Newswise — [MOUNT LAUREL, NJ, May 28, 2024] — The 149th Annual Meeting of the American Neurological Association (ANA) will explore new frontiers in neurology, including the significant progress made in our understanding of the major mutations causing ALS, recent advances in artificial intelligence (AI) that help us better understand the causes, prognosis, and treatment of neurological disease, and new information about encephalitis, a rare and devastating neurologic disease.
The meeting, which will take place September 14-17, 2024, at the Hilton Orlando in Orlando, FL, is expected to draw approximately 1,000 of the nation’s and the world’s top academic neurologists and neuroscientists, students and trainees.
The 2024 Annual Meeting focuses on leveraging the ANA’s unique ability to create multi-specialty collaborations around interdisciplinary topics. Both the keynote sessions and new “cross-cutting” interest groups will spotlight issues with implications for many different diseases and research areas.
“The ANA2024 conference will be especially magical this year in Orlando, Florida,” said ANA President M. Elizabeth Ross, MD, PhD, FANA, Nathan Cummings Professor in the Brain and Mind Research Institute and Director, Center for Neurogenetics, Weill Cornell Medicine. “We’re especially pleased that the Association of University Professors of Neurology [AUPN] annual meeting, held in tandem with ours, will supercharge the convening of thought leaders in the field.”
“This year's educational programming features some of the leading minds in academic neurology discussing an exciting range of topics, ensuring there is something for everyone,” said Allison Willis, MD, MS, FANA, chair of the ANA’s Annual Meeting Programming Committee and associate professor of neurology and of epidemiology at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. “The meeting promises to be informative and inspirational. Interaction with attendees from around the globe will help us gain knowledge, resources, and connections to advance research and grow professionally.”
Key Science
The meeting will host plenary sessions on the following ground-breaking topics in neurology and neuroscience:
- Opening Symposium: The Dawn of Gene Therapy in ALS. The meeting’s opening session on Saturday evening will explore our understanding of the mechanisms of action of the major mutations causing ALS, as well as, the substantial progress in translational research and human therapeutic trials for these disorders that led to the first FDA-approved therapy for hereditary ALS (SOD) in 2023. Session co-chairs: Clifton Gooch, MD, FANA (University of South Florida), I-Hweii Chen, MD, PhD, FANA (University of South Florida).
- ANA Presidential Symposium: Present and Future Applications of AI in Neurological Care and Research. The symposium will present perspectives on current capabilities and future promise of computational tools for the application of implantable devices and the integration of multi-omics, imaging, and clinical data toward understanding the causes, prognosis, and treatment of neurological disease. ANA President M. Elizabeth Ross, MD, PhD, FANA, will chair the session, with co-chair Cassie Mitchell, PhD (Georgia Institute of Technology).
- Role of Compartmentalized Inflammation in Health and CNS Diseases. This session will focus on the role of inflammatory cells in different neurological diseases. Co-chairs: Laura Balcer, MD, MSCE, FANA (NYU Grossman School of Medicine), Jennifer Orthmann-Murphy, MD, PhD (University of Pennsylvania).
- Emerging Applications of Non-Invasive Neuromodulation in Neurology. This session will address novel invasive and noninvasive approaches to stimulating brain circuits and networks using magnetic, electrical, and ultrasound stimulation techniques. It will bring together several globally renowned experts in brain networks and neuromodulation and assess the future use of brain stimulation to treat neurological disorders. Co-chairs: Roy Hamilton, MD, MS, FANA (University of Pennsylvania), Elisabeth Marsh, MD, FAHA, FANA, FAAN (The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine).
- Derek Denny-Brown Young Neurological Scholar Symposium. The symposium is an opportunity for investigators to share groundbreaking research in the field of neurology and neuroscience and will feature presentations from the 2024 Derek Denny-Brown awardees and the recipients of the Grass Foundation-ANA Award in Neuroscience, Audrey S. Penn Lectureship, and Wolfe Research Prize awardees. Co-chairs: Laurie Gutmann, MD, FANA (Indiana University), Vinita Acharya, MD, FAAN, FANA, FAES (Penn State College of Medicine).
- Autoimmune vs. Infectious Encephalitis: Dilemmas and Solutions. This session will discuss the challenges for clinicians and researchers in addressing autoimmune encephalitis, a rare but devasting neurologic disease. Additionally, recent advances in diagnosis and treatment options and pitfalls will be discussed. Co-chairs: Allen Aksamit, MD, FANA (Mayo Clinic, Rochester), Arun Venkatesan, MD, PhD (The Johns Hopkins University).
Cross-Disciplinary Learning
The meeting brings back popular favorites including Interactive Lunch Workshops on topics such as functional neurological disorders, clinical logic, autoimmune encephalitis and –new this year – ILWs on neurology in the ChatGTP era and game-based theory in neurology; Professional Development Workshops aimed at different career levels; and regular Special Interest Group and Cross Cutting Special Interest Group sessions for networking and discussing important topics within specialties including epilepsy, headache, and autoimmune disease.
Early Career Opportunities
ANA2024 will provide special opportunities for early career practitioners—including professional development workshops and a reception hosted by the ANA Junior and Early Career Subcommittee. In addition, several major plenary sessions will feature late-breaking research and discovery presentations from emerging researchers selected from among submitted abstracts.
A separate Research Careers Reimagined course, held prior to the meeting, will focus on the varied potential pathways to a successful research career. ANA’s commitment to junior and early career members will also include complimentary childcare for meeting attendees this year, along with the longstanding dependent travel award program.
“Join us in Orlando to celebrate the amazing advances in Neurology and explore this most intriguing and versatile career in academic medicine,” Ross said.
“I look forward to the ANA's Annual Meeting each year because it highlights how far we have come and allows me to connect with others who are also invested in research and discovery to propel us toward a world without neurological disease,” Willis said.
For the Media
Members of the media are welcome to attend the full meeting and preview the advance program at 2024.myana.org starting in June. Embargoed abstracts will be made available by request in September.
To register and obtain press credentials, please click here.
About the American Neurological Association (ANA)
From advances in stroke and dementia to movement disorders and epilepsy, the American Neurological Association has been the vanguard of research since 1875 as the premier professional society of academic neurologists and neuroscientists devoted to understanding and treating diseases of the nervous system. Its monthly Annals of Neurology is among the world’s most prestigious medical journals, and the ANA’s Annals of Clinical and Translational Neurology is an online-only, open access journal providing rapid dissemination of high-quality, peer-reviewed research related to all areas of neurology. The acclaimed ANA Annual Meeting draws faculty and trainees from the top academic departments across the U.S. and abroad for groundbreaking research, networking, and career development. For more information, visit www.myana.org or @TheNewANA1
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