The 31st International Symposium on ALS/MND will be held virtually on 9-11 December 2020.
See below for the programme of platform presentations which includes cutting-edge research talks with live Q&As and discussions from our invited plenary speakers, award presentations, and live poster sessions. To view abstracts of each plenary talk, please visit the abstracts online webpage.
You can print the PDF version of this programme for your records. Please note that the programme is subject to change.
There will be speed networking taking place in the breaks and the ePoster Hall (to preview around 400 posters before the live poster sessions) will be available throughout the virtual event.
DAY 1 (Wednesday 9 December)
SESSION 1: OPENING SESSION
| GMT | EST | JST | PRESENTATION | SPEAKER | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1300 - 1305 | 0800 - 0805 | 2200 - 2205 | Welcome to the 31st International Symposium on ALS/MND | ||
| 1305 - 1355 | 0805 - 0855 | 2205 - 2255 | #C1 | The Stephen Hawking Memorial Lecture: Introduction Targeting neuroinflammation across neurodegenerative diseases Discussion/Questions | L Hawking (UK) R Tanzi (USA) |
| 1355 - 1405 | 0855 - 0905 | 2255 - 2305 | International Alliance of ALS/MND Associations Forbes Norris and Humanitarian Awards | ||
| 1405 - 1420 | 0905 - 0920 | 2305 - 2320 | IPG Award and winner’s research presentation |
SESSION 2: PROTEIN DYSREGULATION AND PROTEOTOXICITY
| GMT | EST | JST | PRESENTATION | SPEAKER | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1430 - 1450 | 0930 - 0950 | 2330 - 2350 | #C2 | Prions, prionoids and neurodegeneration | A Aguzzi (Switzerland) |
| 1450 - 1510 | 0950 - 1010 | 2350 - 0010 | #C3 | Protein dysregulation in ALS | D Bosco (USA) |
| 1510 - 1530 | 1010 - 1030 | 0010 - 0030 | #C4 | Protein quality control of biomolecular condensates: Implications for ALS and frontotemporal degeneration | S Carra (Italy) |
| 1530 - 1540 | 1030 - 1040 | 0030 - 0040 | Discussion/Questions |
SESSION 3: CLINICAL TRIALS
| GMT | EST | JST | PRESENTATION | SPEAKER | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1550 - 1610 | 1050 - 1110 | 0050 - 0110 | #C5 | The REFALS phase 3 study of levosimendan in patients with ALS | M Cudkowicz (USA) |
| 1610 - 1630 | 1110 - 1130 | 0110 - 0130 | #C6 | NurOwn ALS Phase 3 clinical trial update | R Kern (Israel) M Cudkowicz (USA) |
| 1630 - 1650 | 1130 - 1150 | 0130 - 0150 | #C7 | Functional and long-term survival benefit of AMX0035 in ALS: Results of the CENTAUR and Open Label Extension trials | S Paganoni (USA) |
| 1650 - 1700 | 1150 - 1200 | 0150 - 0200 | Discussion/Questions |
LIVE POSTER SESSION A
GMT: 1710 - 1750 | EST: 1210 - 1250 | JST: 0210 - 0250
DAY 2 (Thursday 10 December)
| GMT | EST | JST | PRESENTATION | SPEAKER | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1300 - 1305 | 0800 - 0805 | 2200 - 2205 | Welcome to Day 2 |
SESSION 4: FROM RESEARCH TO CARE
| GMT | EST | JST | PRESENTATION | SPEAKER | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1305 - 1325 | 0805 - 0825 | 2205 - 2225 | #C8 | The power of ALS patient registries in the age of personalized medicine | O Hardiman (Ireland) |
| 1325 - 1345 | 0825 - 0845 | 2225 - 2245 | #C9 | Improving patient-reported outcome measures in ALS/MND | C Young (UK) |
| 1345 - 1405 | 0845 - 0905 | 2245 - 2305 | #C10 | Assessment of ALS disease progression from accelerometer and voice recordings using machine learning with application to the evaluation of real-world drug efficacy | F Vieira (USA) |
| 1405 - 1415 | 0905 - 0915 | 2305 - 2315 | Discussion/Questions |
SESSION 5: ALS/MND PATHOGENESIS
| GMT | EST | JST | PRESENTATION | SPEAKER | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1430 - 1450 | 0930 - 0950 | 2330 - 2350 | #C11 | Spatiotemporal dynamics of molecular pathology in ALS | H Phatnani (USA) |
| 1450 - 1510 | 0950 - 1010 | 2350 - 0010 | #C12 | DNA methylation studies in ALS and age acceleration | E Rogaeva (Canada) |
