EBC also held an e-poster presentation “Rethinking Alzheimer’s disease: Cross-roads in the earlier detection and diagnosis of Alzheimer’s” featuring the Rethinking Alzheimer’s Disease White Paper. The Paper calls on policymakers to drive national, EU and international policies that can improve the
lives of people living with AD, and ensure health systems are better prepared to support early detection and diagnosis now, and when future innovative detection and diagnostic tools and therapies become available.

The poster was presented by Prof. Charlotte Teunissen, Professor in Neurochemistry, Chair of the Neurochemistry lab (Amsterdam UMC) and one of the experts involved in the Rethinking Alzheimer’s Disease project.

The International Newborn Brain Conference (INBBC)  provides a state-of-the-art forum for presentation and discussion of current research and clinical practice in newborn brain care, including diagnosis, monitoring and management strategies to optimize neurodevelopmental outcome. It explores the means to understand, monitor, protect and treat the newborn brain. The INBBC provides continuing medical education to multidisciplinary professionals working to improve the neurological and developmental health outcomes of premature and high-risk newborns. The Conference will take place on 28 February – 2 March 2024 in Cork (Ireland).

The 12th European Conference on Rare Diseases & Orphan Products (ECRD) is the largest, patient-led, rare disease policy-shaping event held in Europe.

By bringing together people with rare diseases and patient advocates, policy makers, healthcare industry representatives, clinicians, regulators and Member State representatives, EURORDIS harnesses the power of this extensive network to shape goal-driven rare disease policies of the future.

With over 1000 participants, the Conference is an unrivalled opportunity to network and exchange invaluable insights within the rare disease community. Through collaborative efforts, these discussions culminate in clear policy recommendations that can influence both EU and national policies.

Get ready for the next ECRD, a fully hybrid conference taking place on 15 & 16 May 2024 online and at The Square in Brussels.

Registration is now open with a limited number of 300 places available to join us in person and early-bird fees available until 2 February! 

The 36th Global Conference of Alzheimer’s Disease International will take place in Kraków, Poland from 24-26 April 2024, with ADI member Polskie Stowarzyszenie Pomocy Osobom z Chorobą Alzheimera (Polish Alzheimer’s Association).

Coming together under the conference theme of ‘Dementia: Insights. Innovations. Inspirations.’, the conference will bring together experts from across the world to share information on achievements, innovations and best practices in dementia research, care and policy, while continuing to address and challenge the perceptions around dementia.

The conference will follow on from ADI 2022 and be offered in hybrid format, combining in-person and virtual elements for an educational and interactive experience for delegates.

The conference programme will be structured around the 7 action areas of the World Health Organization (WHO)’s Global Action Plan on dementia, which centre around policy, awareness, prevention and diagnosis, research, care and treatment of dementia.

EBC is pleased to be part of this year’s conference and hold the following presentations highlighting the Rethinking Alzheimer’s disease project, calling for change in Alzheimer ‘s care:

• Rethinking Alzheimer’s disease: Cross-roads in the earlier detection and diagnosis of Alzheimer’s (poster presentation), 24-26 April 2024
• Rethinking Alzheimer’s disease: Scaling up health systems’ readiness, 26 April 2024, 13:30-15:00

The 32^nd European Congress of Psychiatry will take place 6-9 April 2024 in Budapest (Hungary).

As a global and multi-cultural hub, Budapest is at the crossroads between East and West, and as such, excellently placed for a bridging role in Europe. Indeed, in these complex geopolitical times, the importance of joining together, crossing borders, and overcoming differences is more crucial than ever.

The Congress will take place under the motto ‘Mental Health: Open and Inclusive!’. It highlights three core aspects of modern psychiatry:

• Mental health as a broad dimension from mental health prevention and resilience building to the treatment of specific disorders.
• Open refers not only to our fundamental human rights but also to open mindedness and curiosity for novel approaches and ideas.
• Inclusive implies welcoming and respecting differences between people.

EBC looks forward to being part of the exhibition area and holding the following session:

• Assessing the Value of Mental Health Treatments for Youth in Europe, 7 April 2024, 10:00-11:30 (symposium)
• Rethinking Schizophrenia: Beyond the Voices, 7 April 2024, 08:00-17:00 (e-poster viewing)

The Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Diseases Conference (AD/PD™) will take place on 5-9 March 2024 in Lisbon (Portugal) and virtually.

The AD/PD™ Conference is where the brightest minds gather to explore the latest research, clinical trials, and treatments for Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. From uncovering groundbreaking discoveries to sharing the latest developments in treatments.

The Conference will give you the amazing opportunity to meet and hear what the leading international experts are working on, discuss the latest news and trends in the field, and present in front of them your own work and gain valuable feedback.

