2020 7th International Symposium on NBIA & Related Disorders
Record number takes part in 7th Scientific Symposium on NBIA
By Angelika Klucken and Patricia Wood
![]() |
This picture is the virtual lobby of the symposium meeting |
The 7th International Symposium on NBIA & Related Disorders, held as a virtual event for the first time ever, attracted 160 participants from 26 countries. The record number of participants, attributed to the ease of gathering virtually during the COVID-19 pandemic, included world-renowned NBIA scientists and clinicians as well as those who only recently have become involved in NBIA research and care.
The symposium Scientific Steering Committee was led by Dr. Thomas Klopstock of Ludwig-Maximilians University Munich in Germany and included Drs. Susan Hayflick of Oregon Health & Science University in Portland, Valeria Tiranti of Foundation Neurological Institute C. Besta in Milan, Italy, and Agnès Rötig of Institute Imagine in Paris, France. Lay advocacy partners Fatemeh Mollet of NBIA Switzerland, Angelika Klucken of Hoffnungsbaum e. V. from Germany and Patricia Wood of NBIA Disorders Association in the United States were also committee members.
Hosted by the NBIA Disorders Association, the daily agenda included talks by long-standing, experienced NBIA researchers and their team members in which they provided research updates. In addition, researchers new to the NBIA community with expertise in cutting-edge therapies shared and contributed to the exchange of ideas.