Penn researchers made a strong showing at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference (AAIC) 2026, contributing workshops, presentations, and posters that highlighted advances across Alzheimer's disease and dementia research. Throughout the conference, the IOA, Penn Memory Center, and Penn FTD Center shared daily #PennatAAIC26 coverage, featuring the innovative work of our scientists spanning artificial intelligence, neuroimaging, genetics, biomarkers, brain atrophy, dementia care, health policy, and community engagement. Highlights included a workshop introducing the NiChart cloud platform for MRI analysis, research exploring the genetic and biological drivers of Alzheimer's disease, studies leveraging AI to improve diagnosis and caregiving, investigations into nursing home care and staffing policies, and educational initiatives inspiring the next generation of dementia researchers.
Here are a few of the Penn presentations at this year's conference:
Preconference Workshop
NiChart: Neuro Imaging Chart of AI-based Imaging Biomarkers
Presenter: Guray Erus, PhD
Introducing NiChart, an innovative cloud platform that streamlines the processing of MRI scans to identify brain changes associated with aging and Alzheimer's disease. By providing an end-to-end workflow for neuroimaging analysis, NiChart is helping accelerate research and discovery in the fight against dementia.
Emerging Concepts Special Session
AI and Informatics: Advances in Alzheimer's Disease Multimodal Analytics and Diagnosis
Presenter: Christos Davatzikos, PhD
This session covered state of the art AI methods in AD diagnostics.
Clinical Toolbox Session
Mini-CPC Case 3
Presenter: Eddie Lee, MD, PhD
A presentation of clinical and pathological cases focusing on pathologies that can affect the medial temporal lobe.
Featured Research Session
AI-derived dimensions of neurodegeneration in aging and AD: Associations with patterns of amyloid and tau deposition, AD genetics, cognition and autopsy
Presenter: Gareth Harman, PhD
This talk dives further into amyloid/tau PET associations with structural brain atrophy and links genetics and post mortem autopsy data to patterns of atrophy.
Beyond GWAS: rare and complex genomic variation in Alzheimer’s disease across diverse populations
Presenter: Yuk Lee Leung, PhD
This session showcases how sequencing-based and non-GWAS genomic approaches are uncovering rare coding, structural, tandem-repeat, and population-specific Alzheimer’s disease risk and protective variants that refine disease biology and highlight immune, endolysosomal, and neuronal maintenance pathways.
Oral Presentations
Integrative Genomics and Single-cell CRISPRi Screening Dissect Alzheimer's GWAS Non-coding Variants Regulating TSPAN14
Presenter: Alessandra Chesi, PhD
This talk was part of the Session “Beyond the Exome: Contributions of Noncoding Variants and the Dark Genome to Neurodegeneration”
Policy in a Pandemic: The Paycheck Protection Program and Dementia Outcomes in Nursing Homes
Presenter: Norma Coe, PhD
This talk examines the impact of a cash infusion into nursing homes during the pandemic. While it had some impact on staffing levels, findings showed no improvements in clinical outcomes for nursing home residents with dementia.
Posters
Using AI For Fall Prevention Among Older Adults With Cognitive Impairment
Presenter: George Demiris, PhD
This work presents findings from Sense4Safety, a study that demonstrates how the use of AI to facilitate home monitoring can capture clinically meaningful indicators of functional mobility among older adults with cognitive impairment. As slowed gait speed and altered stride variability precede cognitive decline and heightened fall risk, a continuous in-home assessment can facilitate proactive interventions.
Detecting the Invisible: AI-based Identification of Dementia Caregiver Burden (Virtual)
Presenter: Nancy Hodgson, PhD, RN, FAAN, FGSA
This poster reports on a study testing three machine learning approaches to detect dementia caregiver burden in clinical conversation transcripts, finding that while AI alone cannot yet reliably distinguish burden from burnout, it shows promise as a screening tool to flag potential concerns for human clinician review within a future real-time decision support platform.
Systematic Evaluation Identifies 111 High-confidence Loci For Alzheimer’s Disease And Related Dementias
Presenter: Yuk Lee Leung, PhD
A presentation of rigorously curated AD/ADRD genetics framework that adjudicates evidence from large-scale studies and identifies over a hundred high-confidence Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia loci/genes, highlighting pathways such as APP processing, microglial immunity, and lipid metabolism as priorities for functional validation and therapeutic discovery.
Linking Low-dimensional Patterns Of Brain Atrophy To Cognition, Disease Progression, And Neuropathology In ADSP-PHC
Presenter: Gareth Harman, PhD
This poster highlights work in tying low dimensional patterns of brain atrophy to AD progression and post-mortem neuropathology.
Genetic Associations With Tau-PET Braak Staging: An ADSP Neuroimaging Study
Presenter: Li Shen, PhD, FAIMBE, FACMI, FAMIA
This study leverages whole genome sequencing and tau-PET–derived Braak staging in the ADSP cohort to identify genetic variants and genes associated with tau accumulation and Alzheimer’s disease pathology.
Recent Nursing Home Staffing Minimum Regulations: Did They Improve Patient Health?
Presenter: Norma Coe, PhD
We estimate the effect of state-level minimum staffing standards on staffing hours per resident day and on patient outcomes. In states where the staffing increased, we find overall better outcomes for nursing home residents, although important heterogeneity exists by cognitive status of the residents.
Chemistry of Dementia Risk Factors Course & Community-Based Prevention Strategies
Presenter: Taylor Tomlinson
Connecting education, science, and community engagement, this poster highlights a chemistry course that teaches undergraduate students about the chemical mechanisms behind dementia risk factors, while also highlighting weekly interactive sessions with older adults at the West Philadelphia Senior Community Center (WPSCC).
Genome-wide Association Study Of Amyloid Imaging-derived Subtypes In ADNI
Presenter: Li Shen, PhD, FAIMBE, FACMI, FAMIA
This study applies genome-wide association analysis to amyloid PET–derived SuStaIn subtypes in ADNI to identify genetic variants linked to heterogeneity in amyloid deposition patterns in Alzheimer’s disease.
Additional Coverage
Penn Researchers Highlight Progress Toward Earlier Alzheimer's Detection with Blood Biomarkers
Penn Medicine News
New research from the University of Pennsylvania provides some of the strongest human evidence to date that removing amyloid plaques may slow Alzheimer's disease progression by limiting the buildup of tau, a protein closely linked to neurodegeneration and cognitive decline. Led by IOA Co-directors David Wolk, MD, and Edward Lee, MD, PhD, with first author Christopher Brown, MD, PhD, the study suggests that early and extensive amyloid removal could have lasting biological benefits and help shape future strategies for Alzheimer's treatment and prevention.