The 25th Annual NEALS Meeting brings together more than 1,000 researchers, clinicians, industry partners, government and foundation representatives, and people living with ALS to share the latest findings in ALS research and accelerate the path to better treatments. Held as a hybrid event in Clearwater, Florida, the 2026 edition marks a quarter-century of the Network of Excellence for ALS (NEALS) convening the ALS community around clinical science and collaboration.
This year’s programme includes a dedicated Science Symposium on artificial intelligence in ALS, covering its application across pre-clinical research, patient identification, and drug discovery, reflecting how central advanced analytics has become to ALS research in recent years.
Speaking at the AI in ALS Science Symposium
Volv Global has been invited to contribute to the Science Symposium as part of a joint presentation with Novartis. On Thursday, 29 October, from 13:30 to 15:30 ET, Dr Vahid Esmaeili (Data Science and Digital Health Director, Volv Global) and Dr Christophe Lo Bianco (Associate Director, Global Medical Affairs Neuroscience, Novartis) will present:
Early Identification of ALS Using Advanced Machine Learning and Real-World Data
The presentation draws on Volv Global’s work applying proprietary machine learning to population-scale real-world data, examining how advanced modelling can surface patients who carry ALS but remain undiagnosed or unrecognised within conventional clinical coding. For ALS, where diagnostic delay commonly spans more than a year, earlier identification translates directly into earlier access to care, clinical trials, and support. That is where the work matters most: for the individual patient and their family.
Dr Esmaeili and Dr Lo Bianco will present virtually. Christopher Rudolf, Founder and CEO of Volv Global, will attend in person.
Get in touch
If you’ll be at NEALS and want to talk through the question we’re exploring, or discuss what this kind of approach could mean for your own research, get in touch with our data science team – or come find Christopher.
We’ll share the full findings once they’ve been presented at the meeting.
About the presentation
- Early Identification of ALS Using Advanced Machine Learning and Real-World Data
- Thursday, 29 October, from 13:30 to 15:30 ET
About NEALS
The Network of Excellence for ALS (NEALS) is a consortium of more than 150 research sites committed to accelerating ALS clinical research through collaboration, standardised methods, and shared data. The Annual NEALS Meeting is widely regarded as the premier gathering for the ALS clinical research community, bringing together neuroscientists, clinicians, pharmaceutical partners, patient advocates, and funding agencies each year.
Visit the NEALS meeting website.
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