PORT for Health: Neuroscience 2025

Once again, PORT for Health: Neuroscience 2025 brought together leading global experts in neuroscience, clinicians, and entrepreneurs at Łukasiewicz – PORT. This year’s edition focused on innovative approaches to understanding brain disorders – including neuroimmune interactions and the use of advanced computational tools to study behavior and neurodegeneration.

The conference was held under the auspices of the P4Health and SAME-NeuroID projects, both aimed at advancing personalized medicine and integrating scientific research with patient care.

Participants shared insights on recent breakthroughs in neuroscience, cutting-edge diagnostic tools, and their impressions of the event.

Sharing Experience and Scientific Results

– The nature of scientific work is very collaborative and it’s also very creative. So you’re always going to need some kind of a person to balance ideas against – said Dr. Michał Malewicz, Director of the Life Sciences and Biotechnology Center at Łukasiewicz – PORT, discussing the importance of exchanging scientific experiences and establishing new connections within the scientific community. One of the keynote speakers, Dr. Simona Lodato from the Humanitas Research Center in Italy, emphasized: –The scientific results really stand at the core of our job. It’s important to communicate and to provide feedback about the experiments we’re doing in the lab and the hypotheses we’re testing to acknowledge the work and also to update the community on the outcomes.

– The goal of the organizers was to create a space where three sectors – science, clinical practice, and industry – could come together to discuss how to improve diagnosis, therapy, and the management of brain diseases – summarized Dr. Michał Ślęzak, Head of the Biology of Astrocytes Group at Łukasiewicz – PORT.

The Challenges Faced by Neuroscientists

The fundamental mechanisms behind diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and Huntington’s remain largely unknown – and that is a serious societal challenge. Early diagnosis is crucial, as treatments tend to be most effective in the initial stages. However, as keynote speaker Prof. Paul Schulz from the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston pointed out: – There’s a big lack of awareness in the community about what symptoms should make me go to see a doctor.

Chronic pain often accompanies neurological diseases, and understanding its mechanisms and developing effective therapies remain significant scientific goals. The gap between basic research and its clinical translation also presents an obstacle. – Only through collaboration networks can we connect the dispersed knowledge and expertise of various specialists – including scientists, doctors, and industry representatives – says Dr. Michał Ślęzak.

Dr. Simona Lodato, on the other hand, identifies a huge challenge in modern neuroscience in the effective integration of all available technologies: – We have made enormous progress in areas such as artificial intelligence and ‘omics’ research, but we now need a moment of reflection to use them wisely.

Cutting-Edge Trends in Neuroscience

A recurring theme at the conference was Alzheimer’s disease. Dr. Jozef Hritz from the Central European Institute of Technology in the Czech Republic highlighted the importance of early diagnostics: – We know that these pathological changes start about 10 years before actual symptoms appear.

Special guest Prof. Paul Schulz, who has been researching treatments for Alzheimer’s for years, shared his optimism: – Even though I didn’t discover the cure for Alzheimer’s, I feel like I’ve been a part of the process of all of us getting further ahead. To have three drugs in the last four years actually turn out positive — the impact is really obvious in the clinic.

Patients and doctors also have high hopes for gene therapy. Some neurological diseases have a genetic basis. In his presentation, Prof. Luis Pereira de Almeida from the University of Coimbra, GeneT – Center of Excellence in Gene Therapy in Portugal, discussed the treatment of these diseases through methods such as gene editing and gene silencing.

Prof. Aleksandra Badura from Erasmus University MC in the Netherlands, who works on understanding the foundations of autism, discussed the analysis of sex differences in autism mechanisms, which could accelerate diagnosis and ensure equal access to care.

The speakers also presented new tools used in autism diagnostics. Dr. Kayleigh Gultig from Erasmus University MC & Blink Lab in the Netherlands showcased a smartphone-based neurobehavioral testing app that enables, for example, the assessment of facial responses to auditory stimuli and the analysis of behavior typical for the autism spectrum. Katsiaryna Stankevich, CEO of the startup Cognity, spoke about how artificial intelligence can help individuals on the autism spectrum practice social scenarios, voice intonation, and boost their self-confidence.

– We are living in incredibly exciting times for neuroscience. Just 15 years ago, such brain diagnostics would have been unimaginable – summarized Prof. Lodato.

PORT for Health — A Space for Scientific Dialogue

– Usually, laboratories and clinicians speak different languages. Conferences like this help bring those two worlds closer together – said Prof. Paul Schulz, summing up his visit to Wrocław. During the discussions, the first ideas for future collaboration emerged: – We are already planning joint research with scientists from PORT in the field of structural biology and neurodegeneration – said Dr. Jozef Hritz.

– Many different perspectives: business, clinical, academic. I really value the opportunity for such conversations and hope for more conferences like this – said Prof. Aleksandra Badura, summarizing the three-day event.

The conference organizers also observed with satisfaction the active participation in discussions and the endless stream of questions from the audience to the speakers: – The response to the event was phenomenal – participants were engaged and full of enthusiasm – recalled Dr. Ali Jawaid, Head of the Translational Neuropsychiatry Research Group at Łukasiewicz – PORT.

The conference was held under the honorary patronage of the Mayor of Wrocław and the Marshal of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship, supported by funding from NAWA and the European Union as part of the P4Health and SAME-NeuroID projects.