Registration for ADRD 2026 is open!
Wednesday, April 15, 2026, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
Discovery Building and via livestream
Please join us for a day filled with an array of presenters and topics on Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD). The annual Alzheimer's Disease & Related Dementias Research Day is hosted by the Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center. It is designed to encourage collaboration and promote scientific thought among faculty, students and researchers from a wide range of disciplines across the UW–Madison campus.
Our audience members will have the chance to network with researchers and vote for their favorite poster and lightning presenter. Lunch and refreshments will be provided.
We invite UW–Madison students, scientists and researchers from all areas to join us and learn about the amazing work being done on campus.
AGENDA
Presentations will be in the H.F. DeLuca Forum
The Poster Session will be in the Open Court
A.M.
9:30–10 Registration check-in/poster preview
10 Welcome and opening remarks
10:20 Featured speaker: Nastaren Abad, PhD, senior scientist at GE HealthCare Technology & Innovation Center (HTIC) – Talk Topic: “Revealing the Brain’s Structural–Dynamic Landscape: MAGNUS MRI for Multiscale Neurobiology”
- Learn more about Nastaren Abad, PhD
- Image
Dr. Nastaren Abad is a Senior Scientist at GE HealthCare’s Technology & Innovation Center, where she leads advanced research in medical imaging with a focus on high performance magnetic resonance (MR) systems. She has played a key role in the development and installation of the MAGNUS and compact 7T MRI platforms, both designed to enable cutting edge brain imaging.
Dr. Abad’s research centers on the integration of specialized MR hardware with emerging clinical needs. She currently leads neuroimaging innovation efforts within the ARPA H Sprint for Women’s Health, developing advanced imaging approaches for conditions that disproportionately affect women. Her work also spans multiple high impact programs funded by the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP), including projects focused on detecting microscopic white matter injury in military populations using the MAGNUS system. Additionally, she contributes to pioneering sleep studies in warfighters, leveraging silent MR techniques to image brain activity and glymphatic function without the acoustic noise of conventional MRI—providing critical insight into how sleep disruption and injury affect readiness and long term neurological health.
Dr. Abad earned her PhD from Florida State University in partnership with the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory. She is the recipient of multiple prestigious honors, including GE HealthCare’s 2025 Segment Women in Technology Award and the 2022 Whitney Award for excellence in technology development.
10:50 Lightning Presentations
11:50 Lunch in the DeLuca Forum and Open Court
P.M.
1 Wisconsin Alzheimer's Disease Research Center (ADRC) Update
1:20 Poster Session
2:25 Featured Speaker: Fred Ketchum, MD, PhD, assistant professor, Department of Neurology – Talk Title: “Contexts of implementation for blood biomarkers in primary care populations”
- Learn more about Fred Ketchum, MD, PhD
- Image
Fred Ketchum, MD, is a UW Health neurologist and assistant professor at the UW School of Medicine and Public Health. Dr. Ketchum specializes in memory and cognitive disorders, such as Alzheimer’s disease, frontotemporal dementia and Lewy Body dementia.
Dr. Ketchum's medical philosophy centers around empowering his patients and helping them find the best approach to their care. His research interests include Alzheimer’s disease, frontotemporal dementias and other dementias, early diagnosis of neurological diseases, and the ethical and social aspects of health care.
2:50 Featured Speaker: Jessica Caldwell, PhD, visiting associate professor, Department of Neurology, mPI WRAP study – Talk Title: "Impact of sex and gender on Alzheimer’s disease risk and resilience"
- Learn more about Jessica Caldwell, PhD
- Image
Dr. Caldwell is the multi-principal investigator of the Wisconsin Registry for Alzheimer’s Prevention (WRAP) study. Dr. Caldwell is a board-certified neuropsychologist and a visiting associate professor in the Department of Neurology at UW-Madison. She also earned her Ph.D. in clinical psychology with a minor in neuroscience at UW-Madison and completed predoctoral internship at Harvard Medical School, and a postdoctoral fellowship at Brown University. Dr. Caldwell’s research focuses on sex and gender influences on Alzheimer’s disease risk and resilience, including how hormones and socially-determined gender roles impact risk for developing Alzheimer’s disease. Her research also examines dementia prevention and both pharmacological and non-pharmacological approaches to dementia prevention.
3:15 Awards Celebration
3:45 Closing/Appreciations
