Gladstone President R. Sanders "Sandy" Williams, MD, a professor of medicine at UCSF, will receive the ARCS Foundation’s 2012 Pacesetter Award next week for his lifelong dedication to furthering education and his extensive contributions to science and medicine.

Scientists at the UCSF-affiliated Gladstone Institutes and the Stanford University School of Medicine have discovered how modifying a gene halts the toxic buildup of a protein found in nerve cells. These findings point to a potential new tactic for treating a variety of neurodegenerative conditions, including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s disease).