Michael Thomas Heneka, Prof. MD, PhD, is a board-certified neurologist and clinician-scientist with a long-standing interest in immunology and neuroscience, and over 25 years of experience in studying neurodegenerative diseases at experimental, preclinical, and clinical levels.

Prof. Heneka has led fundamental and translational research on Alzheimer’s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, septic encephalopathy, multiple sclerosis, and Parkinson’s disease.

In clinical neurology, Prof. Heneka holds special expertise in neurodegenerative and autoimmune CNS disorders.

Among other important contributions, Prof. Heneka demonstrated that inhibition of NLRP3-mediated immune activation protects APP/PS1 mice from the development of amyloid pathology, spine loss, and decline of learning and memory.

Furthermore, he found that ASC specks released by microglia bind rapidly to amyloid-β and increase the formation of amyloid-β oligomers and aggregates, acting as an inflammation-driven cross-seed for amyloid-β pathology.