Washington State University in Spokane is creating the Steve Gleason Institute for Neuroscience to develop care and cures for brain disease.
The Gleason Institute is expected to open in Spokane in the second half of this year.
Daryll DeWald, chancellor of WSU Health Sciences Spokane, announced the project on Tuesday.
He says the Gleason Institute will have WSU researchers working with health care providers to bridge the gaps between care and potential treatments of neuro-degenerative diseases.
That class of diseases includes ALS, Parkinson's and other diseases. Together, these conditions affect millions of Americans and account for billions of dollars in health care costs each year.
Steve Gleason, a Spokane native who was a football star at WSU and in the NFL, was diagnosed with ALS in 2011.
