Dementia Researcher Vodcast

In this episode, we share highlights from the fourth day of the 2026 Alzheimer’s Association International Conference (AAIC).
Adam Smith chats with Dr Niying Li, Assistant Professor at the University of Georgia; Dr Natasha Anita, a Research Fellow at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital; and Lillian Morgado, Research Coordinator at Georgia State University.
The AAIC brings together researchers from all areas of research to share their work, theories and breakthroughs while exploring opportunities to accelerate work and elevate careers.
Key topics
The practical barriers to delivering new anti-amyloid treatments
Rural and international inequalities in access to diagnosis and care
What p-tau217 could tell us about future cognitive decline
Promising results from new tau-targeting therapies
Behavioural and personality changes as possible early signs of neurodegeneration
Women’s brain health, inflammation and Alzheimer’s risk
The ethical and legal questions surrounding biomarker disclosure
Why research must include more countries and underrepresented populations

Find out more about the conference at https://aaic.alz.org/ and on social media with #AAIC26
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A transcript of this show, links and show notes and profile on all our guests are available on our website at https://www.dementiaresearcher.nihr.ac.uk.
If you prefer to watch rather than listen, you will find a video version of this podcast on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, and on our website.
Leave us a tip:
https://dementia-researcher.captivate.fm/support
Follow us on social media:
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Download and Register with our Community App:
https://www.onelink.to/dementiaresearcher
We gratefully acknowledge the support of our funders: Alzheimer’s Association, Race Against Dementia, Alzheimer’s Research UK, Alzheimer’s Society, and the National Institute for Health and Care Research.
The views and opinions expressed by guests in this podcast are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of the producers, funders, or sponsors.
Subscribe to our sister show 'Dementia Researcher The Blogs':
https://podfollow.com/dementia-researcher-blogs

In this episode, we share highlights from the third day of the 2026 Alzheimer’s Association International Conference (AAIC).
Adam Smith chats with Cari Randa-Beaulieu, Provincial Coordinator, Knowledge Mobilization at the Alzheimer Society of British Columbia and Yukon; and Abrar AbuHamdia, a PhD candidate at Hamad Bin Khalifa University in Qatar.
The AAIC brings together researchers from all areas of research to share their work, theories and breakthroughs while exploring opportunities to accelerate work and elevate careers.
Key topics
Alzheimer's disease subtypes and precision medicine
Biomarkers and diagnostic accuracy in dementia
Microglia and neuroinflammation therapies
Global efforts in brain health promotion
Co-design and lived experience in research

Find out more about the conference at https://aaic.alz.org/ and on social media with #AAIC26
Note: We apologise for issues with the sound quality in the first part of this recording.--
A transcript of this show, links and show notes and profile on all our guests are available on our website at https://www.dementiaresearcher.nihr.ac.uk.
If you prefer to watch rather than listen, you will find a video version of this podcast on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, and on our website.
Leave us a tip:
https://dementia-researcher.captivate.fm/support
Follow us on social media:
https://www.instagram.com/dementia_researcher/
https://www.facebook.com/Dementia.Researcher/
https://www.twitter.com/demrescommunity
https://www.linkedin.com/company/dementia-researcher
https://bsky.app/profile/dementiaresearcher.bsky.social

Download and Register with our Community App:
https://www.onelink.to/dementiaresearcher
We gratefully acknowledge the support of our funders: Alzheimer’s Association, Race Against Dementia, Alzheimer’s Research UK, Alzheimer’s Society, and the National Institute for Health and Care Research.
The views and opinions expressed by guests in this podcast are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of the producers, funders, or sponsors.
Subscribe to our sister show 'Dementia Researcher The Blogs':
https://podfollow.com/dementia-researcher-blogs

In this episode, we share highlights from the second day of the 2026 Alzheimer’s Association International Conference (AAIC).
Adam Smith chats with Nathania from Universitas Airlangga in Indonesia, Dr Arezoo Talebzadeh from Ghent University in Belgium, and Dr Suelyn Koerich from the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
The AAIC brings together researchers from all areas of research to share their work, theories and breakthroughs while exploring opportunities to accelerate work and elevate careers.
Key topics
Anti-amyloid immunotherapies and personalized medicine
Cultural sensitivity in dementia assessment
The role of environment and architecture in dementia care
Neuroinflammation and neuroprotective factors
Biomarker validation and minimally invasive testing
Impact of social determinants on dementia risk
Soundscape and sensory health in dementia management

Find out more about the conference at https://aaic.alz.org/ and on social media with #AAIC26
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A transcript of this show, links and show notes and profile on all our guests are available on our website at https://www.dementiaresearcher.nihr.ac.uk.
If you prefer to watch rather than listen, you will find a video version of this podcast on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, and on our website.
Leave us a tip:
https://dementia-researcher.captivate.fm/support
Follow us on social media:
https://www.instagram.com/dementia_researcher/
https://www.facebook.com/Dementia.Researcher/
https://www.twitter.com/demrescommunity
https://www.linkedin.com/company/dementia-researcher
https://bsky.app/profile/dementiaresearcher.bsky.social

