M.W. Weiner
Professor of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, Medicine, Psychiatry, and Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, Principle Investigator: Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI)
Corresponding Author: Michael W. Weiner, Professor of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, Medicine, Psychiatry, and Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, USA, Michael.Weiner@ucsf.edu
J Prev Alz Dis 2022;3(9):387
Published online July 4, 2022, http://dx.doi.org/10.14283/jpad.2022.65
This forthcoming CTAD meeting promises to be one of the most exciting and impactful meetings of the year, if not the decade. Why?
First, the Alzheimer’s field has become one of the hottest areas of medical research, largely due to the development of amyloid plaque clearing antibodies which may slow cognitive decline, and also due to the development of blood tests which detect various aspects of AD pathology.
Second, the CTAD leadership has been informed that the top line results of two major Phase 3 clinical trials are likely to be revealed at the CTAD meeting in San Francisco. Interest in these two trials is very high because of their promising phase 2 data, and also because of the controversial results of the Biogen Aducanumab study.
The CTAD meeting is unique in the field for several reasons: CTAD focuses on AD clinical trials, while the other meetings in our field have a broader scope. In addition, CTAD is a “single platform meeting”. There is only one oral presentation at a time, and there are no simultaneous oral sessions. Therefore, the oral program is limited to the very best, most interesting, and high impact presentations. In addition to the single oral program, there are also extensive poster sessions.
And finally, the meeting is being held in downtown San Francisco. Compared to the other major cities of the world, San Franciso is quite small and on a peninsula surrounded on 3 slides by water: San Francisco Bay, the Pacific Ocean, and the Golden Gate. Our city is very diverse with many interesting neighboorhoods and a wide variety of great restaurants. There are three major universities in our area: UC Berkeley, Stanford, and University of California San Franciso. All three have internationally recognized neuroscience programs. The San Francisco Bay area is home to Biotech including a number of AD focused companies and Tech (Apple, Google, Facebook, SalesForce, Oracle etc). Last but not least, we have a beautiful city with beaches, many parks, our famous hills and the Golden Gate Bridge. Nearby is the Muir Woods (giant redwoods), the Napa and Sonoma Valleys (wine) and beautiful coast lines both north and south.
Hope to see you at CTAD
Conflict of interest: Dr. Weiner serves on Editorial Boards for Alzheimer’s & Dementia, MRI and TMRI. He has served on Advisory Boards for Acumen Pharmaceutical, ADNI, Alzheon, Inc., Biogen, Brain Health Registry, Cerecin, Dolby Family Ventures, Eli Lilly, Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp., National Institute on Aging (NIA), Nestle/Nestec, PCORI/PPRN, Roche, University of Southern California (USC), NervGen. He has provided consulting to Baird Equity Capital, BioClinica, Cerecin, Inc., Cytox, Dolby Family Ventures, Duke University, Eisai, FUJIFILM-Toyama Chemical (Japan), Garfield Weston, Genentech, Guidepoint Global, Indiana University, Japanese Organization for Medical Device Development, Inc. (JOMDD), Medscape, Nestle/Nestec, NIH, Peerview Internal Medicine, Roche, T3D Therapeutics, University of Southern California (USC), and Vida Ventures. He has acted as a speaker/lecturer to The Buck Institute for Research on Aging; China Association for Alzheimer’s Disease (CAAD); Japan Society for Dementia Research; and Korean Dementia Society He holds stock options with Alzheon, Inc., Alzeca, and Anven. The following entities have provided funding for academic travel; University of Southern California (USC), NervGen, ASFNR, and CTAD Congres. Dr. Weiner receives support for his research from the following sources: National Institutes of Health (NIH), Department of Defense (DOD), Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI), California Department of Public Health (CDPH), University of Michigan, Siemens, Biogen, Hillblom Foundation, Alzheimer’s Association, The State of California, Johnson & Johnson, Kevin and Connie Shanahan, GE, VUmc, Australian Catholic University (HBI-BHR), The Stroke Foundation, and the Veterans Administration.