Grant: Planning and Dissemination Grant - Institute Community Support

The "18th International Fragile X and Early-Onset Cognitive Disorders Workshop" emphasizes recent breakthroughs in our understanding of intellectual disability (ID), autism spectrum disorders (ASD), and related neurodevelopmental disorders. This biannual meeting has been instrumental to the discovery of many disease causing genes, and the development of novel therapeutic strategies for these devastating disorders. The conference will be held at the Hôtel Sacacomie, Saint-Alexis-des-Monts, QC, from October 13-16, 2017 and will feature 28 Canadian and International speaker presentations, two breakout workshop sessions, two poster sessions, and >200 attendees comprising clinicians, scientists, trainees, and students. The conference will highlight recent advances in intellectual disability research, including gene discovery, biological mechanisms of ID, development of novel treatments, and the results of preclinical and clinical studies. Breakout workshops will discuss and establish guidelines for clinical trials in very young patients and collecting standardized cognitive, neuroimaging, and genomic data for families carrying a known genetic etiology or ID risk factor. Trainees/students will be given the opportunity to present their work in both poster and oral presentations. This conference has not been hosted in Canada for 20 years and it will increase the international exposure of Canadian ID researchers and provide a great training venue for the next generation of clinicians and scientists. Informal networking opportunities at this scenic resort will help stimulate novel therapeutic strategies for these complex and devastating disorders.