Want to study ALS... but what degree do I need?

Factual Questions
1

I’m currently finishing up a kinesiology degree, with the intention of proceeding to physiotherapy school.

However, after a conversation I had today, I’m really considering researching ALS for ten years, then proceeding to physio school.

My questions are:

Will a kinesiology degree (Msc, PHD?) help me prepare for ALS research, or do I need a PHD in neurology?

Will ten years of research be enough to actually do something, or would it just be ten years wasted once I left the field?

Would I probably get into physio school afterwards?

Best Regards,
Daniel

2

Are we talking amyotrophic lateral sclerosis ALS, or the other kind?

3

Advanced Life Support

4

My apologies, I didn’t realise it was an ambiguous acronym.

I’m talking about Amyotropic Lateral Sclerosis: Lou Gherig’s disease.

Thanks a lot,
Daniel

5

Most of the Medline articles I found on ALS were submitted by neurologists, or are in neurological journals. There are also some studies conducted by kinesiology departments, so it’s possible that a PhD in kinesiology would be sufficient to research ALS.

Kinesiologists and neurologists would conduct research into different aspects of ALS. You should probably talk with a few members of both fields to get an idea of what their research is like, and choose the field that interests you more. They should be able to help you decide if doing research would be worthwhile too.