The researcher from VIMM and the University of Padua is among the six winners of the 2025 edition of the call launched by Airalzh Onlus for the development of research projects aimed at identifying the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease and its prevention.

Lorenzo Pini’s research project – conducted by a researcher at the Department of Neuroscience of the University of Padua and at the Veneto Institute of Molecular Medicine (VIMM) – was selected among those chosen directly by Airalzh’s Scientific and Technical Committee, composed of internationally renowned experts.
With his research project, Lorenzo Pini aims to understand how prolonged exposure to pollutants, such as PFAS, may damage both the structure of brain connections and the normal exchange of information, making the brain system less efficient and more vulnerable over time, and increasing the risk of developing neurodegenerative diseases throughout life.
Using data from healthy individuals living in highly polluted areas, along with findings from preclinical studies, the project aims to clarify how chronic exposure to pollution may affect brain health even before symptoms appear.