DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is the second most common type of presenile dementia and the cause of significant emotional and economic burden for patients, families and society in North America and worldwide. The International Conference on Frontotemporal Dementias (ICFTD) is held every two years and is the only regularly scheduled international conference devoted to FTD, making it an important opportunity for clinicians, researchers, trainees, caregivers and policy makers from around the world to share knowledge with the goal of improving care for patients with FTD. Vancouver, Canada was recently selected to host the 9th ICFTD from October 22-15, 2014. The conference will be co-organized by local FTD researchers Drs. Ian Mackenzie and Howard Feldman, with guidance and support from the International Society for Frontotemporal Dementias. Scientific and Caregiver program committees have been established with membership that includes many of the leading FTD researchers. The conference programs are being designed to offer attendees an opportunity to learn about a broad spectrum of topics related to FTD. Three days of scientific presentations will allow experts from diverse backgrounds to share recent discoveries, insights and opinions; thereby promoting research collaboration, consensuses development, training opportunities, and knowledge translation across disciplines. A concurrent one day Caregivers Session will provide patients, family members, caregivers, interested laypersons and representatives from advocacy groups an update on the latest research advances and the chance to interact directly with the scientific community. A major point of emphasis for this conference is the inclusion of junior investigators and promoting the participation of under-served populations. It is anticipated that the 2014 conference will attract more than 600 international delegates. Although the majority of the necessary funding will come from conference registration, additional external financial support is being sought in order to keep costs reasonable. The specific use of the funds requested in this application is to support registration and travel expenses for faculty who have been invited to speak at the Scientific Sessions.

PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: This application is for funds to support the 9th International Conference on Frontotemporal Dementias. This conference is a forum for research scientists, clinicians, and other health care professionals to share the latest information from each of their disciplines. In addition to highlighting the progress made in the various areas of research, this conference will provide an opportunity for non-professional caregivers to be exposed to new knowledge and to interact with researchers and other caregivers.