As universities throughout the nation struggle to access federal funding, UMass Chan Medical School in Worcester has received hundreds of thousands of dollars from a nonprofit dedicated to supporting the school’s ALS research.
The Angel Fund for ALS Research, based in Wakefield, awarded UMass Chan $800,000 to fund the research of Dr. Robert Brown, the university’s chair in neuroscience, and Daryl Bosco, chair of research for the department of neurology, according to a Thursday press release.
Both professors lead their own labs at UMass Chan focused on research of neuromuscular and neurodegenerative diseases, particularly ALS. Brown’s lab researches gene defects that help explain the development of neuromuscular diseases, while Bosco’s lab studies the pathogenic mechanisms associated with neurodegenerative diseases, according to the university’s website.
Brown, who identified the first gene linked to hereditary ALS, credits The Angel Fund for helping to advance the university’s ALS research program. Since its establishment in 1997, the fund has awarded more than $10 million to the Worcester school.
“This has made a decisive difference in the breadth of our program, which almost exclusively focus on investigations related to therapy development. Some of our most innovative programs have been possible because of the generosity of The Angel Fund,” Brown said in the release.
The Angel Fund’s sole mission is to fund ALS research and clinical trials at UMass Chan, with the ultimate goal of eradicating the disease.
In fiscal year 2024, the nonprofit generated $895,977 in revenue and held $3.17 million in assets, according to nonprofit financial tracker Candid.
UMass Chan’s most recent funding comes after the university received a $35-million donation for its research of neurodegenerative and genetic diseases, particularly ALS, from the Florida-based Paul J. DiMare Foundation in February 2025. The gift marked the third-largest donation in the history of the entire UMass system, prompting UMass Chan to rename its 350,000-square-foot research building the Paul J. DiMare Center.
With 1,359 full-time students enrolled in fall 2024, UMass Chan is the 11th-largest higher education institution in Central Massachusetts, according to data provided to WBJ’s Research Department.
In June, the university’s Chancellor Dr. Michael Collins announced he would retire from the role at the end of the 2026 academic year. Collins is the school’s longest-serving chancellor, having assumed the role in an interim capacity in 2007 and being appointed to the permanent role in 2008.
Mica Kanner-Mascolo is a staff writer at Worcester Business Journal, who primarily covers the healthcare, manufacturing, and higher education industries.
