HDSA’s Virtual 35th Annual Convention included forty sessions in four days, and the HD Community came out in full force. More than 1,500 unique email registrants from 93 nations around the world joined the Convention, with 6,200 live views. This week, we’re sharing descriptions of each research session with links so that you can watch any session again or share it with someone who wasn’t able to attend.
Ask the Scientist Anything featured Dr. Ed Wild, an HD researcher and doctor based at University College London, and Dr. Jeff Carroll, an HD researcher with a laboratory at Western Washington University. This famous duo also created and continues to run HDBuzz. They spent more than an hour answering participant questions about HD science, medicine, and research, and as always, gave us all a good laugh.
The Wave Life Sciences Update kicked of Saturday’s research forum, beginning with an introduction from Dr. George Yohrling, Chief Scientific and Mission Officer at HDSA. He shared our research activities in the past year and handed it over to Wave to discuss their ongoing huntingtin-lowering drug trials.
Roche/Genentech also provided an update on the status of their clinical trials involving the huntingtin-lowering drug tominersen and answered lots of community questions.
The HDBuzz Year in Review, once again featuring Ed and Jeff, covered the most exciting HD research news of 2020.
The Clinical Trials Showcase was an opportunity to hear about HD trials that are currently or soon to be recruiting participants. The session included presentations and Q&A with representatives from CHDI Foundation, uniQure, Triplet Therapeutics, and Neurocrine Biosciences.
LoQus23 Therapeutics talked about their Novel Approach to HD Therapy, which targets DNA repair.
Finally, three HD Scientists from HD Families (Drs. Tamara Maiuri, Lauren Byrne, and Sarah Hernandez) hosted a fun session that addressed facts and misconceptions about HD research through the use of quiz rounds in the HDSA Convention App.
Additional sessions addressed everything from obtaining social security disability to genetic testing to keeping romance alive with your partner while navigating HD. Check out all recorded Convention sessions here.
