CONFERENCE SPEAKERS AND TUTORIALS PLANNED

CURRENT LINE UP OF SPEAKERS FOR ASPEN 2026, January 6-8, 2026

Tuesday January 6

3:00-3:50pm: General Registration and Reception (in Bar Area)
4:00: General Workshop Introduction (Gluck)
4:10: Student Blitzes:
Oceanna Li (Stanford). “Astrocytic profiles in neurodegenerative diseases”
Fariba Ardalani (NY Medical College). “Why the immune system matters in Alzheimer’s prevention”
Fengyuan Wang (Cornell), “Artificial intelligence diagnostics enable earlier stroke treatment”
Angelique Gonzalez (Texas) , “Computational pathology approaches to understanding dementia heterogeneity”
4:40: Talk 1. Jennifer Schrack (Epi., JHU, MD). “Quantitative measures of changes in body movement with aging”
5:10: Talk 2. Kevin Heffernan (Movement Science, Columbia Teachers College, NY), “Vascular aging and brain health”
5:30: Talk 3. Susy Stark (Occupational Therapy, Washington Univ. St. Louis, MI), “Aging safely at home”
5:30-5:45pm: Break
5:45: Talk 4. Rebecca Cunningham (Pharmacy, U. Of North Texas, TX), “Sex differences in aging and brain health”
6:05: Talk 5. Adreanna Haley (Clinical Psychology, Univ. of Texas at Austin, TX). “Why the brain needs a liver”
6:25: Talk 6. Michael Koob (Pathology, U. of Minn., MN). “Environmental stress and injury can cause dementia”
6:45: Depart to 7pm Pizza & Salad Party (up the hill 10 minutes walk)

Wednesday January 7

3:30-3:55: Reception (Columbine room)
4:00: Talk 7. Perry Ridge (Biology, Brigham Young Univ., UT). “Alzheimer’s disease in Pacific Islanders”
4:20: Talk 8. Omer Sharon (Psych. & Neuro, UC, Berkeley, CA), “Human slow wave sleep in aging and Alzheimer’s disease”
4:40: Talk 9. Jeremy Pruzin (Banner Health, AZ), “The effects of high blood pressure on risk for dementia”
5:00: Talk 10. Elizabeth Mormino (Neurology, Stanford Univ., CA), “Measuring early Alzheimer’s disease in aging cohorts”
5:20-5:35: Break
5:40: Talk 11. David Scarisbrick (Neurosurgery, Rutgers, NJ), “Neuropsychological assessment in Alzheimer’s disease”
6:00: Talk 12. Sue Shapses (Nutrition, Rutgers), “Nutrition and metabolic factors affecting cognitive aging”
6:20: Talk 13. Jayeeta Basu (Neuro, NYU, NY), “Circuit mechanisms for cortico-hippocampal dynamics in Alzheimer’s”
6:40: Talk 14. Todd Horowitz (NIA/NIH, Bethesda, MD). “Priorities for Social and Behavioral Research on Aging at NIH”
7pm: Free for dinner

Thursday January 8

3:30-3:55: Reception (Columbine room)
4:00: Talk 15. Keenan Walker (NIA Intramural, MD). “What the plasma proteome can tell us about dementia risk”
4:20: Talk 16. Elizabeth Disbrow (Louisiana State University, LA). “Advances in plasma biomarkers of dementia”
4:40: Talk 17. Matt Huentelman (TGen Institute, AZ), “The genetics of Alzheimer’s disease and healthy aging”
5:00-5:15: Break
5:20: Talk 18. Andrew Budson (Neurology, Boston University, MA). “Dementia as a disorder of consciousness”
5:40: Talk 19. Nick Frost (Neurology, U. of Utah, UT). “How amyloid accumulation disrupts cellular and network activity”
6:00: Talk 20. Jack Tsao (Neurology, Rutgers, NJ), “Latest updates on anti-amyloid treatments for Alzheimer’s disease”
6:20-6:30pm: General Discussion
6:30-7:15: Free to return to rooms
7:15-9pm: Closing Dinner Banquet at Heathers Restaurant in Hotel