Beckoned by the brain – a profile of Dr. Giulio Taglialatela

“It’s the most fascinating organ we have.”

That’s what Dr. Giulio Taglialatela, vice president for Brain Health, professor in the Department of Neurology, the Del Papa Distinguished Chair in Neurodegenerative Diseases and the director of the Moody Brain Health Institute says when asked why he chose to dedicate his career to studying the brain.

As a young boy growing up in Rome, Italy, Taglialatela would sit and read an encyclopedia soaking up knowledge. But it was the mechanisms of the brain—and how it responds to aging— that ultimately captured his fascination.

“The fact that the brain defines who we are sets it apart in a fascinating way from all other organs in our body,” he said. "I grasped that early on and wanted to know more and more.”

That interest and thirst for knowledge has translated to a three-decades-long career dedicated to studying the brain and age-related ailments that plague it like Alzheimer’s disease; however, had it not been for a construction delay, he may have never found his way to this path.

The Early Years

Armed with a PhD in pharmacology that he earned in 1988 from the University of Rome “La Sapienza,” Dr. Taglialatela was offered a job promptly.

“When I finished my PhD, I was actually hired by the second largest pharmaceutical company in Italy to run their molecular neurobiology lab that would be dedicated to doing research on aging,” said Taglialatela. “My doctoral focus had been on endocrinology of brain aging, so it made sense, but their building wasn’t ready yet, so in the meantime they agreed to support me doing some training abroad with UTMB.”

He spent two years on the island. Long enough for he and his then girlfriend to fall in love with each other – they were married at the country club in Galveston – and with the sense of community and belonging they found in that small corner of Texas.

While they inevitably packed their bags and headed back to Rome when Taglialatela’s training was complete, it was just three years before they returned to the island for good.

“We left everything behind in Italy, but we knew this was the right decision and the start of our adventures in academia,” he said.

Making strides through science

That decision made more than 30 years ago set the wheels of Taglialatela’s career in motion.

His intense interest in and appreciation for the brain continued to guide his efforts and fuel his research endeavors, which have been continually funded by the National Institutes of Health for more than 27 years.

His scientific investigations have focused on the molecular and cellular neurobiology of Alzheimer’s Disease and related disorders, particularly studying and exploring the mechanisms that enable certain individuals to remain cognitively intact with no clinical signs of the disease, despite the presence of neuropathologies like amyloid plaques and tau neurofibrillary tangles that are typically indicative of an individual with late-stage Alzheimer’s Disease.

“I started studying the brains of individuals who, based on the physical consistency of their brains alone seemed to be people who would have had to battle Alzheimer’s Disease while alive,” he said. “However, for whatever reason, these individuals showed no outward signs or symptoms of the disease. No dementia or anything. So, I began asking ‘what makes them resilient and resistant to this condition?'"

For nearly two decades, he and his lab have continued to ask that question and explore the possibilities that come with it.

“If we can identify the mechanism responsible for keeping these individuals cognitively healthy, then the hope is to induce the same mechanism in anyone,” he said.

A leader in his field

While all of this research was taking place, Taglialatela was also given the opportunity to stretch his leadership skills—first in 2014 as the director of the UTMB Mitchell Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, and then again in 2022 when he added director of the Moody Brain Health Institute to his resume.

Two separate entities with unique, but similar goals—the center aspires to promote human health by researching the molecular and cellular mechanisms that cause neurodegenerative disorders, while the institute aims to bring together individuals from varying specialties and disciplines to collaborate and ultimately improve neurological and cognitive health.

“The importance of the MBHI is that it’s not just another silo,” Taglialatela said. “Instead, it’s a cradle for all members of the entire neurosciences community, from neurology and neurorehabilitation, to neurosurgery, addiction, psychiatry and more, to come together and more thoroughly collaborate and investigate to better solve problems neurological and cognitive health problems and challenges.”

The institute reflects a Team Science approach which supports the idea that the answers to global problems can more readily be discovered when scientists and researchers from various disciplines, specialties and countries collaborate to study and solve the issues.

A natural leader with an infectious passion and enthusiasm for science—both as a whole and his specific corner of it—Taglialatela has a genuine desire to work with, learn from and share knowledge with those around him. In fact, it’s what attracted him back to UTMB all those years ago.

The lure of academia

“To me, academia is my dream goal and one goal in my life I managed to realize,” he said. “And it’s not for the prestige or the money, it’s for the chance to help guide students, postdocs and other trainees as they make their way into this world of science.”

As someone who takes the opportunity to mentor others very seriously, Taglialatela is actually still a mentee himself, and uses wisdom from his long-time mentor to guide him to this day.

“Just last week I saw my mentor, now professor emeritus Dr. Jose Regino Perez Polo who was the one initially responsible for attracting me to UTMB and guiding me through my first academic steps,” he said fondly reflecting on the discussion they had.

His gaze drifts toward the bookcase behind him and he reaches for one of the awards on its shelves.

“This is the highest honor you can receive as a graduate faculty member,” he said while holding in his hands a piece of hardware that has the words “Graduate Student Organization Distinguished Teaching Award” on it.

He turns again and grabs a similar trophy, showing that he earned the honor not just once but twice—once in 2013 and again in 2023, making him one of only two faculty members to receive this award twice.

“Your job as a mentor is to plant the right seed and let it grow,” he says. “Be a guide.”

As he helps others find their way in the world of science, Taglialatela is still very much on his own evolving journey.

While discussing the twists and turns, highs and lows that have come his way, Taglialatela smiles. He’s proud of the strides he’s helped make in the fight against Alzheimer’s Disease, and he’s grateful for the opportunities he’s had. But he is quick to tell you there’s still much work to do.

“We have scratched the surface at best,” he said. “There’s so much mystery in the brain. It goes beyond scientific curiosity. It’s a challenge and this challenge holds the answer for taking care of and healing the most devastating diseases affecting people around the globe.”