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Science has always been a passion for Dr Leon Smyth and from a young age he always knew he wanted to pursue a career in science. While Leon was an Otago student, he completed two summer studentships in Professor Martin Kennedy’s lab at the University of Otago, Christchurch. Leon credits these studentships for sparking his interest in the brain and providing direction to his future research. After deciding he wanted to study Alzheimer’s disease Leon moved to the University of Auckland to complete his Bachelor of Science (Honours), and his PhD in Pharmacology, under the supervision of Professor Mike Dragunow. Upon completion of his PhD, Leon was awarded a Neurological Foundation Phillip Wrightson Postdoctoral Fellowship for his research in Mark Hampton’s lab at the University of Otago, Christchurch. Dr Leon Smythe Although I always knew I wanted a career in research, if you had asked me as an undergraduate student what I wanted to research, I would have had no idea. I used to think the brain was just a mishmash of neurons but now most of my research is on pericytes, a cell I had never heard of when I decided I wanted to pursue neuroscience research. Pericytes are cells that wrap around the cells that line the small blood vessels in the body. Pericytes maintain the blood brain barrier, clear out debris, and regulate the immune response. The blood brain barrier is particularly important for brain health because it acts as a filter to keep harmful things out of the brain. It was during my time working with Professor Mike Dragunow that I became interested in pericytes. His team had just developed a new method for growing pericytes from human brain tissue and they were really interested to see if these cells played a role in the development of Alzheimer’s disease. I am most interested in the pericytes and the blood vessels in the brain because there are 600 kilometres of blood vessels in the human brain. This provides a huge surface area for interaction between the brain and the rest of the body. All blood vessels are lined by endothelial cells, and the pericytes wrap around these cells. Both endothelial cells and pericytes are affected by the normal aging process and Alzheimer’s disease, and contribute to the neuroinflammation that drives Alzheimer’s disease. My current work examines the interaction between blood vessels and our most abundant white blood cell, the neutrophil. We have found that neutrophil proteins accumulate around plaques in Alzheimer’s disease, and that blood vessels encourage them to release this protein. Furthermore, oxidative stress resulting from these neutrophils can cause pericytes to die. The abnormal cell death causes further inflammation. We think that neutrophils might therefore be an important, and underappreciated, contributor to Alzheimer’s disease through their effects on blood vessels. The ultimate goal for any researcher is, of course, to make a discovery that directly impacts quality of life. During the progression of Alzheimer's disease, plaques form in the brain. Most current drugs that are being trialled target the protein that forms these plaques, but these trials have failed. I hope that targeting some of the other processes that cause neuroinflammation might be more successful. If people could begin treatment earlier, they would see a greater reduction in symptoms, and extend the time they can live a normal life. I am extremely grateful to the Neurological Foundation and all of the supporters who provide much needed funding to researchers. Without the generosity of the Neurological Foundation and its supporters, many scientists like myself would simply be unable to pursue important research. I feel very privileged that the Neurological Foundation have chosen to fund my research. Headlines 17 Dr Leon Smythe will be speaking in Christchurch in March to celebrate Brain Awareness Month! If you’d like to join us, please RSVP for a ticket today. Date: 4 March 2021 1 Time: 6.30 pm Location: Auditorium, Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū, Montreal Street, Christchurch Central City Register for a ticket using one of the options below. Phone: 0508 BRAINS (0508 272 467) Email: RSVP@neurological.org.nz Online: events.humanitix.com/BAM- Christchurch