Download and Register with our Community App:
https://www.onelink.to/dementiaresearcher
We gratefully acknowledge the support of our funders: Alzheimer’s Association, Race Against Dementia, Alzheimer’s Research UK, Alzheimer’s Society, and the National Institute for Health and Care Research.
The views and opinions expressed by guests in this podcast are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of the producers, funders, or sponsors.
Subscribe to our sister show 'Dementia Researcher The Blogs':
https://podfollow.com/dementia-researcher-blogs

In this episode, we share highlights from the first day of the 2026 Alzheimer’s Association International Conference (AAIC).
Adam Smith chats with Sarah Graef from Rush University Medical Center and Muthia Huda Islami from the National Brain Centre Hospital Mahar Mardjono in Jakarta.
The AAIC brings together researchers from all areas of research to share their work, theories and breakthroughs while exploring opportunities to accelerate work and elevate careers.
Key topics
Biomarkers for Alzheimer's disease
Genetic epidemiology in diverse populations
Lifestyle interventions and dementia prevention
Innovative drug delivery methods for neurodegenerative diseases
Global research collaborations and underrepresented populations

Find out more about the conference at https://aaic.alz.org/ and on social media with #AAIC26
--
A transcript of this show, links and show notes and profile on all our guests are available on our website at https://www.dementiaresearcher.nihr.ac.uk.
If you prefer to watch rather than listen, you will find a video version of this podcast on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, and on our website.
Leave us a tip:
https://dementia-researcher.captivate.fm/support
Follow us on social media:
https://www.instagram.com/dementia_researcher/
https://www.facebook.com/Dementia.Researcher/
https://www.twitter.com/demrescommunity
https://www.linkedin.com/company/dementia-researcher
https://bsky.app/profile/dementiaresearcher.bsky.social

Download and Register with our Community App:
https://www.onelink.to/dementiaresearcher
We gratefully acknowledge the support of our funders: Alzheimer’s Association, Race Against Dementia, Alzheimer’s Research UK, Alzheimer’s Society, and the National Institute for Health and Care Research.
The views and opinions expressed by guests in this podcast are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of the producers, funders, or sponsors.
Subscribe to our sister show 'Dementia Researcher The Blogs':
https://podfollow.com/dementia-researcher-blogs

Welcome to the seventh season of the Dementia Researcher X ISTAART PIA Relay Podcast. Across six episodes, leading early career and senior researchers hand the mic from one ISTAART PIA to the next, giving you an honest, peer-to-peer tour of where dementia research is actually heading, from wearables and biomarkers to policy and trial design, in the run-up to AAIC.
Series closer, and the relay comes full circle: Carla Abdelnour, who hosted episode one, returns as the guest. Carla is a clinician scientist in Barcelona and incoming Chair of the ISTAART Clinical Trials Advancement and Methods PIA, working on mixed neurodegenerative disease, particularly Lewy body and Alzheimer's pathology together. With host Sindhuja Tirumalai Govindarajan she explains why co-pathology is so common and what it means for treatment: does someone with both alpha-synuclein and Alzheimer's pathology respond to an anti-amyloid drug the same way as someone without? They discuss why she leans on fluid biomarkers, the wish for a synuclein PET tracer, and how trials might stratify or include people by co-pathology. Carla makes a useful point for anyone designing research, that clinical trial methods translate straight to observational studies, and previews the CTAM PIA's AAIC programme, including a panel and featured session on global representation in trials.
Takeaways
Mixed pathology is common, and co-occurring alpha-synuclein and Alzheimer's pathology may change how people respond to treatment.
Trials could stratify or include people by co-pathology, but alpha-synuclein is currently detectable only in CSF, which limits that.
Fluid biomarkers offer the specificity to track different proteinopathies and, potentially, response to treatment.
Clinical trial design transfers straight to observational research: the same inclusion criteria, outcomes and sample-size thinking.
Global representation in trials is a live priority, with a CTAM panel launching at AAIC.

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The Alzheimer’s Association International Society to Advance Alzheimer’s Research and Treatment (ISTAART) convenes the global Alzheimer’s and dementia science community. Members share knowledge, fuel collaboration and advance research to find more effective ways to detect, treat and prevent Alzheimer’s and other dementias. Professional Interest Areas (PIA) are an assembly of ISTAART members with common subspecialties or interests.
There are currently 30 PIAs covering a wide range of interests and fields, from Neuroimaging to Diversity and Disparities and everything in between.
Find out more at https://istaart.alz.org/
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A transcript of this show, links and show notes and profile on all our guests are available on our website at https://www.dementiaresearcher.nihr.ac.uk.
If you prefer to watch rather than listen, you will find a video version of this podcast on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, and on our website.
Leave us a tip:
https://dementia-researcher.captivate.fm/support
Follow us on social media:
https://www.instagram.com/dementia_researcher/
https://www.facebook.com/Dementia.Researcher/
https://www.twitter.com/demrescommunity
https://www.linkedin.com/company/dementia-researcher
https://bsky.app/profile/dementiaresearcher.bsky.social

Download and Register with our Community App:
https://www.onelink.to/dementiaresearcher
We gratefully acknowledge the support of our funders: Alzheimer’s Association, Race Against Dementia, Alzheimer’s Research UK, Alzheimer’s Society, and the National Institute for Health and Care Research.
The views and opinions expressed by guests in this podcast are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of the producers, funders, or sponsors.
Subscribe to our sister show 'Dementia Researcher The Blogs':
https://podfollow.com/dementia-researcher-blogs