Travel Grantee 2024 Vera Wiersma

In September 2024, Vera Wiersma attentended the 14th International Conference on Frontotemporal Dementias (ISFTD) held in Amsterdam:

"In September 2024, with the support of the SSN Travel Fellowship, I got the amazing opportunity to
present my research at the 14 th International Conference on Frontotemporal Dementias (ISFTD) held
in Amsterdam. The conference was fully focused on the incurable neurodegenerative disorder
frontotemporal dementia (FTD), a type of dementia that often strikes relatively young patients. At
this year’s ISFTD conference, researchers, clinicians and patient advocates gathered to discuss the
latest scientific updates, which ranged from novel fundamental insight in disease mechanisms to
methodologies for improved diagnostic accuracy and clinical trial design. The conference allowed me
to catch up on the latest advances in this fast-moving field, meet with many of our international
collaborators and establish new connections, which were further sparked by my talk in the
Fundamental research session. Taken together, being able to attend the ISFTD conference was a
truly outstanding experience and seeing that our work is embedded in such a strong and hopeful
scientific community left me going back to the lab even more motivated to untangle the pathological
pathways causing FTD and work towards a cure. Huge thank you to SSN for supporting me and giving
me this opportunity!"