Register now for the 11th Annual Rare Disease Day Event: Advancing Neurodegenerative Disease Research happening on Tuesday, February 25, 2026 from 1:30 - 5:00pm ET in the Merkin Building at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard (415 Main Street, Cambridge, MA 02142) and streamed online. Registration will begin at 1:00pm, the speaking program will be held from 1:30 - 5:00pm in the Merkin Auditorium, and a reception will follow from 5:00 - 6:00pm in the Broad Discovery Center.

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Rare Disease Day is an international event held in late February to raise awareness about the impact on patients and need for research.

This year, the Broad Institute’s Ladders to Cures Scientific Accelerator in collaboration with The Termeer Institute are hosting the 11th Annual Rare Disease Day Event: Advancing Neurodegenerative Disease Research, featuring remarks from Anna Greka, Belinda Termeer, and Catharine Smith, in addition to a lineup of speakers from the rare disease space including Mandana Arbab, Hilary Eaton, Kasper Roet, Juliana Gentile, Dan Leonard, and Allyson Berent.

Rare genetic diseases are collectively common: they affect 1 in 10 people in North America. While more than 8,000 genes are known to drive these diseases, fewer than 500 have an available treatment. The mismatch in these numbers underscores the urgent need to disrupt the status quo and develop new approaches to deliver precision cures at scale.

The Ladders to Cures Scientific Accelerator is committed to uncovering the genetic roots of rare diseases and to using those insights to develop new treatments. With projects spanning multiple disease areas, Broad scientists are using genetics, functional genomics, computational biology, and chemical biology to better understand and ultimately seek effective treatments for rare diseases.

Building on the bold legacy of Henri Termeer, who pioneered groundbreaking treatments for rare diseases, The Termeer Institute is a nonprofit organization working to connect the world of healthcare innovators until every patient has a cure.

If you have any questions regarding the event or an accessibility request, please reach out to Katie Liguori at kliguori@broadinstitute.org.