Peter King, M.D., professor in the Department of Neurology in the School of Medicine at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, will receive the 2016 Spirit of Lou Gehrig Award from the ALS Association’s Alabama Chapter. King has spent 20 years treating patients with the disease and is a leading researcher working to find a cure for ALS.
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is a progressive neurodegenerative disease affecting nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. The disease robs victims of the ability to walk, talk and eventually even blink an eye.
King will receive the award at the second annual “Changing the Game” awards dinner, 6 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 24, at The Club on Robert Smith Drive in Birmingham. Guest speakers at the event will be former Auburn great Bo Jackson and former University of Alabama star Tony Nathan.
The award is named for baseball player Lou Gehrig, nicknamed “the Iron Horse.” Gehrig showed extraordinary courage and commitment to the game of baseball in the face of a devastating ALS diagnosis.
For more information about The ALS Association Alabama Chapter and the “Changing the Game” event, visit webal.alsa.org/site/PageServer?pagename=AL_homepage.