Robert Packard Center for ALS Research at Johns Hopkins Honors Laurie Russell
March 18, 2004

A recent reception sponsored by the Robert Packard Center for ALS Research honored local philanthropist and Packard Center board member Laurie S. Russell. The tribute was held at Johns Hopkins’ new Broadway Research Building, where guests were invited to see the novel confocal microscope Russell and her close friends purchased for the Center. The ultrahigh-technology microscope will lift studies of ALS-damaged tissues to new levels of clarity, Center researchers say.

Center Director Jeffrey Rothstein addresses guests at the March 5 reception

Shortly after being diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in 2000, Russell founded the Center’s development committee and, in an amazingly short time, helped raise more than $5 million to cover 29 grants for their investigators.

Laurie Russell (front) with son Scott Rockwell, husband Edgie Russell,
and her mother, Doris E. Smullin

Russell’s goal is to fast-track ALS research—much of it stem-cell related—to find a cure for the deadly neuromuscular disorder, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. ALS is a progressive motor neuron disease that disrupts and ultimately destroys communication between the brain and the muscles necessary for movement. Most people with ALS die within two to five years of diagnosis, usually from respiratory complications.

Dr. Valina Dawson, a Center-funded investigator, gives reception guests
a look at the new confocal microscope

For more than 25 years, Russell has been a fundraiser for the arts, hospitals and other organizations. She recently completed a term as president of the Baltimore Opera Guild. Despite being confined to a wheelchair and difficulty speaking, Russell attends Packard Center board meetings whenever possible. She lives with her husband Thomas “Edgie” Russell in Worthington Valley.

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