Rare Disease Day 2026: Advancing Neurodegenerative Disease Research

Rare Disease Day

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

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.

Rare Disease Day 2026 | Advancing Neurodegenerative Disease Research

Wednesday, February 25, 1:30 - 5 pm EST

This year, the ӳ��ý’s Ladders to Cures Scientific Accelerator in collaboration with The Termeer Institute are hosting the , 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.

ӳ��ý 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, ӳ��ý 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 Foundation 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.