Format: IN-PERSON and VIRTUAL
This two-day congress will bring together leading experts from around the world to discuss recent advances and future trends in brain health, from neuroscience and clinical medicine to public health and policy. It will provide a valuable forum for exchange, reflection, and collaboration among international and national leaders in the field.
Organizing Committee: The event is co-organized by Prof. Claudio Bassetti, with the support of the Swiss Brain Health Foundation, and hosted by Prof. Facundo Manes and the INECO Foundation.
In conjunction with the newly established The Lancet Commission on Brain Health.
Brain health has emerged as a central priority for medicine, public health, and social development worldwide. The continued growth in the prevalence and impact of neurological and psychiatric disorders, together with population aging, social inequities, and profound cultural and technological changes, calls for an interdisciplinary approach that integrates science, clinical practice, policy, and community within a shared framework.
In this context, Buenos Aires will host the 2nd Meeting of the International Alliance on Brain Health in April 2026, organized by the Brain Health Institute of Fundación INECO and the Swiss Brain Health Foundation in conjunction with The Lancet Commission on Brain Health. The meeting will bring together international leaders in neuroscience, mental health, neurology, psychiatry, and public policy to reflect on the present and future of brain health at a global scale.
Over the course of two days, participants will discuss recent advances in research, opportunities for the prevention and promotion of brain health across the life course, and the challenges posed by the conceptual and operational integration of brain health and mental health. The social and economic impact of these issues will also be examined, as well as the need for ethical frameworks and sustainable, equitable, and culturally sensitive public policies.
The meeting aims to consolidate a shared vision of brain health as a global public good, fostering a space for critical dialogue and collaboration across disciplines and regions. As an outcome of this process, participants will work toward the development of a joint Brain Health document, intended to provide guiding principles and strategic orientations for the coming decade.
Hosting this meeting in Buenos Aires reinforces Latin America’s commitment to the international brain health agenda and underscores the importance of promoting a humanistic, preventive, and evidence-based approach that prioritizes well-being and quality of life for individuals and their communities worldwide.
Prior registration is required for both modalities (in-person and virtual).
Prof. of Psychiatry University of São Paulo
Claudia Braga is a Professor of Occupational Therapy at the University of São Paulo, Brazil. She previously served as a consultant on mental health, substance use, violence, and disabilities for PAHO/WHO (2022–2024), and collaborated with and provided technical consultation to WHO and its regional offices on mental health (2016–2022). She also coordinated service assessments and promoted deinstitutionalization strategies focused on institutions for people with mental health conditions and those with intellectual and cognitive disabilities (2018–2022).
She is the current President (2025–2027) of the WHO Strategic and Technical Advisory Group on Mental Health, Substance Use, and Brain Health. She is also a board member of the World Association of Psychosocial Rehabilitation. Her main areas of expertise include public policy and services related to human rights, mental health, substance use, and brain health.
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC).
Dr. Mintzer is a Professor in the Department of Health Sciences in the College of Health Professions at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC), a visiting professor at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, Israel, and an honorary professor at the University of Exeter in the UK. He is the former Executive Director of the Roper St. Francis Healthcare System Clinical Biotechnology Research Institute. He is also the former President of the International Psychogeriatric Association, founding board member of the AARP supported Global Council on Brain Health, former board member of the South Carolina Alzheimer’s Association, and former member of the Alzheimer’s Association (national) Public Policy Committee. Dr. Mintzer has been involved in clinical research on Alzheimer’s disease for the last 20 years and is author of over 240 peer-reviewed research articles. He has devoted most of his career to the understanding and the development of treatments for neuropsychiatric symptoms of dementia.
President and CEO, Alzheimer's Association; CEO, Alzheimer's Impact Movement; Chair, World Dementia Council
Joanne Pike, DrPH, is president and chief executive officer of the Alzheimer’s Association, the global leader in Alzheimer's and dementia research, care, support, and public policy. Since 2022, she has guided the Association’s relentless pursuit of its vision of a world without Alzheimer’s and all other dementia. She also serves as chair of the World Dementia Council, a global coalition focused on driving progress in Alzheimer’s and dementia, and as CEO of the Alzheimer’s Impact Movement (AIM), a separately incorporated advocacy affiliate working to develop and advance policies to overcome Alzheimer’s and all other dementia.
