Looking At Microplastics & Inflammation’s Impact on Brain Health - with Jack Auty | EP 185

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Researchers around the world are looking at the role of a mechanism, inflammation, in what makes a good brain go bad, and specifically in diseases like Alzheimer’s. Dr. Jack Auty is a Tasmanian researcher who is focused on this process and is exploring a variety of inroads to inflammation, including, zinc deficiency, as well as the possible role of our ever-increasing exposure to microplastics in amplifying this mechanism.

Dr. Auty has a very expansive social media exposure, bringing this information to the public awareness. He’s a very interesting researcher on a number of levels, including fieldwork looking at animals exposed to microplastics as well as translational research from the lab to humans again focused on inflammation and its damaging role throughout the body, and specifically the brain. 

Currently, Dr. Auty is a lecturer in the Medical Sciences division in the School of Medicine at the University of Tasmania. He, in addition, serves as a collaborator with an organization called the Adrift Lab, and we will learn more about their mission on our podcast as well.

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0:00 Intro

3:16 Studying the Mechanism of Inflammation

13:12 Optimizing Our Microglia

16:46 Polygenic Influences on Alzheimer’s

21:16 Accumulation of Microplastics 

34:35 Avoiding Microplastics

36:53 Zinc’s Impact on Alzheimer’s 

43:20 Removing the Blame From Lifestyle Choices

52:00 The Adrift Lab: Studying Microplastics

57:23 Conclusion

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Jack completed a Bachelor of Science in anatomy with a neuroscience focus at the southernmost university in the world – the University of Otago. During his degree Jack took several botany papers and fell in love with the subject, so Jack continued studies at Otago with a post graduate diploma in botany followed by a Ph.D. which combined botany and neuroscience by investigating the effects of marijuana-like synthetic cannabinoids on inflammation in the ischemic brain, combining botany and neuroscience.

After completing his Ph.D., Jack continued his research at the University of Otago with projects on hydrogen sulphide as an inflammatory signaling molecule and kamikaze neutrophils that release their DNA contents onto bacteria. He then moved to the University of Manchester, where he primarily investigated the role of the inflammasome in Alzheimer's disease and age-related cognitive decline. Jack was fortunate to have inspiring, supportive, and scientifically proficient supervisors and collaborators in Dr. Catherine Lawrence and Prof. David Brough, under whose guidance he was able to make significant contributions to the field of inflammation research.

Currently, Jack is a lecturer in Medical Sciences at the University of Tasmania, where he investigates inflammation. He is focused on establishing the inflammatory properties of environmental microplastics and identifying the cellular mechanisms that mediate microplastic-induced inflammation. Additionally, he aims to understand how peripheral and central inflammatory responses contribute to Alzheimer's disease.

https://jackauty.com

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