDF's unique approach to disease research and management has been profiled by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jonathan Weiner in the biography His Brother's Keeper, by The New Yorker, 60 Minutes II and the new film documentary, So Much So Fast. Previously, James served as the Director of Technology Development at the Neurosciences Institute in La Jolla, Calif., where he worked with Nobel Laureate Gerald Edelman to commercialize promising research. Prior, as Director of Product Development at Advent Design Corporation, James managed a diverse team of engineers developing pharmaceutical instruments and industrial products.

Ongoing

Documentary by award-winning filmmakers chronicles Heywoods' battle with ALS and the birth of ALS TDF Having debuted at the Sundance Film Festival in February, So Much So Fast will open in October in Boston and New York, as well as other cities across the country. Beginning with Stephen Heywood's ALS diagnosis at the age of 29, the documentary offers a window into the Heywood family's battle against ALS and the formation of ALS TDF.

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