I grew up in a small town in central Connecticut and went to college at William and Mary in Virginia before returning to Connecticut to earn my MD and Ph.D. in Neuroscience at UConn. I later came to Duke, where I completed my Medicine Internship, Neurology Residency, Neuromuscular Fellowship, and a Master’s in Clinical Research Science. I currently serve as the Stewart, Hughes, and Wendt Distinguished Professor of ALS at Duke and Director of the Duke ALS Program. Over the years, I’ve been honored with several awards for teaching and patient care, including Best Neurology Teacher at Duke, Health Care Hero, Strength Hope and Caring Award, America’s Best Doctor, the American Academy of Neurology Patient Advocate of the Year, Rasmussen ALS Patient Advocate of the Year, the Forbes-Norris Award, and the Hop-On-A-Cure AMP Award. I’ve received ALS research grants, participated in numerous clinical trials, and published over 160 articles on ALS. I lead the international ALSUntangled program, which uses social networking to investigate alternative and off-label treatments for people with ALS, and the ALS Reversals program, which seeks to understand why some people with ALS recover and how we can make that happen more often. I live in Durham, North Carolina with my wife Shelly, two mischievous cats, and a closet full of eye-catching blazers.