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Democratizing dementia research through global online conferences

Nature Neuroscience volume 28, pages 1109–1112 (2025)Cite this article

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Following the COVID-19 pandemic, a shift from traditional in-person conferences to virtual and hybrid formats was welcomed for its accessible, cost-effective approach to sharing scientific knowledge and connecting people. Here, we discuss an effective hybrid format that combines in-person and online elements to foster inclusivity by providing a flexible, cost-effective alternative to in-person meetings.

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Fig. 1: Comparison of in-person and hybrid conference attendance.
Fig. 2: Representations of different conference formats.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Sant Pau Memory Unit, Department of Neurology, Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Biomedical Research Institute Sant Pau, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain

    Sara E. Zsadanyi

  2. Healthy Aging & Alzheimer’s Research Care (HAARC) Center, Department of Neurology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA

    Elizabeth Addison, Adam Martersteck, Emily J. Rogalski & Kaitlin Seibert

  3. Department of Neurology, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS), Bengaluru, India

    Suvarna Alladi & Keerthana BS

  4. Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA

    Shea J. Andrews

  5. Biochemistry, Department of Biochemistry, Institute of Health Basic Sciences, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, Brazil

    Giovanna Carello-Collar & Eduardo R. Zimmer

  6. Institute for Biological Research “Siniša Stanković” National Institute of the Republic of Serbia, Belgrade, Serbia

    Olga Dubljević

  7. Memory and Aging Center, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA

    Alexander J. Ehrenberg

  8. Division of the Biological Sciences, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA

    Francesca R. Farina

  9. Global Brain Health Institute (GBHI), Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland

    Francesca R. Farina & Agustin Ibáñez

  10. Global Brain Health Institute (GBHI), University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA

    Lea T. Grinberg & Yared Z. Zewde

  11. Department of Pathology, University of Sao Paulo Medical School, Sao Paulo, Brazil

    Lea T. Grinberg

  12. Latin American Institute for Brain Health (BrainLat), Universidad Adolfo Ibanez, Santiago, Chile

    Agustin Ibáñez

  13. Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, College of Health Sciences, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

    Abebaw Nigussie

  14. Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade Neurology Clinic, UKCS, Belgrade, Serbia

    Elka Stefanova

  15. UCSF School of Medicine, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA

    Kristine Yaffe

  16. Department of Neurology, School of Medicine, College of Health Sciences, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

    Yared Z. Zewde

  17. Department of Pharmacology, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil

    Eduardo R. Zimmer

  18. Alzheimer’s Association, Chicago, IL, USA

    Igor C. Fontana & Claire E. Sexton

Authors
  1. Sara E. Zsadanyi
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  2. Elizabeth Addison
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  3. Suvarna Alladi
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  4. Shea J. Andrews
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  5. Keerthana BS
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  6. Giovanna Carello-Collar
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  7. Olga Dubljević
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  8. Alexander J. Ehrenberg
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  9. Francesca R. Farina
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  10. Lea T. Grinberg
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  11. Agustin Ibáñez
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  12. Adam Martersteck
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  13. Abebaw Nigussie
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  14. Emily J. Rogalski
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  15. Kaitlin Seibert
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  16. Elka Stefanova
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  17. Kristine Yaffe
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  18. Yared Z. Zewde
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  19. Eduardo R. Zimmer
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  20. Igor C. Fontana
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  21. Claire E. Sexton
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Sara E. Zsadanyi or Claire E. Sexton.

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Zsadanyi, S.E., Addison, E., Alladi, S. et al. Democratizing dementia research through global online conferences. Nat Neurosci 28, 1109–1112 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41593-025-01949-8

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