The Linda Crnic Institute for Down Syndrome (Crnic Institute) was pleased to attend the 2026 Trisomy 21 Research Society (T21RS) International Conference from June 17-20, 2026.
The T21RS International Conference united our global community to share breakthroughs and shape the future of Down syndrome research. This year’s conference was co-organized by the Crnic Institute and the Global Down Syndrome Foundation (GLOBAL), with leadership from Dr. Kelly Sullivan, director of the Crnic Institute Experimental Models Program, as a chair of the program committee, and Dr. Lotta Granholm, professor of neurosurgery at CU Anschutz, as chair of the local organizing committee.
“This year’s T21RS International Conference brought together scientists from across the globe, and we couldn’t be happier with the collaboration and energy that this conference brought,” Sullivan said.
The opening session featured self-advocates Megan Bomgaars, Grace Grubb, Jeremiah Daniels, Sam Levin, parents Terrance Daniels and Patrick McClellan, Dr. Joaquín Espinosa, executive director of the Crnic Institute, Sullivan and Michelle Sie Whitten, President and CEO of GLOBAL. The inspiring session, sponsored by GLOBAL, set the tone for the conference and reminded attendees of the mission at the heart of our research: improving the lives of individuals with Down syndrome.
“Without people with Down syndrome and their families, our work would not be possible. We are grateful to GLOBAL and the Down syndrome community for their continued support and advocacy,” Espinosa shared.
In addition to giving opening remarks and introducing the INCLUDE Data Coordinating Center (DCC) session, Espinosa presented the Crnic Institute team’s latest discoveries with his talk entitled, "The interferonopathy of Down syndrome: mechanisms and clinical trials.” This research provides promising evidence for improving the health and autoimmunity of people with Down syndrome with immunomodulatory therapies.
Dr. Matthew Galbraith, director of the Crnic Institute’s Data Science Program, presented the INCLUDE DCC Experimental Models of Down Syndrome portal for researchers. Experimental Models of Down Syndrome is a comprehensive resource for researchers with tools for exploring publications, phenotypes, datasets and biospecimens derived from experimental models of Down syndrome.
Many additional Crnic Institute staff members and trainees contributed to this year's conference, delivering numerous talks and presenting posters on a wide variety of topics in Down syndrome research.
The Crnic Institute represented the Human Trisome Project, DS-Connect®: Down Syndrome Registry, the INCLUDE DCC, the Data Science for Developing Scholars in Down Syndrome (DS3) course and the INCLUDE DS-Biorepository throughout the conference.
The Crnic Institute thanks the organizing efforts of Sullivan and Granholm, and to GLOBAL, the NIH INCLUDE Project, incredible self-advocates and all attendees for a successful weekend of collaboration, learning and advancing research.