International Brain Health Conference 2026

The inaugural International Brain Health Conference 2026 (IBHC 2026), hosted by Scottish Brain Sciences, will bring together researchers, clinicians, life sciences and pharmaceutical partners, policymakers and innovators to examine how advances in early detection and personalised medicine can be translated into practice. 

The conference will be held at the Sheraton Grand Hotel. Professor Craig Ritchie, CEO and Founder of Scottish Brain Sciences and Professor of Brain Health and Neurodegenerative Medicine at the University of St Andrews, said the field has shifted decisively towards identifying risk and disease processes well before dementia becomes clinically apparent. He emphasised that while the science now allows earlier identification, the more difficult task lies in embedding this knowledge within healthcare systems, public policy and routine clinical care, a gap the conference is intended to address. International faculty and cross-sector programme IBHC 2026 will feature an international faculty including Professor Jeff Cummings (University of Nevada), Professor Vanessa Raymont (University of Oxford), Professor Allan Young (Imperial College London), and Dr Francesca Farina (University of Chicago). 

The programme will span: 

• Early detection, including imaging and fluid biomarkers 

• Women’s brain health, menopause and sex-specific risk 

• Brain health services and health economics 

• Nutrition, sleep and mental health 

• Comorbidities and infectious disease 

• Global and population-level prevention strategies 

Professor Jeffrey Cummings will open the meeting with a keynote on therapeutic development. He noted that treatments for Alzheimer’s disease are progressing at pace, creating new opportunities to intervene in the earliest phases of illness. At the same time, he stressed the importance of maintaining momentum in prevention research, arguing that innovation in both treatment and prevention will be central to improving long-term brain health outcomes. 

A growing imperative for early intervention 

With dementia prevalence rising worldwide and health systems under sustained pressure, attention is increasingly turning to modifiable risk factors and earlier-stage intervention. IBHC 2026 aims to provide a forum for rigorous scientific exchange and collaboration across sectors at a point when the translation of research into service delivery is becoming ever more urgent. 

Early Bird registration, offering a 50% discount, is available until 31 March 2026. Further details and programme updates are available from Scottish Brain Sciences.