ALS took his father. Now this Carleton researcher is fighting back

Ottawa Citizen

3 days ago

It was a conversation Daniel Knight will not forget. The Carleton University researcher's father had recently been diagnosed with ALS. What Knight said seems prescient now.
Article content
'I just told him that one day I would be part of the solution. He said thank you. We really didn't need to say anything else.'
Article content
Article content
Knight's sixty-year-old father, John, a 'self-proclaimed nerd' who loved everything to do with space and aviation, was diagnosed with an aggressive form of the neurological condition amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in 2019. He died just six months later, one of three siblings in his family taken by the devastating disease.
Article content
Article content
At the time, Knight was a 19-year-old undergrad studying chemistry at Carleton University with no concrete plans for his future. He admits he didn't really know how he could be part of a solution to ALS, but felt strongly that he had to do something to help people with the disease that had been so prevalent in his father's family.
Article content
Article content
'To be honest, I didn't have a clue. I just knew I couldn't sit back. The only thing on my mind was volunteering or fundraising.'
Article content
ALS is a neurological condition that affects motor neurons — the wires that connect the brain to the muscles. Approximately 4,000 Canadians are affected. The majority will survive between two and five years after being diagnosed. Some, like John Knight, survive for less than a year. Others live beyond five years.
Article content
His father's illness and the family history of the disease has driven Knight to be one of the researchers working to make a difference for ALS patients.
Article content
Article content
Article content
Today, the 25 year old from Navan is working on his PhD in chemistry at Carleton and leading groundbreaking scientific research that is part of a wave of work raising hopes of potential new treatments for ALS.
Article content
Article content
The support of one of his professors during his father's illness and her subsequent mentorship has helped shape Knight's research.
Article content
Knight was in his second year studying chemistry when his father became ill. He had to navigate his studies while trying to spend time with his father.
Article content
Among his courses at the time was one taught by Maria DeRosa, a chemistry professor and researcher who is now Dean of Science at Carleton. Her overwhelming support and sympathy, along with her approach to teaching and to students, made Knight think she was someone he would like to work with to continue his studies.
Article content
He became interested in her work, which includes the use of aptamers. The synthetically produced single-stranded DNA molecules can selectively bind to any target they are designed to bind to, including specific proteins. That makes them an important research tool. Aptamers have a long list of potential applications — including in healthcare.