JPND SYMPOSIUM 2019

The JPND /JPco-fuND Symposium marked the culmination of 51 JPND supported research projects on neurodegenerative disease research as leading researchers on Neurodegenerative Disease (ND) research gather and exchange best practices and new ideas.

Held at the Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium for Sciences and the Arts in Brussels, on the 27th and 28th November 2019, the two-day symposium saw a wide array of project topics being presented, ranging from Alzheimer’s to Parkinson’s diseases to rarer maladies such as Huntington’s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, spinocerebellar ataxia and Sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (sCJD).

JPND Chair, Professor Philippe Amouyel welcomed the 150 participants that showed up on the first day to the symposium, with an opening speech and an introduction to JPND. Professor Thomas Gasser, Chair of the JPND Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) gave an overview of JPND’s project achievements, as well as how JPND contributed to ND research in the past 11 years. Following this, SAB member and keynote speaker Professor Myrra Vernooij-Dassen spoke about the influence of social health research on dementia.

A total of 44 projects were represented by their project coordinators and consortia partners. Participants were also treated to 45 project pitches held within the 11 scientific sessions that are grouped into topics, ranging from Biomarkers to Genomics and Epigenetics, Protein Misfolding to Healthcare, Prevention and Treatment.

Young researchers from each consortium received a chance to present their latest research findings during the Young Scientist Poster Exhibition held over the two days. The symposium ended on a high-note with a plenary session that saw panel members Professor Amouyel, Professor Gasser, Mr Karim Berkouk from the European Commission, PPI expert from Alzheimer Netherlands, Mr Marco Blom and PPI representatives Mr Chris Roberts and Ms Jayne Goodrick interacting with and answering audiences’ questions on ND research.