The research of his life

When you’re given 2-5 years to live, how do you decide to spend that time? That question has keenly interested me ever since I was diagnosed with ALS in 2014.

At NC State, professor Michael Bereman decided to keep working in his lab, despite his weakened body. His team zeroed in on cyanobacteria after finding a specific neurotoxin in blood samples of ALS patients. Fertilizer runoff creates freshwater algae blooms containing cyanobacteria that release the neurotoxin. While not a definitive link, other researchers are studying increased frequency of ALS near certain water bodies.

For Bereman, the race is on.

– Andrea Lytle Peet, Team Drea Foundation