MDA'S Wings Over Wall Street Gala Honors ABC Eyewitness News Anchor Bill Ritter, MDA's ALS Care Center Co-Director at MGH Sabrina Paganoni, MD, PhD, Legendary Sportscaster Russ Salzberg, and Founder of Her ALS Story, Leah Stavenhagen

Event to be held in New York City on June 9 to benefit MDA's ALS research.

NEW YORK, May 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Muscular Dystrophy Association's (MDA) Wings Over Wall Street gala will return in-person, after a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic, on June 9 at 6 p.m., at Guastavino's in New York City. Funds raised at the benefit will go towards MDA's ALS research, to keep the pipeline of promising therapeutics moving forward for people living with ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) aka Lou Gehrig's disease. Register to attend the event, here.

ABC Eyewitness News Anchor, Bill Ritter, will once again host the event in addition to being one of the four honorees for outstanding contributions to the mission including: 

• Beier Award: Bill Ritter, Anchor, ABC Eyewitness News
• The Beier Award is given to someone who inspires, encourages, and motivates others with devotion and energy to find a cure for ALS
• Diamond Award: Sabrina Paganoni, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical School, and Co-director of the MDA ALS Care Center at Massachusetts General Hospital's Neurological Clinical Research Institute
• The Diamond Award is given to a scientific leader dedicated to the eradication of ALS
• Humanitarian Award: Russ Salzberg, Legendary Sportscaster
• The Humanitarian Award is given to someone who has provided extraordinary personal and public support to help find a cure for ALS
• Spirit Award: Leah Stavenhagen—Founder, Her ALS Story
• The Spirit Award is given to a person or persons who have demonstrated extraordinary commitment and dedication to the eradication of ALS by raising awareness, advocating for funding, and promoting research for a cure

"For over 70 years, MDA has led the way, investing over $173 million in innovations in ALS science and care. Thanks to MDA-funded research, we now have treatments for ALS and have made tremendous leaps forward in our understanding of the causes of ALS," said Donald S. Wood, PhD, President and CEO of MDA. "In a partnership that has thrived for more than 20 years, Wings Over Wall Street has presented an outstanding opportunity to spread the word about our mission and to raise critical funding to continue our work. We are delighted to be back celebrating this event in person and are most grateful to our honorees, sponsors, and attendees." 

For more information on ALS and MDA's impact:

• ALS Fact Sheet
• ALS Impact Sheet
• Watch the MDA ALS Story

SPONSORS & COMMITTEE:
Thank you to our Presenting Sponsor, IEX; Platinum Sponsor, Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma America; Silver Sponsors, CBOE Global Markets, Seelos Therapeutics Inc., and USI Affinity.

ABOUT MDA's work in ALS research, care, and advocacy:
The Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) is the #1 voluntary health organization in the United States for people living with muscular dystrophy, ALS, and related neuromuscular diseases. For over 70 years, MDA has led the way in ALS research, investing over $173 million in innovations in ALS science and care. Thanks to MDA-funded research, tremendous leaps forward have been made in the understanding of the causes of ALS. MDA's commitment to ALS includes support for a network of more than 150 multidisciplinary Care Centers at top medical institutions nationwide, including 48 designated MDA ALS Care Centers. MDA's data hub, called MOVR, is the first-of-its-kind data technology hub, which collects clinical and genetic data from our network of Care Centers for neuromuscular diseases including ALS, serving as a valuable tool for accelerating therapy development. MDA's advocacy efforts led to the passing of the ACT for ALS into law, which will accelerate access to treatment for the ALS community. To learn more visit mda.org and follow MDA on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, and LinkedIn. 

SOURCE Muscular Dystrophy Association