Barber ALS Research Awards

California ALS Research Summit

For more information about how to submit your presentation, and other key details, dates, and deadlines, please email us at BarberALSResearchAwards@alsnetwork.org.

The Life and Legacy of Jim Barber

Jim Barber Advisory Trustee ALS Network 1944 2016

Jim Barber was a Vietnam War veteran and a graduate of University of California, Santa Barbara, and the UC Hastings College of Law. He was a successful attorney for more than 30 years, before he was diagnosed with ALS in 2006.

During his nearly decade-long battle with this disease, Jim became an instrumental voice in the ALS community. He helped create the California ALS Advocacy Committee, whose work resulted in the passage of two bills - The ALS Standard of Care Bill, which stated the highest standard of care for people with ALS in the California Health Code, and the California Tax Check-off Bill, which to date has raised more than $600,000 for ALS research. In addition, along with other advocates, Jim helped secure a pivotal $18 million grant for ALS research from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM). The ALS Association and the ALS Network recognized Jim for his work by honoring him with the Iron Horse Award in 2010 and the Heroes Living with ALS Award in 2011 and in 2016.

A major outcome of Jim's work was the formation of the California ALS Research Network in 2010 and the creation of the annual California ALS Research Summit in 2011.

About the Barber ALS Research Award

Jim Barber was committed to the mission of the ALS Network and held a deep passion for advancing scientific achievement by fostering early-career researchers and developing new ideas. It was his desire that the annual ALS Research Summit would encourage this scientific collaboration and professional recognition.
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Since 2017, the Barber family and the ALS Network have presented three ( 3 ) cash awards of $1,000 to each of the top three ( 3 ) ALS research poster presenters at the annual ALS Network’s Research Summit, along with a special recognition of their accomplishments. We invite early-career researchers to submit your poster to help our understanding of ALS, interact with the ALS community, and have the chance to win this competition as one of the best! For more information about how to submit your presentation, and other key details, dates, and deadlines, please email us at BarberALSResearchAwards@alsnetwork.org.

2025 Barber ALS Research Award Winners

Olatz Arnold Garcia 3

Olatz Arnold-Garcia
UCSD

Jasper Rubin Siegler, USC

Jasper Rubin-Sigler
USC

Vladimir Zhemkov

Vladimir Zhemkov
Cedars-Sinai

Previous Barber ALS Research Award Winners

  • 2024
    Frederick Arnold, University of California Irvine
    Caiwei Guo, Stanford University
    Kevin Rhine, University of California San Diego
  • 2023
    Monica Feole, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
    Michael Edison Ramos, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
    Carolina Kondorfer Rangel, UCSD
  • 2022
    Mariana Bravo-Hernandez, UCSD
    Shu-Ting (Michelle) Hung, USC
    Wonhee Lee, Cedars-Sinai
  • 2021
    Sandra Diaz Garcia, PhD, UC San Diego
    Deepti Lall, PhD, Cedars-Sinai
    Shan Lu, PhD, UC San Diego
  • 2020
    Michael W. Baughn, UCSD
    Maya Maor Nof, PhD, Stanford
    Veronica Garcia, PhD, Cedars Sinai
  • 2019
    Jone Lopez-Erauskin, PhD, Ludwig Institute UCSD
    Gabriel Linares, PhD, University of Southern California
    Suganya Selvarajah, PhD, Prosetta Biosciences
  • 2018
    Bankole Aladesuyi from the Ravits Lab at UCSD
    Lindsay Becker from Gitler Lab at Stanford
    Ankur Jain from the Vale Lab at UCSF
  • 2017
    Dara Ditsworth, UCSD
    Pooja Hor, USC
    Gretchen Thomson, Cedars-Sinai
Barber Award
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Barber Winners