The first morning of the International Congress for Ataxia Research has several optional events. The official start of the conference is in the afternoon. These optional events are for young investigators – namely graduate students, medical students, and early career researchers who do research on ataxia.

The International Congress for Ataxia Research has specific events just for young investigators. The goal of these events is to help young investigators build connections with other researchers and learn more about ataxia research. We hope that young investigators continue to do ataxia research, and these events are one way to connect them to the ataxia research community. All these events were planned by the trainee organizing committee, so they were made by young investigators for other young investigators.

The first event is a meet and greet. This is an informal gathering to meet other young investigators and get to know members of the trainee organizing committee. We hope this helps young investigators, some of whom have never been to an ataxia conference before, feel less alone. There will also be free snacks and coffee to encourage people to attend, since it is the first session of the day!

The second event is a mentorship panel. In this session, young investigators will hear from five famous senior ataxia researchers about their career paths. The senior researchers will share their stories of how they became ataxia researchers and answer questions from the young investigators about their journey. This is a great opportunity for young ataxia researchers to get career advice.

After the lunch break, the young investors will be joined by ataxia researchers from all career levels to officially start the International Congress for Ataxia Research! Stay tuned to learn more about what is happening at the conference through SCAsource.