The University of Pittsburgh Center for ALS Research was designated by Dr. Arthur Levine in 2006. Robert Bowser, PhD is the director and David Lacomis, MD is the medical director. The primary purpose of the center is to promote collaboration among University of Pittsburgh scientists and clinicians who share an interest in motor neuron disease research thereby expanding basic, clinical, and translational research in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Two short-term goals are to obtain NIH funding via a center grant and to recruit an additional ALS researcher. Current collaborative projects include identification of cerebrospinal fluid and serum biomarkers using mass spectroscopy in patients with ALS. By comparing ALS patients to controls, it is hoped that a diagnostic panel of biomarkers can be identified. The evolution of these biomarkers in ALS patients is also being studied to determine if they might provide insight into disease mechanisms and offer another way to monitor efficacy of treatment. This is also one of three centers conducting a phase IIb futility trial of R+ pramipexole in ALS; cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers are being studied in these patients. The center is also collaborating with other centers in obtaining specimens and clinical data for DNA banking and genome sequencing studies in ALS. Additional goals include participation in center-driven studies of the epidemiology of ALS and on additional multi-center drug trials for ALS.