Markesbery Symposium

The Markesbery Symposium is held annually in memory of the late William R. Markesbery, MD, founding director of the Sanders-Brown Center on Aging and Alzheimer's Disease Research Center. Dr. Markesbery's legacy of groundbreaking research has formed the bedrock for our quest to understand and treat Alzheimer's disease and to improve the quality of life of older adults. The two-day symposium features a daylong scientific meeting with poster session followed by a half-day community session to which the public is invited free of charge. An “Ask the Experts” panel is a popular component of the community session.

Markesbery Scientific Session

Join the UK Sanders-Brown Center on Aging for the 16th annual Markesbery Symposium on Aging and Dementia, Scientific Session, to be held on Friday, November 6, 2026, from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. ET at the UK Gatton Student Center. Alberto Serrano-Pozo, M.D., Ph.D., (Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center) will deliver the keynote presentation focused on reactive astrogliosis in Alzheimer’s Disease. In addition, University of Kentucky Sanders-Brown Center on Aging Director Linda Van Eldik, Ph.D., and Cellas Hayes, Ph.D., will share about lessons learned in Alzheimer’s drug discovery and understanding plasma biomarker heterogeneity.

The abstract submission deadline has passed, but there is still time to register to attend.

2026 Markesbery Symposium Scientific Session Program

Download the 2026 Markesbery Symposium Scientific Session Program complete with this year's presenter information and abstracts!

Marriott Lexington Griffin Gate Golf Resort and Spa with orange, yellow, green trees with blue sky

Markesbery Community Session

Join the UK Sanders-Brown Center on Aging for the 16th Annual Markesbery Symposium on Aging and Dementia to be held on Saturday, Nov. 7, 2026, from 8:30 a.m. to noon ET. Clinicians and researchers from Boston University and the UK Sanders-Brown Center on Aging will come together to share current findings, trends, and updates on dementia, particularly as they relate to Alzheimer’s disease and healthy brain aging. This is a hybrid event — in person at The Marriott Lexington, Griffin Gate Golf Resort & Spa and via Zoom.

2026 Markesbery Symposium Community Session Program

Download the 2026 Markesbery Symposium Community Session Program complete with this year's presenter information!

Scientific Session Past Presenters
Scientific Session Past Presenters
2025	Andrew Saykin, PsyD	Precision Health Strategies for Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias: From Systems Biology to Biomarkers and Therapeutic Targets
2025	Julie Schneider, MD	Hippocampal Breakdown at the Crossroads of Proteinopathy and Inflammation in Aging
2025	Elizabeth Rhodus, PhD	Creating Harmony While Living with Dementia
2025	Peter Nelson, MD, PhD	The Amyloid Cascade Hypothesis: Arguments for and Against, With Public Health Implications
2024	Charles DeCarli, MD	Systemic Inflammation, Endothelial Injury and Extracellular Vesicle Signaling in Cerebrovascular Disease
2024	Lance Johnson, PhD	Flipping the switch on APO: AD-relevant effects of E4 replacement with E2
2024	Erin Abner, PhD	Decades of discovery: harnessing UK ADRC resources to advance Alzheimer's research, diagnosis, and care
2023	Malu Tansey, PhD	Targeting Chronic Inflammation and the Gut-Brain Axisto Reduce Risk for Neurodegeneration
2023	David Morgan, PhD	Immune Activation in Models of Tauopathy
2023	Anika Hartz, PhD	Blood-Brain Barrier Repair to Improve Cognition in Alzheimer’s Disease
2023	David Fardo, PhD	A Genome-wide Association Study of Neuropathological Endophenotypes
2022	Ann McKee, MD	CTE: What Is It? What Is Its Relationship to Repetitive Head Impacts?
2022	Josh Grill, PhD	Preclinical Alzheimer’s Disease: Translating Cutting Edge Research into Everyday Practice
2022	Kate Foley, PhD	The Role of Human Plasma Biomarkers in the Diagnosis of Dementia
2022	Mark Ebbert, PhD	Using Long-Read Sequencing Technologies to Identify Key Drivers and Biomarkers in Alzheimer’s Disease
2022	Ryan Shahidehpour, Graduate Student and TRIAD T32 Trainee,	The Role of Dystrophic Microglia in Neurodegenerative Diseases Related to Aging
2022	Christopher Norris, PhD	Strategies for Targeting Astrocyte Reactivity in Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias (STAR-AD/ADRD)
2021	Frederick A. Schmitt, PhD	35 Years of the University of Kentucky Alzheimer’s DiseaseCenter: Past Discoveries and Future Directions
2021	Maj-Linda Selenica, PhD	Investigating the role of hypusinated eIF5A in AD and relatedTDP-43 proteinopathy disorders
2021	Josh Morganti, PhD	Diversity and susceptibility of microglial responses in a mousemodel of mixed etiology dementia
2020	Ronald Petersen, MD, PhD	Is MCI Still a Viable Construct in 2020?
2020	Alison Goate, D.Phil.	Human Genetics Implicates Efferocytosis in Alzheimer’s Disease
2019	Adam Brickman, PhD	Reconsidering Harbingers of Alzheimer’s Disease: Risk Factors, Biomarkers, and White Matter Hyperintensities
2019	Olivier Thibault, PhD	Ups and Downs of Calcium in Models of Aging and AD
2019	Jenna Gollihue, PhD	Manipulating Astrocytes for Better Brain Health
2019	Kendra Hargis-Staggs, PhD	Gray and White Matter Neurovascular Ceruloplasmin Expression in Alzheimer’s Disease
2019	Daniel C. Lee, PhD	Emerging Role of the Polyamine Stress Response in Alzheimer’s Disease
2018	Monica W. Parker, MD	Engaging the underserved in brain health and research
2018	Sanjay Asthana, MD, FACP	Preclinical biomarkers of Alzheimer’s disease: emerging concepts & clinical utility
2018	Donna Wilcock, PhD	Identification of novel fluid biomarkers for vascular cognitive impairment and dementia (VCID)
2018	Lance Johnson, PhD	Metabolic reprogramming and Alzheimer’s disease risk: the role of ApoE4
2018	Elizabeth Head, PhD	Changes in cerebrovascular pathology as a function of age and Alzheimer disease in Down syndrome
2018	Dr. Gregory Jicha, MD, PhD	Modulation of micro-RNA pathways by gemfibrozil in predementia Alzheimer disease: clinical translational research at Sanders-Brown Center on Aging

