Connectors
Bring the patient voice to where decisions get made.
Patients · Patient Advocates & Organizations · Medical Society Leaders · Health Communications · Public Affairs
Patient Partners Program — your designated home base at DIA 2026. Use it to connect with the DIA patient community, find your bearings, and engage across the full meeting.
Explore the AgendaPatients and advocates don't belong at the end of the process. They belong at the table.
At most conferences, the patient voice is a closing session. At DIA 2026, it's embedded throughout the program—in the science discussions, the regulatory dialogues, and the strategy conversations. If your work is about making medicine matter to people, this is where you influence the people who build it.
DIA 2026 is one of the few forums where Connectors aren't just invited—they're integrated. Your perspective changes the conversations in this room. That's not a courtesy. It's the point.
Four reasons Connectors make DIA a priority
Shape Development Strategy in Real Time
Patient advocates and Connectors at DIA 2026 are not featured as an afterthought. You're in the room during the sessions that shape development strategy, regulatory submissions, and communication policy—with the opportunity to shape those conversations in real time.
In Front of the People with Authority to Act
The people making pipeline, regulatory, and market decisions are here. DIA 2026 creates structured and informal opportunities to put the patient and community perspective directly in front of the people with the authority to act on it.
Build the Relationships That Amplify Your Impact
DIA 2026 brings together 4,000+ professionals from 50+ countries—including scientists, regulators, and advocates. For patient organizations and medical societies, this is an unparalleled opportunity to build the cross-sector relationships that amplify your impact.
How the Language of Medicine Is Evolving
Health communications and medication education professionals will find dedicated content on how the language of science, risk, and benefit is evolving—from both the regulatory and patient engagement perspective.
You're a lens the rest of the ecosystem needs
Builders (the scientists)
R&D and clinical research professionals are designing studies, choosing endpoints, and writing protocols—often without patient input until late in the process. Connectors at DIA 2026 have direct access to these conversations at a stage where the input actually changes outcomes.
Decision Makers (leadership)
C-suite and senior strategy leaders are making pipeline and policy decisions. Patient advocates and medical society leaders who engage with Decision Makers at DIA often leave having influenced how organizations think about community impact, trial diversity, and patient-centered outcomes.
Regulators
Health authority representatives are actively present at DIA 2026. For patient advocates and public affairs professionals, this is a direct line to the people shaping the regulatory environment—outside of formal comment periods or structured engagement processes.
Operators (regulatory affairs & quality)
The professionals managing regulatory submissions, labeling, and communications strategy are here. For health communications professionals, this cross-functional dialogue reveals how patient-facing language is shaped—and where there are opportunities to influence it.
How to get the most out of your four days
Priority Tracks & Programs
The Patient Partners Program is your designated home base—use it to connect with the DIA patient community and find your bearings. Track 4 is highly relevant for health communications and medication education professionals. Track 8 covers the regulatory policy conversations where patient input carries the most weight.
Explore Full Agenda →Formats to Seek Out
- Patient Partners Program sessions — dedicated Connectors programming integrated throughout the week
- Community Roundtable Discussions — smaller, more intimate conversation formats ideal for advocate voices
- Content Hubs — informal gathering spaces organized around specific topics; high-value for cross-sector dialogue
- DIA Celebrate featuring the Inspire Awards (Wednesday, June 17) — the Inspire Awards honor changemakers across the ecosystem, including patient advocates
- Poster sessions — an opportunity to engage with the science in a format that invites direct dialogue
Networking Guidance
Identify the regulatory sessions where patient input is on the agenda and arrive early. Introduce yourself to the session chairs—they are often looking for advocate perspectives for future programming and panel participation. DIA's community is genuinely open to patient and advocate engagement; lean into that.
Patient Partners Program
The Patient Partners Program is DIA's dedicated framework for integrating patient advocates and community voices throughout the Global Annual Meeting. It's not a track or a single session—it's a thread woven through the full week, providing Connectors with a home base, a peer community, and structured pathways into the cross-functional conversations where patient perspectives matter most.
The people building medicine need to hear from you. The Patient Partners Program makes sure they do.