Who is ...

Dr. Elisa Motori is a biochemist and research group leader at the University of Cologne, with appointments at the Institute for Biochemistry, the Cologne Cluster of Excellence CECAD, and the Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne (CMMC). Since 2022, she has led an independent research group dedicated to uncovering the fundamental mechanisms by which mitochondria govern neuronal function, resilience, and disease.

Her work has demonstrated that neurons possess a remarkable capacity for metabolic rewiring in response to mitochondrial dysfunction — a plasticity that can determine whether a cell degenerates or survives under disease-relevant stress. Complementary studies from her group have revealed how mitochondria–endoplasmic reticulum interactions in glial cells coordinate repair processes in the brain, pointing to mitochondrial dynamics as a broader orchestrator of brain health across multiple cell types. Together, these findings carry direct implications for conditions such as Parkinson's disease and related neurodegenerative disorders.

More recently, Elisa's research has expanded into cancer neuroscience, exploring how metabolic interactions between neurons and tumor cells influence disease progression. In recognition of this innovative direction, she was awarded a prestigious Exploration Grant from the Boehringer Ingelheim Foundation to investigate how synaptic-like connections between neurons and small cell lung carcinoma (SCLC) cells shape tumor metabolism and growth. Within the CMMC's 2026–2028 funding period, this cancer neuroscience direction has expanded further through a tandem project with Dr. Peter Kreuzaler, now encompassing breast cancer metastasis to the brain and the early neuro-metabolic interactions that may prime tumor cells for neural tropism.

Taken together, Dr. Motori's work has helped advancing our understanding of how cellular energy systems govern resilience and vulnerability in both neurodegeneration and cancer.
 

Link to CMMC Tandem Project 
Link to Junior Research Project
Link to Motori Lab
Link to PubMed