Community Session Past Presenters
Community Session Past Presenters
2025	Andrew Saykin, PsyD	The Road to Personalized Medicine for Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias
2025	Julie Schneider, MD	Dementia and the Aging Brain: Pathology, Risk, and Keeping Memories Alive
2025	Erin Abner, PhD	The Case for Public Trust in Alzheimer’s Research
2025	Gregory Jicha, MD, PhD	21st Century Breakthroughs in the Diagnosis and Treatment of Alzheimer’s and Related Disorders
2024	Lisa Barnes, PhD	Factors That Shape Brain Health and Risk of Alzheimers Disease in Older Adults
2024	Charlie DeCarli, MD	Lifes Essential 8: What You Can Do To Improve Your Brain Health
2024	Shannon Macauley, PhD	Understanding Sleep Loss in Alzheimer’s Disease
2024	Gregory Jicha, MD, PhD	Update on AD Clinical Trials at the University of Kentucky
2023	Malu Tansey, PhD	Why Gut Health Matters for Brain Health
2023	David Morgan, PhD	Immunotherapy for Alzheimer’s Disease: 25 Years from Mouse Models to Approved Treatment in People Living with Alzheimer’s
2023	Alaine Reschke-Hernandez, PhD	MT-BC" Harmonizing Music Therapy Research in Dementia Care
2023	Frederick Schmitt, PhD	Trisomy 21: Providing Insights into Dementia
2023	Gregory Jicha, MD, PhD	Anti-Amyloid Therapy: Who’s Benefitting and How Do We Move Forward?
2022	Josh Grill, PhD	Can We Prevent Alzheimer’s?
2022	Ann McKee, MD	The Inconvenient Truth About Football
2022	Lauren Whitehurst, PhD	“Memory Bright”: Research on the Cost of Racial Sleep Disparities for Memory Processing"
2022	Elizabeth Rhodus, PhD	Creating Harmony While Caring for People Living with Dementia
2021	Allan Levey, MD	Accelerating Progress for Treatments for Alzheimer’s Disease?
2021	Gregory Jicha, MD, PhD & Erin Abner, PhD	Aducanamab / Aduhelm: The controversial new treatment for Alzheimer’s disease
2020	Maria Carrillo, PhD	Advancing the Science: The Latest in Alzheimer’s and Dementia Research
2020	Daniel Moga	My Medications and Why Should I Know about Them
2020	Peter Nelson, MD, PhD	LATE: What It Is, Why It's Important, and How We Might Beat It
2019	Laura D. Baker, PhD	Can LIFESTYLE Impact Health of the Mind As We Age?
2019	Gregory Jicha, MD, PhD	Clinical Trials Update
2018	Sanjay Asthana, MD, FACP	Early Diagnosis and Prevention of Alzheimer’s Disease: Role of Biomarkers and Estrogen Hormone
2018	Monica W. Parker, MD	Alzheimer’s and The Brain: What We Know