Neuroscientist discovers key to fighting Alzheimer's!

Neuroscientist discovers key to fighting Alzheimer's!

On March 18, 2025, Tomohisa Toda, a distinguished neuroscientist, was awarded the Joseph Altman Award. This honor is awarded for outstanding research achievements in the field of neurogenesis. Toda, who was born in Japan and lives in the USA and Germany, made a name for himself as a professor of neural epigenetics at the Friedrich Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg (FAU) and at the Max Planck Center for Physics and Medicine. He has led his research group since 2022 and is known for his profound insights into the role of ribonucleic acid (RNA) in brain function and brain aging processes.

Toda received his doctorate from the University of Tokyo in 2011 and then worked as a postdoctoral fellow at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in San Diego. His career took crucial turning points when he received the ERC Starting Grant in 2019 and founded a research group at the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) in Dresden. In 2023, he was awarded an ERC Consolidator Grant of two million euros for his project NEUTIME, which addresses the mechanisms that influence the robustness of neurons. The aim is to be able to prevent or treat neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's.

A life for research

Tomohisa Toda appreciates the opportunity to conduct fundamental research in Germany. As part of the High-Tech Agenda Bavaria, he moved with his family to Erlangen in 2022, where he now lives in a large apartment in the city center. He is the father of two sons and plans to present his research results at FAU's Long Night of Sciences. An important focus of his work is the study that certain RNA molecules in nerve cells persist throughout life without the need for renewal.

Alzheimer's disease, which Toda is trying to prevent in his research, is extremely complex. While the exact triggers are still unclear, recent developments show that both genetic and epigenetic processes play a crucial role. Research, including by a team led by Jonathan Mill at the University of Exeter, has uncovered important differences in epigenetic regulation between neurons from Alzheimer's patients and healthy individuals.

Epigenetic research and Alzheimer's disease

A central focus of these studies is the acetylation of histones, chemical marks that influence the genome. In particular, changes in the genes that regulate tau and beta-amyloid are being examined. These differences highlight possible causes for the neuronal changes in Alzheimer's, particularly in the entorhinal cortex, an area of ​​the brain that is crucial for memory and spatial navigation.

Although animal studies show promising results, it remains unclear to what extent these findings can be transferred to humans. Current research is focused on drugs that could alleviate dementia-related symptoms without eliminating the underlying cause of the disease. Tomohisa Toda's findings in the areas of neural epigenetics and the robustness of neurons could play a key role.