Dementias 2026 Programme

Dementias 2026 is a two-day conference highlighting the key challenges, advances and best practice in the world of dementia care. 

Curated by conference chairs John O'Brien and Alistair Burns, the Dementias 2026 programme promises specialist-led talks on:

Day 1 - Wednesday 25th February

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Registration and refreshments
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Welcome and introduction
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Legal and ethical issues associated with assisted dying

Annabel Price, Consultant in Old Age Psychiatry, University of Cambridge

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Dementia prevention

Naheed Mukadam, Professor of Psychiatry & Principal Research Fellow, Mental Health of Older People, University College London

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Updates in genetic testing

Speaker TBC

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Break - refreshments and exhibition viewing
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Uncommon dementias

Matthew Jones, Consultant Neurologist, Manchester Centre for Clinical Neurosciences

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Sponsored Symposium

TBC

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Blood biomarkers for diagnosing dementia

Vanessa Raymont, Associate Professor, University of Oxford and Dementias Platform UK

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Lunch and poster presentations
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Non-pharmacological approaches

Speaker TBC

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Supporting families affected by dementia

Hilda Hayo, Chief Admiral Nurse and CEO, Dementia UK

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Sponsored Symposium

TBC

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Case studies

Chaired by Ross Dunne, Later life psychiatrist and dementia specialist, Greater Manchester Mental Health Trust (GMMH)

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Break
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The future of dementia care

Jeremy Isaacs, National Clinical Director for Dementia and Older People's Mental Health, NHS England

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Sponsored Symposium

TBC

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Primary care and dementia

Professor Dame Louise Robinson, Academic GP and Professor of Primary Care and Ageing, Newcastle University

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Summary and close of day 1
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Networking Reception

Day 2 - Thursday 26th February

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Registration and refreshments
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Vascular disease and Dementia

Joanna Wardlaw, Chair of Applied Neuroimaging; Head of Neuroimaging Sciences and Edinburgh Imaging; Row Fogo Centre Director; University of Edinburgh

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New criteria for diagnosis and staging of Alzheimer's disease

Dennis Chan, Principal Research Fellow, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London

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The Politics of Dementia

Speaker TBC

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Alcohol and Brain

 Speaker TBC

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Break
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End of Life Care

Speaker TBC

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Assessing Capacity

- A Legal Perspective
Alex Ruck Keene, Barrister, writer and educator, 39 Essex Chambers & Visiting Professor at the Dickson Poon School of Law at King's College London

- A Clinical Perspective
 James Warner, Honorary Clinical Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Medicine Centre, Faculty of Medicine, University College London

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Lunch and poster presentations
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Lewy body dementia

Speaker TBC

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Behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia

Ben Underwood, Assistant Professor in Applied and Translational Old Age Psychiatry & Honorary Consultant Old Age Psychiatrist, University of Cambridge

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Emerging therapies in Alzheimer's disease

Professor Catherine Mummery, Professor of Neurology, Dementia Research Centre, Institute of Neurology, University College London

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Poster presentations results and prize giving
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Closing comments and end of conference