2021 project 8p conference

Conference Date: August 8, 2022 at 12:00 pm

Welcome to the International Family Conference July 7th – 9th, 2021

This year we will be offering a Live and Virtual Conference Ticket to live stream the conference right into our families’ own homes!

We are also asking families to join us in the Conference Facebook page for updates and news.

Our family conference will look a little different this year, but we are hoping it will be even better. This year we are hosting a joint conference between Dup15q
Alliance, Project 8p,and Ring14 USA.


The Dup15q Alliance, Project 8p and Ring14 USA communities share very similar life experiences – our children face many of the same challenges and our parents
have many of the same questions. We can answer these common questions more effectively together.
The Project 8p Science and Family Conference are held annually, rotating in person every other year.
In 2019, we had a successful launch of our first ever Conference in NYC. In 2020, on Chromosome 8p Day on August 8th, we had a virtual retreat particularly in a
unprecedented year due the COVID-19 pandemic.

This summer in 2021, we are hosting scientists and families with 8p heroes to meet each other and learn about the pertinent information regarding Chromosome 8p
disorders. Tailored to benefit the entire family, our conferences include scientific, genetic and clinical discussions, respite care, sibling sessions and group
activities. Sessions will be held on the latest research, treatment and therapies with views from clinicians, providers and parents. Break-out sessions have also been
organized for Moms and Dads that offer a wonderful opportunity to gather with other parents and share the challenges, fears, hopes and successes of raising an 8p
hero. These honest exchanges bring both tears and laughter, and most of all, the healing of knowing that you are not alone in your experience.

With that being said, we are excited to announce that our family conference will look a little different this year for the better. This year we are hosting a joint
conference between Dup15q Alliance, Project 8p, and Ring14 USA. We believe we can do more together!

The Project 8p, Dup15q Alliance, and Ring14 USA communities share very similar life experiences – our children face many of the same challenges, our parents have
many of the same questions. We can answer these common questions more effectively together.

All 3 communities are neurodevelopmental disorders that have large chromosome copy number changes (duplications, deletions and/or rings) that involve multiple
genes. To investigate and accelerate therapeutic developments in complex genetic changes, these communities developed the “Commission for
Neurodevelopmental Copy Number Variants (CNVs)”
funded by the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. Since this commission is championing for cross-disorder targeted
therapies, we want the clinicians and researchers to see how similar our children are.

Thus, we are coming together in Colorado to tackle our common challenges. Teaming up to bring more information, to share resources, and to stream our conference
worldwide for the first time. We will be all together when it makes sense, but we will also meet separately to address unique issues and to encourage community
within each association. We want to deliver big conference content while maintaining the small conference experience.

Conference Presentations and Videos

The Project 8p Foundation (Project 8p) was created in 2018 to:

  • Accelerate future treatments, not only for 8p, but potentially for other chromosome-wide diseases as well.
  • Lead with knowledge from patients. Currently, there is no cure for 8p disorders, nor is there a standard course of treatment.

The Project 8p Foundation (Project 8p) was created in 2018 to:

  • Raise transformative funding for pioneering scientific research into treatments for a complex, rare disease involving 250+ affected genes on the short arm of the 8 th chromosome (8p). Rearrangements of these genes causes significant abnormalities to the entire neurological system, thus all organs and functions of the body– with variance in cognitive functions, gross motor skills, social development and other challenges during infancy, and throughout life;
  • Empower a unified community of 8p patients and their families so they can have meaningful lives today; and
  • Accelerate future treatments, not only for 8p, but potentially for other chromosome-wide diseases as well.