Speakers
Session
What the latest neuroscience actually says about protecting your brain — told without hype.
Purpose: Almost every family in the room has a personal stake in this question — this session brings authoritative neuroscience to bear on it, without overselling hope or underselling the evidence.
Discussion: Bryce will walk through what current science says about brain ageing, dementia risk and cognitive resilience, which popular interventions are evidence-based versus speculative, and where research investment from Australian families could meaningfully shift the trajectory.
Outcomes: A current and trustworthy picture of what protects long-term cognitive health, language for conversations with parents, partners or peers facing cognitive decline, and a clearer view of where catalytic philanthropy could matter most. and a sharper view of where catalytic philanthropy matters most.
Professor Bryce Vissel is the Head of Neuroscience and Regenerative Medicine Research at St Vincent's Hospital and a Professor of Neuroscience at UNSW Sydney. Guided by the team mantra, "Think Different, Do Different," his research is deeply committed to improving the lives of individuals affected by Alzheimer's dementia, Parkinson's disease, and related conditions such as Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP) and Multiple System Atrophy (MSA). Driven by rigorous, data-centric methodologies, his work bridges cell and molecular biology through to complex systems approaches to lay the underpinning research necessary for new, effective therapeutics.
Professor Vissel has actively challenged mainstream paradigms regarding the causes of neurodegeneration. Through decades of effort and seminal studies on synaptic plasticity, his laboratory has published extensively in top-tier journals, generating compelling data that points toward revolutionary new concepts for curing these diseases. His multidisciplinary approach utilizes advanced behavioral studies, sophisticated disease models, molecular biochemistry, and advanced microscopy to investigate the neural basis of learning, memory dysfunction, and movement mechanisms. Specifically, his pioneering work explores the critical roles of neuro-inflammation, the immune system and glial cells, synaptic transmission, and the brain's immense—and previously underestimated—potential for stem cell-driven regeneration and repair. Building on these discoveries, his team is currently embarking on highly novel clinical studies and launching a dedicated drug discovery program.
Professor Vissel’s esteemed career spans the globe's premier research institutions. After earning his PhD in medical genetics from the University of Melbourne in 1991, he joined the Garvan Institute’s Neuroscience Division. He was subsequently awarded a prestigious NHMRC CJ Martin Fellowship, allowing him to pursue research at the world-renowned Salk Institute in San Diego, USA, alongside Professor Stephen Heinemann. Over his 10 years at Salk, he collaborated with Nobel Prize winners, authored seminal studies on molecular mechanisms regulating synaptic function, and was honored with the Human Frontiers Award, a Fulbright Award, and a Lieberman Award. He returned to Australia in 2002 as Head of the Neurodegenerative Diseases Laboratory at the Garvan Institute, and later served as the Director of the Centre for Neuroscience & Regenerative Medicine (CNRM) at the University of Technology Sydney.
An active leader in the broader scientific and medical community, Professor Vissel contributes his expertise to numerous high-level board and advisory positions. He served as Chair of the Advisory Board for Cellmid Ltd from 2015 until recently, and was a member of the Baxter Pharmaceuticals Advisory Board in the USA (2010–2011). Furthermore, he is a dedicated advocate for patient organizations, serving on the Board of Parkinson’s NSW and as a scientific advisor to both Alzheimer’s Australia and SpinalCure Australia.