The historical city of Querétaro, Mexico became the hub of Parkinson’s research in LATAM as the Latin American Research Consortium on the GEnetics of Parkinson’s Disease (LARGE-PD) hosted its third Annual Meeting on September 4-5, 2025. The event brought together 76 neurologists, geneticists, and researchers from 14 countries across Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as international partners. Besides engaging in relevant discussions and sharing ideas, attendees had the opportunity to get a true taste of Mexico: from vibrant local flavors and traditional Lelé dolls, to the sounds of Mariachi songs and historical buildings.
Furthermore, before the main event and for the first time in LARGE-PD Meetings, we held two specialized workshops on September 2-3, 2025. These sessions, a bioinformatics workshop supported by the Global Parkinson’s Genetics Program (GP2) and the Laboratorio Internacional de Investigación sobre el Genoma Humano of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), as well as a PD GENEration workshop supported by the Parkinson’s Foundation, focused on reinforcing knowledge and updates regarding the return of Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendment (CLIA)-certified genetic results for PD patients across Latin America and the Caribbean.
Later, our two-day program featured an exciting mix of plenary sessions, roundtables, and flash talks. Hot topics included cognition in Parkinson’s disease, atypical parkinsonism, neuroimaging, monogenic Parkinson’s disease, and the future of biobank harmonization. A key milestone was the discussion on integrating LARGE-PD with the GP2 analysis platform for WGS and the GDA array, and adaptation of the genotyping report to the GP2 template.
Throughout the meeting, participants explored strategies for recruitment, ethical reporting of results, advances in genetic analysis, resilience in research settings, and new opportunities for collaboration. Importantly, the meeting included discussions focused on the integration of LARGE-PD with GP2’s analysis platform, ensuring the alignment of WGS and array data, and adapting LARGE-PD’s genotyping reports to the GP2 reporting template.
Working groups defined goals and agreements for 2026, reinforcing LARGE-PD’s commitment to sustainable, collaborative science. The meeting offered an environment for dynamic discussions and meaningful collaborations, strengthening the consortium’s regional and international network.
From the local organizing teams at México, the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), and the city of Querétaro, we extend big thanks to the LARGE-PD core team at the Cleveland Clinic (USA), the Aligning Science Across Parkinson’s (ASAP) initiative’s supported program GP2, The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research (MJFF), and Parkinson’s Foundation for their invaluable support.
