Glia and gut neuroinflammation
Enteric glial cells sense inflammation and misfolded proteins in the gut wall. We study how they respond to rotenone, LPS and α-synuclein, and whether they help spread or contain pathology.
Decoding Neural Systems
How does Parkinson’s begin in the gut?
We build human gut–brain models on a chip to follow how α-synuclein travels from the intestine to neurons, and what enteric glia do along the way. The aim is to find early biomarkers and drug targets, years before motor symptoms appear.
Research
Parkinson’s disease may start in the enteric nervous system long before the brain is affected. We combine organ-on-chip biology, glial cell biology and computational pharmacology to study that early window.
Gut–brain axis on a chip
We build human microfluidic models that connect the gut and the nervous system, so we can follow how α-synuclein and inflammatory signals move between them under controlled conditions.
Repurposing drugs, in vitro and in silico
We test whether approved drugs can calm glial inflammation, and use network pharmacology, molecular docking and explainable machine learning to pick targets and read biomarker patterns.
People
Dr. Dilara Nemutlu Samur
Principal Investigator · Associate Professor of Medical Pharmacology
Dilara Nemutlu Samur is an Associate Professor of Medical Pharmacology at Alanya Alaaddin Keykubat University, Türkiye. She trained as a pharmacist and received her PhD in Medical Pharmacology. She investigates how enteric glial cells contribute to the earliest, prodromal stage of body-first Parkinson’s disease, focusing on the neuroimmune signalling and autophagy-lysosomal pathways through which these cells handle alpha-synuclein, in cellular, rodent and microfluidic gut–brain axis models. She has been a visiting researcher at the University of Manchester and the University of Oxford. A recipient of the 2025 L’Oréal–UNESCO For Women in Science Türkiye award, she is developing microfluidic and organ-on-chip approaches to model gut–brain communication. Her research integrates established experimental models with human-relevant cellular platforms and computational methods to investigate disease mechanisms, non-motor manifestations, and potential therapeutic targets.
Recognition
- 2026MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowship Seal of Excellence, European Commission
- 2025L’Oréal–UNESCO For Women in Science, Türkiye
- 2025Prof. Dr. R. Kazım Türker Young Pharmacologist Award, Turkish Pharmacological Society
Research stays
- 2025–26Visiting researcher, University of Oxford
- 2022EMBO Scientific Exchange Grant, University of Manchester
- 2013Erasmus internship, University of Valencia
Education
- 2020PhD in Medical Pharmacology, Akdeniz University
- 2016MSc in Pharmacology, Anadolu University
- 2014BSc in Pharmacy, Anadolu University (Erasmus term at the University of Helsinki)
Memberships
- 2025British Pharmacological Society
- 2022Federation of European Neuroscience Societies (FENS)
- 2022Neuroscience Society of Turkey (TÜBAS)
- 2022Turkish Pharmacological Society
Student researchers
Aydın Utku ÇetinerMSc student, Molecular Medicine
This could be youOpen positions
Alumni
- 2025Aybüke Boyacı, MSc Molecular Medicine. Oridonin in an LPS model of Parkinson’s disease.
- 2024Simge Yıldırım, MSc Pharmacology, Anadolu University. Protocatechuic acid in LPS-induced inflammation.
Funding and collaborators
Our work is supported by national and international funders and carried out with collaborators in Türkiye and abroad.
2025–
L’Oréal–UNESCO For Women in Science
Modelling the gut–brain axis in early Parkinson’s disease: α-synuclein transport on a microfluidic chip and machine-learning analysis of glial responses.
2026
MSCA Seal of Excellence
Gut–brain axis-on-a-chip to identify glia-conditioned structural signatures of α-synuclein in early Parkinson’s disease. Proposed with the University of Twente.
2024–
TÜSEB
Health Institutes of Türkiye. Oridonin, TLR4 signalling and autophagy in Parkinson’s disease from a gut–brain axis perspective.
2019–23
TÜBİTAK 1002
Two projects on vortioxetine and TLR2/S100B signalling in the brain and enteric nervous system of rotenone-treated rats.
2021–
University research funds (BAP)
Institutional projects on enteric glia, neuroinflammation and Parkinson’s disease models.
Collaborator
University of Oxford
Microfluidic Neurological Models Lab, Radcliffe Department of Medicine.
News
Editorial work, talks and interviews.
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2026
Guest editor, JoVE topical collection
“Body–Brain Interactions in Parkinson’s Disease: Experimental Models and Emerging Technologies.” Submissions on experimental models and new technologies are welcome.
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Nov 2025
Interview: “Parkinson Hastalığında Bilimin İzinde”
A conversation with BinYaprak about gut-first Parkinson’s research (in Turkish). Read the interview
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Oct 2025
Video interview on Parkinson’s research
Dilara talks about the gut–brain axis and early Parkinson’s disease (in Turkish). Watch on YouTube
Publications
Selected papers. The full list is on ORCID and Google Scholar.
- 2026Nemutlu Samur D, Boyacı A, Maytalman E. Oridonin attenuates TLR4-driven inflammation and autophagy in LPS-stimulated enteric glial cells: an in vitro and in silico analysis. Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience 20:1748505. doi
- 2026Nemutlu Samur D. Repositioning propranolol for neuroimmune modulation: a molecular perspective on glial inflammation and autophagy via integrated in vitro and computational approaches. Cell Biochemistry and Function 44(2). doi
- 2026Türkegün Şengül M, Nemutlu Samur D. Glial biomarkers improve classification of cognitive impairment: an explainable artificial intelligence study using CSF biomarkers. Frontiers in Neurology.
- 2025Nemutlu Samur D, Yıldırım S, Maytalman E, Kalay M, Tanrıöver G, Özbey G. Vortioxetine attenuates rotenone-induced enteric neuroinflammation via modulation of the TLR2/S100B/RAGE signaling pathway in a rat model of Parkinson’s disease. Neuropharmacology 271:110385. doi
- 2025Nemutlu Samur D. Investigation of the effects of losartan and captopril on rotenone-induced inflammation via TLR4/NLRP3 pathway: an integrative in vitro and in silico study. European Journal of Pharmacology 1003:177932. doi
- 2025Nemutlu Samur D. Drug repurposing targeting mitochondrial dysfunction in Parkinson’s disease: an FBXO7-focused approach through network analysis and in silico molecular docking. Uludağ Üniversitesi Tıp Fakültesi Dergisi 51(2):295–303.
- 2022Nemutlu Samur D, Akçay G, Yıldırım S, et al. Vortioxetine ameliorates motor and cognitive impairments in the rotenone-induced Parkinson’s disease via targeting TLR-2 mediated neuroinflammation. Neuropharmacology 208:108977. doi
- 2020Özbey G, Nemutlu Samur D, Parlak H, et al. Metformin protects rotenone-induced dopaminergic neurodegeneration by reducing lipid peroxidation. Pharmacological Reports 72(5):1397–1406. doi
Join us
We are looking for curious people who like both the bench and the keyboard. Training in cell culture, microfluidics and computational methods is part of the job.
- MSc and PhD students in pharmacology and neuroscience
- Undergraduate interns in medicine, pharmacy and biology
- Postdocs and visiting researchers with their own fellowships
Send a short CV and a paragraph on what you would like to work on.
Contact
Questions about our research, collaborations and open positions are welcome.
dilaranemutlu [at] gmail.com