{"id":4036,"date":"2019-05-21T15:18:00","date_gmt":"2019-05-21T22:18:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/spokane.wsu.edu\/news\/?p=4036"},"modified":"2025-08-25T10:27:30","modified_gmt":"2025-08-25T17:27:30","slug":"marcos-frank-is-leading-wsus-charge-to-cure-neurodegenerative-diseases","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/spokane.wsu.edu\/news\/research\/marcos-frank-is-leading-wsus-charge-to-cure-neurodegenerative-diseases\/","title":{"rendered":"Marcos Frank is leading WSU\u2019s charge to cure neurodegenerative diseases"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Addy Hatch, WSU News<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Scientists understand more about ALS and other neurodegenerative diseases than they did a decade ago. Patients and their families are benefiting from new technologies and therapies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But it\u2019s not enough. \u201cWe have far to go and much more to do,\u201d said Marcos Frank, Ph.D.<\/a>, professor and chair of the Department of Biomedical Sciences at the WSU Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Frank is a leader in that effort. As a neuroscientist, his research has focused on how brain cells interact to govern complex behavior and brain function.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now he\u2019ll play a key role in the new Steve Gleason Institute for Neuroscience at WSU Health Sciences in Spokane. The institute, to open later this year, is a collaboration of higher education, businesses, nonprofits and health care organizations that will provide research and care for neurodegenerative diseases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Frank will lead the Discovery Research Unit in brain research. The Gleason Institute\u2019s integrated approach also will include a Clinical Research & Care Unit, to support clinical trials and new therapies, and an Assistive Technology & Smart Home Center to advance technology that can improve life for patients and their caregivers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s important to Frank that the Gleason Institute take such a comprehensive approach to neurodegenerative diseases. He knows the toll on patients\u2019 families and the stress of caregiving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was drawn to neurodegenerative research, as I think many people are, by having someone in my family who died from one of these diseases,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"ALS<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Frank, his wife and kids took part in the annual Walk to Defeat ALS this spring, part of a team from WSU Health Sciences. In remarks to the crowd that day, Frank talked about the partnerships that created the Gleason Institute and the important work already being done by nonprofits like Team Gleason and the ALS Association.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He also was candid about the challenges ahead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t have a cure for ALS and we lack medications that significantly improve quality of life for patients with ALS,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd not all patients with ALS have access to therapies and assistive technologies.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In his lab on the campus of WSU Health Sciences recently, Marcos once again acknowledged the work to be done, but noted, \u201cWe\u2019ve just begun this journey of the Gleason Institute. We need the community\u2019s help, but with it we have the potential to do something about ALS and other neurodegenerative diseases, right here in our community.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Addy Hatch, WSU News Scientists understand more about ALS and other neurodegenerative diseases than they did a decade ago. Patients and their families are benefiting from new technologies and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":[],"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[437],"tags":[],"wsuwp_university_location":[],"wsuwp_university_org":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/spokane.wsu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4036"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/spokane.wsu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/spokane.wsu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spokane.wsu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2067"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spokane.wsu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4036"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/spokane.wsu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4036\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4040,"href":"https:\/\/spokane.wsu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4036\/revisions\/4040"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/spokane.wsu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4036"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spokane.wsu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4036"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spokane.wsu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4036"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spokane.wsu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/author?post=4036"},{"taxonomy":"wsuwp_university_location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spokane.wsu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wsuwp_university_location?post=4036"},{"taxonomy":"wsuwp_university_org","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spokane.wsu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wsuwp_university_org?post=4036"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}