| 1510 - 1530 | 1010 - 1030 | 0010 - 0030 | #C13 | Defective RNA metabolism in ALS: TDP-43 loss of function and stress granule dynamics | C Vande Velde (Canada) |
| 1530 - 1540 | 1030 - 1040 | 0030 - 0040 | Discussion/Questions |
SESSION 6: THERAPEUTIC STRATEGIES
| GMT | EST | JST | PRESENTATION | SPEAKER | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1550 - 1610 | 1050 - 1110 | 0050 - 0110 | #C14 | ASOs for neuromuscular diseases: Yesterday, today and tomorrow | A Chio (Italy) |
| 1610 - 1630 | 1110 - 1130 | 0110 - 0130 | #C15 | Modulating disease-modifying genes in ALS | A Gitler (USA) |
| 1630 - 1650 | 1130 - 1150 | 0130 - 0150 | #C16 | MR-guided focused ultrasound: A new frontier in the delivery of biotherapeutics for ALS | L Zinman (Canada) A Abrahao (Canada) |
| 1650 - 1700 | 1150 - 1200 | 0150 - 0200 | Discussion/Questions |
LIVE POSTER SESSION B
GMT: 1710 - 1750 | EST: 1210 - 1250 | JST: 0210 - 0250
Revised time: GMT: 1710 - 1820 | EST: 1210 - 1320 | JST: 0210 - 0320
DAY 3 (Friday 11 December)
| GMT | EST | JST | PRESENTATION | SPEAKER | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1200 - 1205 | 0700 - 0705 | 2100 - 2105 | Welcome to Day 3 |
LIVE POSTER SESSION C
GMT: 1205 - 1250 | EST: 0705 - 0750 | JST: 2105 - 2150
Revised time: GMT: 1135 - 1250 | EST: 0635 - 0750 | JST: 2035 - 2150
SESSION 7: PERSPECTIVES – LESSONS FROM COVID-19
| GMT | EST | JST | PRESENTATION | SPEAKER | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1305 - 1335 | 0805 - 0835 | 2205 - 2235 | #C17 | Implications for clinical trials and drug development | A Genge (Canada) |
| Impact on palliative care for ALS/MND | R Burman (UK) | ||||
| Impact on basic and translational science | C Bendotti (Italy) | ||||
| Impact on living with ALS/MND | B Virgo (UK) | ||||
| 1335 - 1405 | 0835 - 0905 | 2235 - 2305 | Discussion/Questions |
SESSION 8: COGNITIVE CHANGE
| GMT | EST | JST | PRESENTATION | SPEAKER | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1420 - 1440 | 0920 - 0940 | 2320 - 2340 | #C18 | Are we there yet? Measuring nonmotor progression in ALS | M Strong (Canada) |
| 1440 - 1500 | 0940 - 1000 | 2340 - 0000 | #C19 | Selective vulnerability in frontotemporal dementia and ALS | W Seeley (USA) |
| 1500 - 1520 | 1000 - 1020 | 0000 - 0020 | #C20 | The role of the cerebellum in cognition: Implications for ALS | J Schmahmann (USA) |
| 1520 - 1530 | 1020 - 1030 | 0020 - 0030 | Discussion/Questions |
SESSION 9: CLOSING SESSION
| GMT | EST | JST | PRESENTATION | SPEAKER | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1550 - 1600 | 1050 - 1100 | 0050 - 0100 | Invitation to Basel 2021 | ||
| 1600 - 1615 | 1100 - 1115 | 0100 - 0115 | Healey Center Award | ||
| 1615 - 1640 | 1115 - 1140 | 0115 - 0140 | #C21 | Open drug discovery: From genes to affordable medicines | A Edwards (Canada) |
| 1640 - 1650 | 1140 - 1150 | 0140 - 0150 | Discussion/Questions | ||
| 1650 - 1700 | 1140 - 1150 | 0140 - 0150 | #C22 | ALS Diagnostic Criteria - The Gold Standard | M Kiernan (Australia) |
| 1700 - 1715 | 1200 - 1215 | 0200 - 0215 | Final Thoughts & Prize Draw |
Symposium Programme Committee
Kevin Talbot (Chair of Programme Committee), Professor of Motor Neuron Biology, University of Oxford
Ammar Al-Chalabi (Incoming Chair of Programme Committee), Professor of Neurology and Complex Disease Genetics), King's College London
Nick Cole, Head of Research, Motor Neurone Disease Association
Brian Dickie, Director of Research Development, Motor Neurone Disease Association
Heather Durham, Professor, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University
Angela Genge, Director of the Clinical Research Unit, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University
Nick Goldup, Director of Care, Motor Neurone Disease Association
Sanjay Kalra, Professor of Neurology, Neuroscience and Mental Health Institute, University of Alberta
Janice Robertson, Professor and Canada Research Chair in ALS, Tanz Centre for Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases
David Taylor, Vice President, Research, ALS Canada
