ANSWER ALS ANNOUNCES DR. JEFFREY KELLER TO LEADERSHIP OF THEIR UNPRECEDENTED OPEN ACCESS ALS DATA REPOSITORY

Dr. Jeffrey Keller to Co-Lead Answer ALS’ Unprecedented Open Access ALS Data Repository. Appointment to Answer ALS bridges revolutionary data repository with renowned biomedical research center.

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana—Answer ALS is excited to announce that Dr. Jeffrey Keller, Ph.D. has been selected as Answer ALS’ Principal Investigator over the program’s renowned open-access data repository, Neuromine. Dr. Keller, Director of the Institute for Dementia Research & Prevention and Professor of Aging and Neurodegeneration at Pennington Biomedical Research Center at Louisiana State University, will help lead the growth of access to Answer ALS’ Neuromine, the single largest and most comprehensive ALS data resource in history.

Answer ALS was founded in 2014 due to a Summit led by Team Gleason when Steve Gleason challenged the research community to develop a business plan to end ALS. Comprised of 8 ALS clinics, dozens of institutions, leading tech industry leaders, and with the participation of over 1000 people living with ALS, Answer ALS created the most comprehensive and open-access data repository with associated biological samples in the world and is freely available.

“I’m honored to join the effort and momentum Answer ALS has created,” said Dr. Keller. “With over 300 new, independent research projects started as a result of open access to this tremendous rich data set, I’m looking forward to building on that momentum through rapidly advancing AI and organoid capabilities.”

In his role as Principal Investigator of the data repository, Dr. Keller is assuming that role from Dr. Jeffrey Rothstein, MD, Ph.D., Director of both the Robert Packard Center for ALS Research and the Brain Science Institute at Johns Hopkins. Dr. Rothstein helped found Answer ALS research and continues to play a pivotal role in its progress, along with the entire consortium of ALS researchers nationwide. Dr. Keller joins Dr. Terri Thompson, Ph.D., Answer ALS’s Director of Data Management, who previously led NASA’s open-source database in the oversight of the Neuromine Data Portal.

“Consensus is growing that a major breakthrough in ALS will involve big data, human based samples and the application of machine learning and AI, said Ed Rapp, Answer ALS Advisory Board Chair, former Global President of Caterpillar, and a person living with ALS. “I believe Dr. Keller’s unique experience and perspective will not only help further our role in those areas, but also foster growth in how others access the tools we make publicly available.”