Conference Overview

WHY: The goal of this new small annual tutorial workshop is to bring together researchers and trainees from a broad range of disciplines and scientific backgrounds, all of whom are working—from different perspectives and approaches— to understand healthy aging and the prevention of Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias. We seek to (1) pull attendees out of their academic and scientific silos, helping them understand relevant methods and findings from related fields, (2) seed the potential for future cross-disciplinary collaborations, (3) facilitate the transition from basic research to clinical interventions that promote healthy aging, and (4) for student and postdoctoral trainees: promote, early in their career, a broader interdisciplinary vision of future progress in aging, brain health, and Alzheimer’s prevention.

WHAT: Ten primary speakers will present tutorials on techniques, methods, concepts, and advances in aging and brain health from the fields of neuroscience, psychology, immunology, pharmacology, neurochemistry, kinesiology, genetics, sociology, gerontology, public health, neurology, psychiatry, and others. Given the breadth of fields represented by both speakers and attendees, all presentations are expected to be broadly accessible with sufficient Wikipedia-style undergraduate-level tutorial background so that talks are clear and comprehensible to every member of the audience, regardless of prior training. We welcome academic scientists, clinicians, and those from the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries. Interested members of the general public—especially those whose lives and families have been impacted by Alzheimer’s disease—are also invited.