Joel Gutierrez

What has been the highlight of your day?

The joint opening session: ALS, one disease or many? This presentation covered a very important topic, for all fields. Both researchers and clinicans need to be aware of the multiple disorders that could lead to an ALS phenotype.

What message would you give to someone with MND about what you have learnt so far?

There are many people (caregivers, social workers, nurses, scientists, clinicans) working to achieve a better understanding of your disease and hopefully a cure. You are not alone.

Which presentation did you find most interesting?

ALS: one disease or many (M Strong)
Making the most of your microarray (P Shaw standing in for K Mirnics)
Development of an automatic recognizer for dysarthric speech (K Caves) -for the possibility of immediate application with lower costs.

Who has made the biggest impression on you?

Patients attending the meeting in a wheelchair and on a ventilator. They are living demonstrations of how much a disease can change your life. They are also a powerful source of inspiration to work.

How will what you have learnt at the Symposium influence your future work?

I will be more careful about the human side of patients. I will think deeper about research possibilities. I will also give more attention to stratification and evaluation of clinical manifestations.