Agilent announces ALS research alliance with Weill Cornell

Agilent Technologies is partnering with New York's Weill Cornell Medical College to advance research in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

Agilent will provide the latest mass spectrometry technology to support research led by Dr Steven Gross, a faculty member in the college's department of pharmacology, to help improve understanding of how the most common form of this disease develops.

The Agilent 6230B LC TOF and 6550A LC Q-TOF mass spectrometers will be housed in the laboratory of Dr Gross, making it easier to test the hypothesis that fibroblasts express systemic metabolic markers that inform ALS.

Also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, ALS is a progressive neurodegenerative condition that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, as well as resulting in impaired metabolic control.

Steven Fischer, market director for life science research in academia and government at Agilent, said: "Agilent is working with the Gross lab at Weill Cornell to advance the multi-omics-based approach to disease research, using sporadic ALS to demonstrate the power of this method."