UCSF's Olney Driven to Publish Clinical Finding Even as ALS Takes its Toll
Richard Olney
In 2004, Richard K. Olney, MD, the founding director of the ALS Treatment and Research Center at UCSF and a pioneer in ALS clinical research, was himself diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
Olney used this tragic irony to create public awareness about the disease, doing interviews with The New York Times, People magazine, and CBS Sunday Morning, among others.
The San Francisco Chronicle has chronicled Olney’s story in five articles reported since 2004. The most recent article, which appeared in print on April 25, and online today, April 27, reports his push to complete a clinical research paper, in collaboration with his son, a fourth- year medical student at UCSF, even though he can communicate only via eye-tracking technologies.
San Francisco Chronicle
April 25, 2011
Dr. Richard Olney in last stages, study of disease