Welcome to the second Diagnostics Accelerator Investigators’ Meeting!

Since its 2018 launch, the Diagnostics Accelerator (DxA) has fostered a bold vision of setting a new gold standard for non-invasive and affordable biomarkers for the early diagnosis of Alzheimer’ disease and related dementias. The recent approval of aducanumab demonstrates the value of biomarkers in clinical trials and the need for a low-cost, non-invasive way to identify the right patients for disease modifying treatment. However, due to the heterogeneity of the disease, the best approach to diagnosing and treating Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative diseases will likely require a combination approach involving multiple biological pathways. The Diagnostics Accelerator has striven for a diverse portfolio of emerging biomarkers to assess the different facets of disease more fully. The goal is precision medicine for neurodegenerative disease.

This year’s investigators’ meeting promises to be another exciting opportunity for DxA-funded researchers to share their research and discuss the work of others on fluid, ocular, and digital biomarkers. And with investments made to a diverse group of more than three dozen researchers globally, we are sure you will be as amazed as we are at the ingenuity on display.

Over three days in October, we will welcome participants virtually and will hear from leading academic scientists, entrepreneurs, startup companies, funding organizations, and others who are part of this collaborative effort.

Here is some of what to expect this year:

• Data-driven updates from our earliest funded investigators
• Updates on digital biomarker projects
• Posters from more recently funded investigators to allow for in-depth review of study design, rationale and planned work
• Expert panels and in-depth Q&A sessions
• Virtual breakout rooms to foster collaboration and interaction between DxA investigators, funders and pharma partners

As always, we are grateful for the vision and support of ADDF’s Co-Founder/Co-Chair Leonard A. Lauder and Bill Gates and all the core funders, including the Dolby family, the Charles and Helen Schwab Foundation, Jeff Bezos, MacKenzie Scott, The Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration, and others to bring the focus, resources and urgency required to advance the development of diagnostic tools.

We hope that you all will take this opportunity to connect with your fellow investigators so we can all learn from one other and exchange ideas to further accelerate everyone’s research and the field as a whole.

We look forward to a thought-provoking and insightful meeting.

Best Wishes,

Howard Fillit, MD Founding Executive Director and Chief Science Officer Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation	Niranjan Bose, PhD Managing Director of Health & Life Sciences Gates Ventures