Herbert and Jacqueline Krieger Klein Alzheimer’s Research Center 2026 Symposium
The Herbert and Jacqueline Krieger Klein Alzheimer’s Research Center Symposium (KKARC) in the Rutgers Brain Health Institute (BHI) will host its 2026 Symposium on March 24, 2026, at the Busch Student Center Multipurpose Room A, 604 Bartholomew Road, Piscataway, NJ 08854. For questions, please contact adrd@bhi.rutgers.edu.
Keynote Speaker
Sudha Seshadri, MD, DM
Robert R. Barker Distinguished University Professor
Founding Director, Glenn Biggs Institute for Alzheimer’s & Neurodegenerative Diseases
Senior Investigator, the Framingham Heart Study
The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio
Talk Title: “Novel Approaches to Preventing and Treating Dementias: Opportunities and Challenges”
Dr. Seshadri’s research interests are in uncovering the biology of Alzheimer’s and related dementias, stroke and vascular brain injury through epidemiological, genetic, multi-omic and biomarker studies on large, population-based cohorts. In parallel, she continues to see patients and lead clinical trials of promising therapies. She has over $95 million in grant funding from the National Institutes on Health (NIH), over 500 peer-reviewed publications, mentored over 45 physicians and scientists and won awards as a teacher, clinician and researcher, including election to Alpha Omega Alpha and the Association of American Physicians.
Best Poster and Best Paper Contest
The symposium will award a $350 prize for both Best Poster and Best Paper by young investigators (PhD students, Postdoctoral Fellows, Assistant Professors).
We look forward to showcasing the outstanding research contributions of our young investigators at the symposium.
Agenda
View agenda flyer
| Time | Session Title | Speaker |
|---|---|---|
| 8:30 AM – 9:15 AM | Registration and Breakfast | |
| 9:15 AM – 9:45 AM | Welcome remarks | Michal Schnaider Beeri |
| 9:45 AM – 10:05 AM | “Disrupting the Alzheimer’s space-time continuum and the focus of the talk is how Alzheimer’s affects the families and friends of Alzheimer’s patients” | Barry Litt |
| 10:05 AM – 10:25 AM | “Interneuron cell therapy to treat AD” | Sangmi Chung |
| 10:25 AM – 10:45 AM | Break and poster viewing | |
| 10:45 AM – 11:05 AM | “The SAMARTH cohort: characterizing the first 100 participants” | Karen Cai |
| 11:05 AM – 11:25 AM | “Big tau: a pathology-resistant isoform in health and disease” Learn more | Dah-eun (Chloe) Chung |
| 11:25 AM – 11:45 AM | “Risk Profiles of Social Disconnection in U.S. Older Adults: A Data‑Driven Approach to Identifying Cognitive Vulnerability from Loneliness and Social Isolation” Learn more | Mara Getz Sheftel |
| 11:45 AM – 12:05 PM | “Cognitive Vulnerability to Glucose: A Blood Biomarker Perspective” Learn more | Luciana Mascarenhas Fonseca |
| 12:05 PM – 12:25 PM | “Modeling Extracellular Vesicle-Mediated Aggregate Transfer in a Living Nervous System” Learn more | Monica Driscoll |
| 12:25 PM – 1:30 PM | Lunch and poster presentations | |
| 1:30 PM – 2:30 PM | Keynote: “Novel Approaches to Preventing and Treating Dementias: Opportunities and Challenges” Learn more | Sudha Seshadri |
| 2:30 PM – 2:50 PM | Break and poster viewing | |
| 2:50 PM – 3:10 PM | “Dementia’s Battles: Understanding its Neuropsychiatric Symptoms and Emerging Treatment Approaches” Learn more | Shankar Tumati |
| 3:10 PM – 3:30 PM | “Biomarkers in early stage and preclinical Alzheimer’s disease enable clinical trials and are changing clinical practice” | Jim Hendrix |
| 3:30 PM – 4:00 PM | Best ADRD paper and ADRD poster announcement; Closing remarks | Michal Schnaider Beeri |
Alzheimer Research Center
The Herbert and Jacqueline Krieger Klein Alzheimer’s Research Center focuses on advancing research to delay, prevent, and treat Alzheimer’s and related neurodegenerative diseases through innovative studies and clinical collaborations.
