15th Panhellenic Conference on Alzheimer’s Disease (P.I.C.A.D.)

15th Panhellenic Conference on Alzheimer’s Disease (P.I.C.A.D.) 
& 7th Mediterranean Conference on Neurodegenerative Diseases (Me.Co.N.D.)

24–28 February 2027 | KEDEA – Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki, Greece

The Countdown Begins!

From 24 to 28 February 2027, Thessaloniki will host the 15th Panhellenic Conference on Alzheimer’s Disease (P.I.C.A.D.) and the 7th Mediterranean Conference on Neurodegenerative Diseases (Me.Co.N.D.), at the KE.D.E.A. (Aristotle University Research Dissemination Center) – Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH).

This important scientific meeting will bring together healthcare professionals, researchers, academics, and experts in the field of Alzheimer’s disease and neurodegenerative disorders, providing an opportunity to:

• present the latest scientific findings and emerging data;
• exchange knowledge, experience, and best practices;
• discuss current developments and challenges in the field; and
• foster new scientific collaborations and professional networks.

The Conference is jointly organised by the Panhellenic Institute of Neurodegenerative Diseases, the 1st Propedeutic Department of Internal Medicine of AHEPA University Hospital, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, and the Panhellenic Federation of Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders.

The Conference will be held in a hybrid format, offering participants the opportunity to attend either in person or online.

Secure Your Participation

We invite you to register and join us in Thessaloniki for this important scientific event.
REGISTER NOW

Would You Like to Present Your Work?
Submit your abstract and contribute to the scientific programme of the Conference. This is an excellent opportunity to present your research, share your findings with the scientific community, and engage with colleagues from Greece and the wider Mediterranean region.

SUBMIT YOUR ABSTRACT

Save the Important Dates
Please plan ahead and make sure to complete your registration and, if you wish to present your work, your abstract submission within the relevant deadlines.

Timely compliance with the Conference schedule is essential for the effective organisation of the event and will contribute to the smooth preparation of both speakers and participants.

IMPORTANT DATES
For registration deadlines, abstract submission, programme updates, and all other Conference information:

For detailed information, please visit the OFFICIAL CONFERENCE WEBSITE

We look forward to welcoming you to Thessaloniki, 24–28 February 2027, and to an engaging and productive scientific meeting.

The Organising Committee


n.b. I enjoyed taking part in 2025 virtually. Blog post to follow re. 'Propedeutic' above. PJ

The Silent Pandemic? The Global Rise of Early-Onset Colorectal Cancer - via HIFA

Last year, a team at The Christie NHS Foundation Trust in Manchester, UK published a real-world analysis of 203 patients with early-onset colorectal cancer (eoCRC). The study showed a dramatic surge in cases over a short period, with over half of patients presenting with metastatic disease, predominantly left-sided tumours, and a median symptom duration of just 3 months before diagnosis. The authors warned that eoCRC could represent an "evolving pandemic." 

See - http://doi.org/10.1093/oncolo/oyae239

Since then, incidence continues to rise across all continents, with similar patterns emerging in multiple national and international datasets.

Why This Matters for the HIFA community

• eoCRC is rising rapidly among people in their 20s, 30s, and early 40s.
• Most cases are sporadic, suggesting major gaps in understanding modifiable and early-life risk factors.
• Awareness among young adults and clinicians remains limited, contributing to delayed presentation.
• Meanwhile, short-form social media (e.g. TikTok reels) and AI-driven content are now the dominant information sources for young people - creating both opportunities and risks for public health.

Introducing Our Upcoming Initiative

We, the Special Interest Group in Digital Health & AI at WHO/Europe Youth4Health network, are launching a global project to develop evidence-based communication guidance for raising eoCRC prevention and awareness among young adults. The project will:

• Convene clinical specialists, youth advocates, communication scientists, social-media creators, and digital-health experts.
• Identify which prevention and awareness messages should be prioritised for youth.
• Define how these messages can be adapted effectively for short-form platforms such as TikTok and Instagram Reels.
• Examine how generative AI can support safe, accurate, and engaging content creation.
• Co-design prototype posts to illustrate how the consensus messages can be translated into youth-appropriate communication
• Our aim is to bridge the gap between emerging science, behavioural insights, and contemporary digital communication channels.

