What if neurodegeneration doesn’t start in the brain, but in the body? | Łukasiewicz – PORT

Описание: What if neurodegeneration doesn’t start in the brain, but in the body?

Recorded on 24 October 2025 at the ISN-PORT Neuroscience School, hosted by Łukasiewicz – PORT in Wrocław, Poland, this panel brings together clinicians and basic scientists to challenge neuron-centric thinking and rethink how metabolism, immunity, and peripheral physiology shape brain health.

Moderated by Dr. Ismail Gbadamosi, the discussion features Professor Paul Schulz, Dr. Ali Jawaid, and Dr. Michał Ślęzak. Together, they explore how systemic metabolic states influence brain function across neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric disorders. The conversation opens with the “paradoxical” role of metabolism in neurodegeneration and growing evidence that brain–body interactions matter more than previously assumed.

Professor Schulz shares clinical and translational insights into APOE4 and Alzheimer’s disease risk, highlighting unexpected roles for lipid metabolism and brain lipid storage, as well as early efforts to track cerebrospinal fluid lipid profiles before and after treatment.
Dr. Jawaid discusses data-driven, initially controversial links between metabolic conditions such as diabetes, dyslipidemia, and disease patterns in ALS, including cohort-level associations between body weight and disease progression, emphasizing these as mechanistic signals rather than lifestyle advice.
Dr. Ślęzak extends the discussion to neuropsychiatric disease, arguing that progress will require moving beyond neuron-centric models toward greater focus on glial cells and their immune and metabolic functions. A recurring theme across the panel is the need for neuroscience to “think outside the brain” and integrate peripheral physiology with CNS biology.

The second half of the session turns into career development: curiosity-driven science, finding the right mentorship fit, avoiding toxic environments, chasing questions rather than techniques, and building meaningful clinician–scientist collaborations.
The panel closes with a candid discussion on AI in research, where it can accelerate analysis and troubleshooting, where ethical boundaries may lie, and how to avoid letting AI replace natural intelligence or suppress creativity. Final reflections touch on work–life balance, prioritization, and sustaining curiosity and creative outlets alongside rigorous science.


Topics covered: metabolism & neurodegeneration, APOE4 & lipids, ALS progression & weight, glia-centric hypotheses, mentorship and scientific identity, AI boundaries in biomedical research, work–life balance in academia.

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