The AD/PD™ Conference has grown to be one of the leading events in the field of neurodegenerative disorders with over 4,100 participants from 61 countries and over 2,000 abstracts in 2023.

The conference on Rare diseases and European reference networks will be organised under the auspices of the Spanish Presidency of the EU Council and in cooperation with the authorities of the Basque Country. It will take place on 11th October 2023 in the Euskalduna Conference Centre in Bilbao, Spain. Interpreting will be provided from/to Spanish- German-English-French-Basque, webstreaming in English and Spanish is foreseen.

On 10th October, the day before the Conference on Rare diseases and the European Reference Networks, the European Economic and Social Committee will organise a side event on a neurodegenerative disease Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in cooperation with the authorities of the Basque Country.

The aim of the event is to raise awareness about ALS and its impact on the life of patients and their families, review the progress made in research to provide better treatment and better care, and inform on actions developed at European level, such as the EU ALS Coalition.

Vinciane Quoidbach, Public Health and Policy Research Project Manager at EBC, will take part in a session on “Action at European level” on 10th October at 17:00 – 18:00. She will highlight the need to pursue the intense research being conducted in many areas related to ALS, from basic science seeking the roots of the disease to therapy development to find effective treatments. She will also share the outcomes of the EU Action Plan on Rare Diseases, published in the framework of the Value of Treatment project, coordinated by EBC. Follow the livestream!

The International Conference on Neurological Disorders and Neurorestoration will be held from 9^th – 12^th May 2023 in Brijuni National Park, Croatia.

This unique international meeting will cover a wide range of areas connected to neurology, neuroscience and neurorestoration, such as neuroinflammation, neurodegeneration, ischemic diseases, paroxysmal and extrapyramidal diseases. The School of Medicine of the University of Zagreb, supported by all clinics for neurology of the Zagreb Clinical and Hospital Centers, is the main organizer of the conference.

The conference will be organized in conjunction with the 10^th Academy Meeting of National Brain Councils that will be held from 8^th – 9^th May.

More information about the event will be available soon.

With a new Rare Disease International Day coming up, Bamberg Health in collaboration with key actores of the industry, is organizing the Europe Rare Disease Summit in Madrid (Spain) and virtually.

The objective of the Summit was to discuss the key trends and topics relating to diagnostics and treatments for Rare Diseases, as well as the challenges to timely and equitable access to orphan drugs, and European initiatives for access, research and innovation programs to improve the lives of patients with rare diseases. The event wil be attended by governmental authorities and regulatory agancies from across the region, large public and private hospital groups, research centers, pharmaceutical and patient associations, scientifc societies and health professionals from all over the region.

EBC was delighted to be invited as a contributor this year, with EBC Research Project Manager, Vinciane Quoidbach, who took part in the 1st Panel ‘National Plans, Policies and Government Initiatives Against Rare Diseases’ from 09:15 to 10:00.

To access the program and whole agenda please click here

We are pleased to announce the fourth conference on the Genomics of Brain Disorders. This meeting will bring together international scientists and clinicians working on neurodegenerative and psychiatric diseases to compare approaches used and the emerging lessons from both categories of disease.

Psychiatric disorders, such as schizophrenia and depression, and neurodegenerative disorders, such as Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease, are placing an increasing burden on the developed world. Technical advances over the past few years, including genome-wide association and next-generation sequencing studies, have led to the discovery of many predisposing loci for both psychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders.

The conference will synthesise these advances and challenges in the genomics of various brain disorders. This year’s programme will explore recent insights into complex variations and genetic architecture in these disorders. We will also include sessions to discuss emerging tools and technologies, including functional assays, long-read sequencing, single cell, organoids, and other modelling approaches. In addition, we will highlight the methods used in population studies and how genomics is driving new therapeutics.

We aim to organise this meeting as a hybrid conference – with on-site or virtual attendance. If you would like to be part of these discussions – consider submitting an abstract by 21 March 2023 and register by 18 April (in-person) or 9 May (virtual) 2023.

To promote more inclusive scientific discussions with international colleagues at our conferences, virtual delegates based in Lower and Middle-Income Countries can register for free.

Scientific Programme Committee:

• Cornelis Blauwendraat – NIH/National Institute on Aging, USA
• Kristen Brennand – Yale University, USA
• Anders Børglum – Aarhus University, Denmark
• Mina Ryten – UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, UK

Keynote speakers:

• Sir John Hardy – UK Dementia Research Institute at UCL
• Danielle Posthuma – Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, the Netherlands

For registration and further information:

https://coursesandconferences.wellcomeconnectingscience.org/event/genomics-of-brain-disorders-20230517/

Contact: conferences@wellcomeconnectingscience.org