| Dear ANA members,
I hope you have all had a wonderful summer so far. As summer comes to a close, please remember to register for the upcoming ANA Annual Meeting in Atlanta from Saturday October 20 through Tuesday October 23, 2018. Register by September 17 for the lowest rates! I suggest you arrive by Saturday afternoon (October 20) in time to attend the Pre-Meeting Symposium, with buffet dinner from 5-6PM and the program from 6-9PM. The symposium offers a unique view from academic and industry leaders in the field of gene therapies delivered through viral vectors. As the first AAV gene therapy was FDA approved in 2017, this session illuminates the challenges for pre-clinical model development, first-in-human toxicity studies, target identification and the power of this platform for gene delivery. This topic is one of the most exciting in the field of Neurology in its potential for development of game-changing new therapies. The program is listed here and will be overseen by Chris Weihl, MD, PhD from Washington University and Pedro Gonzalez-Alegre, MD, PhD from the University of Pennsylvania: Delivery of Adeno-Associated Viral Vectors for Neurological Diseases Speaker: Krystof S. Bankiewicz, MD, PhD, University of California, San Francisco Speaker: Beverly L. Davidson, PhD University of Pennsylvania Challenges and Solutions on the Road to Approval of the First Gene Therapy for a Genetic Disease in the United States Speaker: Katherine A. High, MD, Spark Therapeutics Gene Therapy for Muscular Dystrophies Speaker: Louise R. Rodino-Klapac, PhD, Ohio State University and Nationwide Children’s Hospital The main body of the meeting from Sunday through Tuesday (October 21-23) is jam-packed with great translational science, interactive lunch workshops, professional development courses, and special interest groups in a manageable format that will also facilitate great interactions between attendees. I look forward to seeing you all only two months from now! David M. Holtzman, MD President, American Neurological Association Andrew B. and Gretchen P. Jones Professor and Chairman Dept. of Neurology Washington University School of Medicine |