Steve Gleason, who helped take WSU to the Rose Bowl in 1997 and whose diving punt block for the New Orleans Saints in 2006 rallied the hurricane-ravaged city’s down-but-not-out spirit, confronted his 2011 diagnosis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) the way he deals with any challenge. He tackled it head on.

Despite the terminal neuromuscular disease leaving him immobile and reliant on eye-controlled technology to communicate, Steve’s personal tenacity hasn’t slowed.

Steve and his friends and family started the non-profit, Team Gleason, to generate public awareness for ALS, raise funding to empower those with ALS to live a rewarding life, and ultimately find a cure. In January 2019, WSU Health Sciences and Team Gleason announced formal collaboration around the Steve Gleason Institute for Neuroscience.