Former Israeli Army Captain Fights Back After Lou Gehrig’s Disease Diagnosis
and is Named Recipient of The ALS Association’s Lawrence A. Rand Prize
CALABASAS HILLS, Calif. (July 16, 2007) -- The ALS Association has awarded its prestigious Lawrence A. Rand Prize to Israeli native and entrepreneur Avichai “Avi” Kremer, who has inspired the Ivy league school he attended and the international ALS community.
Kremer, 32, after learning he had ALS in 2004 during his first semester as an MBA student at Harvard Business School (HBS) in Cambridge, Mass., immediately declared war on amyotrophic lateral sclerosis by raising awareness about the disease as well as millions of dollars for research in Israel and the U.S.
Realizing that the average survival rate for living with this progressive neurodegenerative disease is between two to five years from the time of diagnosis, Kremer has accomplished as much in three years as an advocate as many do in a lifetime.
The prize is one of the highest honors and awards an individual can receive from The ALS Association and is awarded to individuals who enrich the ALS community, inspire others, and significantly promote the search for a cure for ALS, commonly referred to as Lou Gehrig’s Disease. The recipient must demonstrate extraordinary vision, commitment and exemplary leadership in serving the ALS community.
A former Israeli army captain, Kremer has also worked to promote ALS research at the Harvard Center for Neurodegeneration and Repair and the Massachusetts General Hospital. In 2006, he and Nate Boaz, a Harvard classmate, launched the nonprofit Prize4Life, which offers prestigious cash prizes for novel ALS breakthroughs. Prize4Life has already awarded $75,000 and has launched a $1 million prize for ALS biomarker discovery. Also in 2006, Kremer started the for-profit biotech AviTx, which is developing commercial ALS drugs.
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Lawrence A. Rand Prize
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"It is such an honor to receive this prize from the ALS Association,” Kremer said. “I know I am in the company of many other talented individuals who, like me, are determined to find a cure for
ALS. The ALS Association is a key player in the fight against ALS and I am proud to join forces with it at Prize4Life."
Lawrence A. Rand was one of the first officers of The ALS Association’s National Board of Trustees when it was founded in 1985 and is now a trustee emeritus. Past recipients of the award include Shonda Schilling, the wife of Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling, former NFL player Pete Duranko and international respected neurologist Dr. Richard Olney.
“Avi Kremer is one remarkable young man,” said Allen Finkelstein, chairman of The Association’s National Board of Trustees. “He bettered himself by earning an advanced degree at Harvard and at the same time managed to successfully wage an innovative fight against an insidious disease. He was the overwhelming choice as the recipient of the Lawrence A. Rand Prize.”
Though he now uses a wheelchair and finds it hard to speak, Kremer’s commitment to finding new treatments and a cure for ALS is just as strong now as it was when he was diagnosed with the disease in 2004.
“The ALS Association fully recognizes Avi Kremer’s leadership, spirit and innovation in how to raise awareness of ALS and become a catalyst for ALS research worldwide,” said Gary A. Leo, the president and CEO of The Association. “The prize is The ALS Association’s way of extending our deepest and most heartfelt appreciation for all that he has done and continues to do in advancing the fight against ALS.”
Shortly after his diagnosis in 2004, Kremer set out with the other members of Section I (each of the 10 sections at the school is named after a letter of the alphabet) to raise $550,000 from the HBS community for ALS research. In 2005 Kremer took time off from HBS and has worked as the CEO of an ALS nonprofit, IsrALS – the Israeli ALS Association – where he has raised funds to launch multiple ALS research projects in Israel.
Kremer graduated from the Harvard Business School in March 2007 and was recognized with the school’s Dean’s Award for making an outstanding contribution to Harvard and society. Today, Kremer serves as the CEO of Prize4Life and an assistant director in the Harvard Center for Neurodegeneration and Repair.
Before attending Harvard, Kremer was a project manager for Elbit Systems, Ltd. He also holds a B.A. degree in computer science from the Technion Israel Institute of Technology.
The national ALS Association is the only not-for-profit health organization dedicated solely to the fight against ALS.
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