Innovating Therapies for Down Syndrome: An International Virtual Conference of the T21 Research Society

Eric D Hamlett; Lisi Flores-Aguilar; Benjamin Handen; Marie-Claude Potier; Ann-Charlotte Granholm; Stephanie Sherman; Victoria Puig; Jonathan D Santoro; María Carmona-Iragui; Anne-Sophie Rebillat; Elizabeth Head; André Strydom; Jorge Busciglio

doi:10.1159/000526021

Innovating Therapies for Down Syndrome: An International Virtual Conference of the T21 Research Society

Mol Syndromol. 2023 Apr;14(2):89-100. doi: 10.1159/000526021. Epub 2022 Nov 11.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina, USA.
² Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, McGill University, Montreal, Québec, Canada.
³ Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of California, Irvine, California, USA.
⁴ Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.
⁵ Paris Brain Institute, ICM, Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, Paris, France.
⁶ Department of Neurosurgery, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Denver, Colorado, USA.
⁷ Department of Human Genetics, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
⁸ Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, Barcelona, Spain.
⁹ Neurological Institute, University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine, Los Angeles, California, USA.
¹⁰ Hospital de la Santa Crue I Sant Pau, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
¹¹ Institut Jérôme Lejeune, Paris, France.
¹² Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, London, UK.
¹³ Neurobiology and Behavior School of Biological Sciences, University of California, Irvine, California, USA.

Abstract

Research focused on Down syndrome continued to gain momentum in the last several years and is advancing our understanding of how trisomy 21 (T21) modifies molecular and cellular processes. The Trisomy 21 Research Society (T21RS) is the premier scientific organization for researchers and clinicians studying Down syndrome. During the COVID pandemic, T21RS held its first virtual conference program, sponsored by the University of California at Irvine, on June 8-10, 2021 and brought together 342 scientists, families, and industry representatives from over 25 countries to share the latest discoveries on underlying cellular and molecular mechanisms of T21, cognitive and behavioral changes, and comorbidities associated with Down syndrome, including Alzheimer's disease and Regression Disorder. Presentations of 91 cutting-edge abstracts reflecting neuroscience, neurology, model systems, psychology, biomarkers, and molecular and pharmacological therapeutic approaches demonstrate the compelling interest and continuing advancement toward innovating biomarkers and therapies aimed at ameliorating health conditions associated with T21.

Keywords: Biomarkers; Clinical research; Down syndrome; Intellectual disability; Preclinical research.

Grants and funding

The virtual T21RS International Conference 2021 was supported by generous donations from Lumind-IDSC Foundation (Burlington, MA, USA), Global DS Foundation (Denver, CO, USA), IQVIA (Durham, NC, USA), Fondation Jérôme Lejeune (Paris, France), Fédération Trisomie 21 France (Lyon, France), and the Matthew Foundation (Casper, WY, USA). The Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development of the National Institutes of Health is also a major funding source for many investigator research projects featured at this conference.