Director Neurology, Public Health, Disability Unit & Coma Research Centre
Matilde Leonardi is Neurologist, Paediatrician, Neonatologist, Child neurologist. Specialized in Bioethics. WFNR Presidium member, WFNR Flying Faculty, One Neurology Ambassador, EAN Chair Communication Committee and Board member, FEAN Fellow of the European Academy of Neurology. WFN Board member of Advocacy, EFRR member, WHO expert on disability and neurology. Co-chair WHO NeuroCovid Forum–essential neurological services Group and member of Neuro Covid Global Research Coalition; Board member of the Italian Neurology Society. EAN Brain health Mission Board member. Corresponding member of the Pontificia Academia Pro Vita. Coordinator of the Italian GBD neurology. Nominated by Italian Government as Member of National Bioethics Committee in 2022.
MD, MPH, FAAN, FAHA. President American Neurological Association (ANA/ANN)
Natalia S. Rost, MD, MPH, FAAN, FAHA, is President of the American Academy of Neurology, C. Miller Fisher Endowed Chair in Stroke Research at Massachusetts General Hospital, and Professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School. An internationally recognized expert in cerebrovascular neuroimaging and personalized stroke outcomes, she leads NIH-funded DISCOVERY study and serves as an MGH Research Scholar. Rost has earned top honors, including the MGH Ray Adams Clinical Mentor Award and AAN’s Stroke Leadership and Mentorship Awards.
Director of Instituto Peruano de Neurociencias
Neurologist, master in medicine and neuroscience, PhD in neuroscience and investigator in Alzheimer's disease and related dementias with a particular interest in brief cognitive tests for the detection of cognitive impairment and dementia adapted for individuals with low educational level and Native populations. I am regional mentor to Global Brain Health Institute (GBHI) and in the last five years, I have led a Peruvian team part ofthe Multi-Partner Consortium for Dementia Research in Latin America (ReDLat), Latin American Initiative for Lifestyle Intervention to Prevent Cognitive Decline (LatAm FINGERS) and Innovations using mHealth for People with Dementia and Co-Morbidity and their Carers.
Director and Senior Professor of Psychiatry, National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences, Bangalore, India
Dr Murthy is a senior profesor of psychiatry, serving as Director of the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS), an institute of National Importance in India. She has contributed to the growth of mental health, neuroscience and substance use and addiction prevention and management. She has been on WHO expert groups for the mHGAP, served as an NTAG member for integrating MNS (mental, neurological and substance use conditions). She has extensive clinical, training, research and policy experience both as a psychiatrist and administrator.
MD, DSc, PhD Dir. Public Health at University Medical Center Utrecht
Prof. Oscar H. Franco is Professor of Public Health, and Director of the Department of Global Public Health & Bioethics at the Julius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care, and Chair of Healthy Living at University Medical Centre Utrecht, Utrecht University. Furthermore, Oscar is Adjunct Professor at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, the National University of Mar del Plata, Argentina; Honorary Professor at Universidad Javeriana, Bogota, Colombia, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China; and scientific advisor for the French television channel France24 (until 2024). Prof. Franco has published over 900 publications and has a H-index of 143 (WoS).
Professor of Neurology, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS), Bangalore
Dr Alladi's work focuses on impact of life-course experiences on brain health, cognitive resilience and dementia in diverse contexts.
She focuses on improving dementia diagnosis, prevention, care and education from local to global
contexts in her capacity as Trustee, World Dementia Council, Chair International Advisory Council ISTART, Alzheimer's Association, USA and Secretary of Cognitive Neurology Association India. In collaboration with the Govt, she leads the Karnataka Brain Health Initiative, a WHO recognised public health model for neurological diseases, that integrates neurological, mental health and noncommunicable disease programs.
Senior Clinician-Scientist at the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore
Professor Chen is a Senior Clinician-Scientist at the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore. His research training was at Oxford University and the Institute of Neurology. Queens Square, London. His major interests are in blood biomarkers, neuroimaging and treatment of stroke and dementia. He has over 500 publications and leads multiple studies and clinical trials. He aims to build regional collaborations in Brain Health through his roles as President of the Asian Society Against Dementia and the Asian Oceanian Association of Neurology.
Medical Director of INECO, Head of the Institution's Department of Psychiatry.
A graduate of the University of Buenos Aires Medical School, he is a Specialist in Adult Psychiatry, also from the University of Buenos Aires. He is the Director of the Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health at the Faculty of Medical Sciences, Favaloro Foundation, University Hospital.
He specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of Bipolar Disorder, for which he directs the clinic. He also has extensive experience in the diagnosis and treatment of endogenous psychoses, including schizophrenia. Additionally, he focuses on the diagnosis and treatment of anxiety disorders: Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Phobias, Panic Disorder, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. All of these conditions are addressed from an interdisciplinary perspective, a core characteristic of INECO.
MD, PhD, Brain Health Institute INECO Foundation
Cognition, dementia and brain aging
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Brain and mental health
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