UMass receives $2M ALS donation

File Photo UMass Medical School has received a $2 million donation for research to help fight ALS.

Courtesy/UMass Dan and Diane Riccio.

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By Zachary Comeau

The UMass Medical School has received its single largest alumni donation in the school’s history: a $2 million pledge to advance ALS and neuroscience research.

The endowment comes from Diane M. (Casey) Riccio (‘03) and her husband, Dan Riccio, of Los Gatos, Calif. The couple four years ago made a $1-million gift to the school for ALS research, which was then the single largest alumni donation, the school announced in a press release Tuesday.

Half of the couple's’ gift will support the UMass ALS Cellucci fund, which was created by late Gov Paul Cellucci in 2011 to accelerate ALS research. Cellucci died in 2013 after being diagnosed with ALS in 2011.

The other half will establish the Riccio Fund for Neuroscience, which will support investigation, collaboration and innovation in the neurosciences throughout the university and with partners outside the school.

“Having spent time talking with the impressive neuroscience faculty leaders at UMass Medical School, their passion is palpable, the level of collaboration is remarkable and the progress they are making each and every day holds great hope for those suffering from neurological disorders,” said Diane Riccio, now a medical scientific champion at the Alzehimer’s Association of Northern California and Northern Nevada.

“Through this gift we want to ensure that they have additional resources to pursue promising scientific theories.”

The funding will support the work of Robert Brown, a researcher at the school.

“Inch by inch, immense progress is being made in the search for effective treatments for ALS and other neurological conditions,” Brown said.

Last year, another UMass researcher, John Landers, and his team discovered a gene linked to ALS, a study funded by the Ice Bucket Challenge.