Australian and New Zealand Stroke Organisation Conference 2026 (ANZSOC2026), Brisbane, Australia, 18-21 August 2026:...

Welcome to the Australian and New Zealand Stroke Organisation Conference 2026 (ANZSOC 2026), marking the return of the conference to Brisbane after 10 years. As a stroke community, we have made significant advances over recent decades in reducing the incidence of stroke and improving outcomes. This conference offers a platform to build on these achievements by fostering collaborations across disciplines and sectors. It will also showcase cutting-edge research and innovations that continue to transform prevention, treatment and recovery in stroke care. At ANZSOC 2026, we will hear from internationally and nationally recognised stroke clinicians, researchers, and people with lived experience of stroke about the latest developments in stroke prevention, acute care, rehabilitation, and life after stroke. We have an exciting and diverse program planned for ANZSOC 2026. We are delighted to welcome our international and national invited speakers: Professor Gert Kwakkel (Amsterdam University Medical Centre, Netherlands), Professor Lara Boyd (University of British Columbia, Canada), Professor William Whiteley (University of Oxford, United Kingdom), and Professor Bruce Campbell (University of Melbourne, Australia). These four highly regarded stroke clinicians and researchers reflect our commitment to diversity, covering fields such as acute care, primary and secondary prevention, epidemiology, neurorehabilitation, and neuroscience. We have over 60 invited speakers from Australia, New Zealand, and beyond, participating in 26 concurrent sessions. Each session is structured to open and close with an invited speaker giving an expert update on relevant topics, with long and short abstract presentations in between. The continued use of short, "lightning" presentations on an ongoing basis with the ANZSOC conference provides many more researchers with the opportunity to present their work directly. We have also scheduled themed poster tours as part of all morning and afternoon teas, offering more opportunities for researchers to engage in scientific discussion with the broader stroke community. ANZSOC 2026 includes specific programming for people with lived experience of stroke. This includes workshop sessions and research presentations designed to be accessible to a diverse audience. For the first time at ANZSOC 2026, researchers will have the opportunity to connect directly with people with lived experience of stroke through Lived Experience Speed Consults. Delivered by the Stroke CRE Lived Experience Advisory Group, these 15- or 30-minute sessions are designed to help researchers test ideas, strengthen study design, refine participant materials and explore meaningful ways to involve lived experience in their work.