Initially presented in Milan in Autumn 2022, “Human Brains: Preserving the Brain – Forum on Neurodegenerative Diseases” travels to Shanghai.
This second chapter is presented by Prada with the support of Fondazione Prada from 31 March to 21 May 2023 at Prada Rong Zhai, a 1918 historic residence in Shanghai restored by Prada and reopened in October 2017.

“Preserving the Brain” comprises an exhibition and a conference focusing on neurodegenerative diseases—such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, and Multiple Sclerosis—widely spread and as yet incurable.

Head to Prada’s website for more information

Realized in collaboration with thirteen of the most relevant international neuroscience institutes and universities and designed by the New York-based studio 2×4, the exhibition consists of fourteen sections conceived by the research centers. Each section examines a specific research process on neurodegenerative diseases employing video presentations, scientific documents, and visual materials.

The exhibition path develops from pathophysiological mechanisms studied at a microscopic scale to a single person’s treatment. It gives shape to the various steps of the journey of a drug, starting with the process of ‘discovery’ of therapeutic targets through basic research, proceeding to the process of initial validation in vitro and in vivo models, which precede the clinical phase, through to the various stages of clinical trials, ending with the arrival of the drug in the pharmacy. Although there is no effective cure for neurodegenerative diseases to this day, technological advancements and growing international networks have produced significant progress in terms of prevention and toward a solution to these crucial health problems.

As a complex disease, neurodegeneration usually results from a combination of many genetic and environmental factors, which varies from subject to subject. The consequence is that, differently from medical procedure standards applied in the past, the current perspective aims to treat the person with a disease, not the disease in a person. This approach highlights the importance of personalized medicine, one of the project’s key messages, mirroring the general concept of “Human Brains,” which considers each human brain with its own individuality and irreducible singularity.

The scientific meeting was held on 20 April 2023 at Prada Rong Zhai.

Chaired by neurologists Giancarlo Comi and Fu-Dong Shi, this second forum is the result of a partnership with Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin, China. By opening a perspective on some global, ongoing research activities, on critical dialogue among scientists and young researchers, “Preserving the Brain” presents insights into studies, clinical processes, and methodologies, shading light on the importance of collaboration in the scientific field.

It is addressed to the international scientific community and will involve scientists and researchers from China and abroad.

German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) within the Helmholtz Association, Bonn, Germany; Harvard Medical School, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Ann Romney Center for Neurologic Diseases, Boston, United States; Hôpital de la Pitié-Salpêtrière, Sorbonne University AP-HP, Neurology Department and Paris Brain Institute, Paris, France; Juntendo University Hospital, Neurology Department, Tokyo, Japan; Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden; Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology, Munich, Germany; Montreal Neurological Institute-Hospital, McGill University, Montreal, Canada; Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Neurology Department, Tianjin, China; UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, United States; UniSR – Università Vita-Salute San Raffaele, Milan, Italy; University College London, London, United Kingdom; Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel; Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, United States.