AAIC conference 2024
Alzheimer’s Association International Conference 2024 (USA) Report – Maria Bunyan (2023, DPhil Psychiatry)
I was thrilled to receive funding from the Old Members’ Trust Graduate Conference and Academic Travel Fund to help finance my trip to the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference (AAIC) 2024 in Philadelphia. This conference is regarded as the largest and most important conference in the dementia field, and privilege to attending in the first year of my DPhil. Attending the conference in-person meant I could achieve my three goals at the conference:
1) Present my poster
2) Attend talks relevant to my DPhil and
3) Network.
My poster covered an analysis of a study investigating the feasibility, user engagement and initial efficacy of a digital behavioural intervention to reduce dementia risk in older adults. My findings covered both patterns and predictors of engagement, as well as initial evidence that participants improve their lifestyle during the intervention. It was a fantastic experience to present a poster at my first international conference.
I spoke with numerous researchers about my work, including with people working on similar interventions. This is an opportunity I would not have had if I had attended virtually and it was particularly useful to have these conversations in front of my poster. Of particular interest was the discussions with researchers from China with whom I had a productive discussion about the challenges of implementing our apps in different populations globally.
On the days that I was not presenting my poster I attended many talks and workshops. Unlike many national conferences, AAIC hosts talks on a wider range of research and talks are more specialised, meaning that I attended multiple talks closely aligned with my research interests. I also took this opportunity to catch-up with international colleagues and meet new people. It was great to speak with both people working in my area of research and those in other areas – both early career researchers and senior researchers.
Reflecting on the conference now, I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to attended during my first year of my DPhil. I have taken away numerous lessons and it was great practice for future conferences. It was also particularly useful to sit in on the latest reviews of the field, which will set me up well for continuing into the second year of my DPhil.
Published: 4 October 2024