Meeting report for the Second International Conference on Unconventional Animal Models of Alzheimer's Disease and...

The Second International Conference on Unconventional Animal Models of Alzheimer's Disease and Aging (UAMAA 2026) was held February 9 through 11, 2026, in Irvine, California. Building upon the inaugural meeting in Santiago, Chile (2023), this conference expanded an international effort to develop, characterize, and rigorously evaluate non-traditional animal models with enhanced translational relevance for Alzheimer's disease (AD) and aging research. The meeting convened leading investigators across genomics, systems neuroscience, comparative biology, and pathology to discuss naturally occurring and engineered models including degu (Octodon degus), dog (Canis lupus familiaris), marmoset (Callithrix jacchus), rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta), naked mole-rat (Heterocephalus glaber), and emerging large animal species including elephants and whales. A central theme was the need for cross-species integration of multimodal and multi-scale approaches to interrogate cellular vulnerability, gene regulatory programs, and age-associated neuropathology and circuit alterations across species. UAMAA 2026 emphasized cross-species comparison, human brain atlas integration, and translational alignment with National Institutes of Health priorities. The conference highlighted growing momentum toward a diversified model ecosystem aimed at accelerating mechanistic insight and therapeutic discovery in AD and aging research. A special journal issue associated with the conference has been announced to extend these themes into peer-reviewed scientific discourse.