All the events here are relevant to people working in dementia research. If you would like to add your own you can:
Inflammation in Alzheimer’s and Cancer: Swanton and Tanzi
October 1 @ 5:00 pm - 6:00 pm
Two of the biggest names in cancer and Alzheimer’s genetics, Professor Charles Swanson and Professor Rudolph Tanzi, come together for an open discussion on the role of inflammation in both diseases. Hosted online by Consilium Scientific on Thursday 1 October 2026 at 5pm (UK time).
Alzheimer’s disease and cancer both place a heavy load on patients, carers and health systems in an ageing population. Up to 82 million people worldwide are predicted to be living with Alzheimer’s by 2030, and around 26 million people are diagnosed with cancer each year. Understanding the molecular changes that start these diseases and drive them forward is key to preventing them, spotting them early and, where possible, treating them.
Evidence is building that inflammation plays a central part in both. Having each built careers on the genetics of their disease, Swanson and Tanzi have more recently turned their attention to the role of inflammation. In this conversation they will compare and contrast how it works in cancer and Alzheimer’s, look at what might set it off, including environmental pollution, and share their thinking on prevention, early detection and possible routes to new treatments.
The speakers
Professor Charles Swanson is a clinician-scientist, Group Leader at the Francis Crick Institute and Professor of Cancer Medicine at UCL. He is known internationally for his work on cancer evolution and tumour heterogeneity, particularly in lung cancer, and leads the TRACERx study tracking how cancers evolve in patients. He and colleagues published a landmark paper showing how air pollutants promote lung cancer through inflammation.
Professor Rudolph Tanzi is Director of the Genetics and Aging Research Unit and the McCance Center for Brain Health at Massachusetts General Hospital, and the Joseph P. and Rose F. Kennedy Professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School. He discovered many Alzheimer’s genes, including the first three, is a member of the National Academy of Medicine, and has co-authored more than 750 papers. He has also played keyboards on albums by Aerosmith, Joe Perry and Johnny Depp.
Background reading
- Hill, W., Lim, E.L., Weeden, C.E. et al. Lung adenocarcinoma promotion by air pollutants. Nature 616, 159–167 (2023).
- Butovsky, O., Rosenzweig, N., Kleemann, K.L. et al. Immune dysfunction in Alzheimer disease. Nat. Rev. Neurosci. (2025).
Joining details are sent to the Consilium Scientific mailing list. Sign up using the link below.
Add to calendar:
https://addcal.co/e/yhkmwi5d3wuf
Consilium Scientific is a non-profit research organisation working to improve how clinical evidence is generated and to drive health policy change in the UK and internationally.