Why We're Sharing This Here

As we shape this work, we're keen to learn from the HIFA community:

• What approaches have you seen succeed in raising awareness of cancer symptoms among younger populations?
• Are there youth-driven or co-designed campaigns that we should look to as models?
• What are the risks you foresee when using short-form social media or AI tools for public-health communication?
• What considerations are especially important in LMIC contexts?
• How can we strike the right balance between urgency and fear-avoidance when communicating about cancer to young adults?

eoCRC incidence is increasing rapidly and globally. Communication strategies - particularly those targeting young people - have not kept pace with this trend. We would greatly value your insight and experience as we develop this work.

HIFA profile: Kathleen Guan is a multidisciplinary researcher passionate about all things digital behavioral health and (global) community engagement. Her PhD research focuses on involving young people in the co-design of personalized AI and emerging technologies, including adaptive mobile apps, LLMs, neurotechnology, and social media reels. By developing novel participatory approaches with a focus on preventative and precision health, Kathleen aims to inform how digital tools can meaningfully enhance everyday life and help reduce mental health challenges alongside chronic disease risks. To achieve this, she prioritizes community-based implementation by working closely with stakeholders across healthcare, engineering, policy, industry, education, and the arts.

Kathleen previously studied human rights and developmental neuroscience (BSFS, Georgetown; MRes, UCL) and has experience in public health and digital innovation (with WHO, Johns Hopkins, Yale, Qatar Computing Research Institute, various early-stage digital health start-ups) as a research collaborator and advisor. She chairs the Special Interest Group in Digital Health & AI within WHO Europe's Youth4Health Network. Kathleen has resided in 7 countries and worked in diverse settings across Asia, North America, and Europe, fostering her deep commitment to global health equity. She is always open to collaboration for social impact and can be found at https://www.linkedin.com/in/kathleenwguan/.

1st KT-EQUAL Workshop: Enabling people with dementia and their carers through the use of new technologies

As you will know the mantle of SPARC is being passed to KT-EQUAL. This new EPSRC initiative is determined to ensure that older people, disabled people and society benefit from the nation's investment in research by making sure that research knowledge is transferred and used by those many stakeholders with an interest in the wellbeing and quality of life of older and disabled people. It will take a while for KT-EQUAL to be fully up-and-running, as staff have to be recruited and resources aligned to its special mission, however we do plan to run plenty of workshops in the months to come.

I am pleased to tell you that the first workshop, convened by Professor Gail Mountain, Enabling people with dementia and their carers through the use of new technologies will take place on 16th March, at Reading Town Hall (very near the railway station).

Dementia is an area of significant policy concern, demonstrated through the forthcoming publication of the National Dementia Strategy. This will identify targets for early diagnosis and improved interventions to promote better care. This workshop will provide participants with illustrations of best practice from existing and current research with a focus upon use of technologies which can promote enablement and quality of life for people living with dementia and their carers.

The workshop is free but places are limited, so please register your interest as soon as possible via the SPARC website www.sparc.ac.uk and follow the links.

Stop Press there are two new interviews with researchers available on the SPARC website: Dr Meredith Shafto talks about her research into those annoying tip of the tongue lapses which seem to become more familiar with advancing years, and Dr Maria Wolters discusses her research into improving computerised speech used by automated call centres, lifts, sat navs and other devices. These can be found on the audio interview panel on the right hand side of the home page. There are now 20 interviews available about a broad range of SPARC projects. Also, the SPARC web site has executive summaries of most of these projects.

Best wishes

Peter Lansley

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Professor Peter Lansley, BSc, MSc, PhD, MCIOB, FCOT
Director, SPARC - Strategic Promotion of Ageing Research Capacity
School of Construction Management and Engineering, URS Building,
University of Reading, Whiteknights, PO Box 219, Reading, RG6 6AW, UK
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