In this special Beyond Lab Walls video podcast episode—part of the Salk Institute's 2026 Year of Brain Health—Salk President Gerald Joyce, MD, PhD, speaks with Christian Metallo, PhD, a leading expert in how nutrients power cells and tissues, and how subtle shifts in metabolism can shape long-term wellbeing. Together, they explore why the brain's energy demands make it especially sensitive to metabolic changes across the lifespan.

What does it actually mean, biologically, when we say "exercise is good for your brain"? In this special Beyond Lab Walls video podcast episode—part of Salk's 2026 Year of Brain Health—Salk President Gerald Joyce sits down with renowned neuroscientist Rusty Gage to explore how movement shapes cognitive brain health across a lifetime. Together, they discuss: • What changes in the brain with exercise, and why it matters over time • Adult neurogenesis: how Gage's research helped overturn the belief that the adult brain can't generate new neurons • What the evidence suggests about exercise and the survival and integration of new neurons • The key biological signals that carry benefits from an active body to the brain • How exercise intersects with other pillars of brain health, including immune function, metabolism, and sleep • The biggest unanswered questions—and what it will take to solve them This conversation is a window into how foundational science turns familiar advice into real, evidence-based understanding.

At Salk, we encourage our scientists to ask, what if? And when they do, our Innovation and Collaboration Grants program provides the seed funding they need to pursue their high-risk, high-reward questions. Hear how our Innovation and Collaboration Grant program got started, what discoveries it has enabled, and the what if questions Salk scientists Dannielle Engle and Axel Nimmerjahn are asking.