In this special episode of ANA Investigates, members of the ANA Education Innovation Committee take listeners inside the ANA2026 Annual Meeting in San Diego for conversations with speakers, researchers, award recipients, and ANA leaders. Hear highlights from across the meeting, including emerging applications of CAR T-cell therapy in autoimmune neurologic disease, advances in neurogenetics and precision therapies, new approaches to epilepsy and neurodegenerative disease, and research presented in the poster hall.

The episode also explores the importance of clinical reasoning, thoughtful use of AI in neurologic practice, mentorship and career development, and the role of the ANA community in advancing academic neurology. Together, these conversations showcase the breadth of discovery at ANA2026 and offer a look at the research and innovations poised to shape the future of neurological care.

Disclosures: This episode does not award CME.

Women are reshaping leadership in academic neurology, representing a growing share of the field yet remaining underrepresented in its most senior roles. In this episode of ANA Investigates, we had the privilege of speaking with two former women presidents of the American Neurological Association. Dr. Elizabeth Ross is a professor of neurology and neuroscience and director of the Center for Neurogenetics at Weill Cornell Medicine. Dr. Frances E. Jensen is professor and chair of the Department of Neurology and co-director of the Translational Neuroscience Program at the University of Pennsylvania. Together, they discuss lessons learned, mentorship, strategic engagement, work-life balance, and how the next generation of women can build meaningful and consequential careers in leadership. The discussion was led by Dr. Sarah Nelson, an assistant professor at Tufts Medical Center.

In this episode, we are discussing one of the most rapidly evolving areas in acute stroke care, mechanical thrombectomy for medium vessel occlusions, or MEVO. While thrombectomy is well established for large vessel occlusions, whether patients with smaller, more distal occlusions benefit has remained an important unanswered question. In the recent years, several landmark trials have evaluated endovascular treatment for MEVO with differing results, some suggesting benefits while others suggesting no benefit. Together, these studies have shifted the conversation from whether thrombectomy should be performed to which patients are most likely to benefit. To discuss how these findings are reshaping clinical practice and the future of thrombectomy stroke trials, we spoke with Dr. Mayank Goyal, professor of radiology and clinical neurosciences at the University of Calgary. He was interviewed by Dr. Omar Al-Janabi, a stroke neurologist at Baptist Health.

Disclosures: Dr. Goyal discloses consulting fees from Medtronic, Penumbra, Jacob's Institute, Silvercreek Pharma, Microvention, and grant funding from Medtronic and Cerenovus