What to Expect at the 2019 American Academy of Neurology Annual Meeting

The 71st Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) will be held from Saturday, May 4 through Friday, May 10, 2019, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Along with scientific and plenary sessions, the AAN meeting will feature daily poster sessions. Posters will be grouped in 10 “neighborhoods” for easy navigation:

• Aging, Dementia, Cognitive, and Behavioral Neurology

• Autoimmune Neurology; MS and CNS Inflammatory Disease

• Cerebrovascular Disease and Interventional Neurology

• Neuromuscular Disease and Clinical Neurophysiology

• Epilepsy/Clinical Neurophysiology

• Neuro-oncology; Child Neurology and Developmental Neurology

• Autoimmune Neurology/MS and CNS Inflammatory Disease (e-Posters)

• Movement Disorders

• Neuro-ophthalmology/Neuro-otology; General Neurology; Research Methodology; Education and History; Neuroscience Research Prize Recipients

• Headache

This year’s AAN meeting will feature “Advancing Medicine: Inspiration and Innovation,” a series of 3 talks that explore such topics as artificial intelligence and robotics in neurology; medicine and the water crisis in Flint, Michigan; and the intersection between neuroscience and philosophy.

Dr Hugh Herr, head of the Biomechatronics group at MIT Media Lab, will present the first talk, “The New Era of Extreme Bionics” on Saturday, May 4. Dr Herr is working on creating bionic limbs that emulate natural limb function.

Dr Mona Hanna-Attisha, a professor, pediatrician, and public health advocate, will present the second talk on Monday, May 6, on the Flint water crisis, which she wrote about in her bestselling book, What the Eyes Don’t See: A Story of Crisis, Resistance, and Hope in an American City.

Finally, on Wednesday, May 8, Ms. Patricia Churchland, a professor Emeritus of Philosophy at the University of San Diego, California, whose research currently focuses on the association of morality and the social brain, will present “The Origin of Moral Institutions.”

Other special events include the BrainDome, which will allow participants to take a guided audiovisual tour through a larger than life brain, and the “Friday Grand Finale” on May 10. The Grand Finale events include the Neurology Year in Review Plenary Session, Science Innovation Lunch, an Innovation Lunch focused on neuroimaging, and more.

Attendees will also have an opportunity to hear top abstracts previously presented at recent subspecialty meetings, including Alzheimer’s Association and the International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society. These presentations will occur throughout the AAN meeting: Sunday, May 5; Tuesday, May 7; and Thursday, May 9.

Reference

American Academy of Neurology. 2019 AAN Annual Meeting. https://www.aan.com/conferences-community/annual-meeting/. Accessed April 12, 2019.