Practical
Tuesday, 21 October, 2025
- 17:00 until 19:00
VUB Main Campus Etterbeek
Pleinlaan 2
1050 Elsene
Venue: U-Residence (green room)
Pleinlaan 2
1050 Elsene
Venue: U-Residence (green room)
Free of charge
Registration until
The Vrije Universiteit Brussel invites you to the ERC inaugural lecture 'Brains of the future' by Kiavash Movahedi. His inaugural lecture will introduce you to ReplaceMi, a project taking a first step in revolutionizing how brain diseases are treated.
Replacing the brain’s guardians: a new path to treating disease
What are Microglia?
Microglia are special immune cells in the brain that keep the brain healthy, help fight infections, and control inflammation. When microglia become dysfunctional, it can contribute to many brain diseases, from Alzheimer’s to other neurological disorders. This makes them an important target for new treatments.
Why would you replace them?
Microglia are unique because they are formed before birth and stay with us for life, constantly renewing themselves without being replaced from the blood or bone marrow. This unusual feature creates both a challenge and an opportunity: if we could find a way to replace unhealthy microglia with healthy ones—or even improved versions—we might be able to treat brain diseases in completely new ways.
How can we replace microglia?
Efficiently replacing microglia in the diseased brain remains very challenging. Bone marrow cells, for example, cannot naturally take on the same identity as microglia. Our project, called ReplaceMi, aims to change this. We are developing strategies to fully and selectively replace faulty microglia with transplanted cells that can settle into the brain and function as true microglia. To do this, we combine cutting-edge tools like stem cell technology, single-cell analysis, and CRISPR screening. Beyond simply replacing microglia, we also want to explore whether they can be engineered to act as tiny protein factories inside the brain, offering new ways to fight neurodegenerative diseases. With ReplaceMi, we hope to lay the groundwork for a breakthrough therapy: one that could revolutionize how brain diseases are treated by focusing on the cells at the heart of brain health.
Prof. dr. ir. Movahedi invites you for his lecture to learn more about the brain and how he hopes to lay the groundwork for a breakthrough therapy: one that could revolutionize how brain diseases are treated by focusing on the cells at the heart of brain health.
About Kiavash Movahedi
Prof. dr. ir. Kiavash Movahedi is a tenure-track professor at the University of Brussels in Belgium. His group is focused on brain immunology and neuro-immune interactions, with a deep interest in brain macrophages. More specifically, the Movahedi lab studies the heterogeneity and functions of microglia and non-parenchymal brain macrophages and seeks to understand their role in homeostasis and disease. To do so, the lab continuously invests in cutting-edge technologies, including single-cell multi-omic analysis, genome engineering and stem cell technology. The goal is to develop new therapies for neurodegenerative disease and brain cancer, by modulating or enhancing macrophages and neuroinflammatory responses.
The world needs you
This initiative is part of VUB's public programme, a programme for everyone who believes that scientific knowledge sharing, critical thinking and dialogue are an important first step to create impact in the world.
As an Urban Engaged University, VUB aims to be a driver of change in the world. With our academic edcuational programmes and innovative research, we contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations and to making a difference locally and globally.