“One brain, one mind, one health, one planet”: a Swiss vision for integrated brain health

In January 2025, The Lancet Regional Health – Europe published a powerful opinion piece co-authored by several Swiss researchers, including Indrit Bègue, Antoine Flahault, and Claudio L.A. Bassetti[1]. Their call to action? To adopt a systemic approach to brain health—a vision also carried by the Campus Biotech, where several of the authors conduct their research.

 

Toward a holistic approach to brain health
The article, entitled “One brain, one mind, one health, one planet,” introduces a new way of conceptualizing brain health at the intersection of One Health and Planetary Health. The authors notably highlight:

• The interdependence of the brain and the mind, which are too often addressed in disciplinary silos;
• The growing global burden of brain disorders;
• The impact of environmental factors (pollution, climate change, social isolation, etc.) on cognitive and emotional functions;
• The need for innovative indicators combining biomonitoring, environmental data, and neurotechnologies;
• The importance of developing non-invasive stimulation methods for treatment-resistant conditions.

The Swiss Brain Health Plan, cited as an example, illustrates the ambition to unite disciplines in the development of inclusive and sustainable public health policies.

It also fully embodies the mission of Campus Biotech: to foster scientific synergies and promote integrated approaches to brain health. By highlighting the work of affiliated researchers, this publication reflects Campus Biotech’s commitment to supporting interdisciplinary science, rooted in Switzerland with global impact. The unique ecosystem offered by Campus Biotech—a place where monitoring, measurement, experimentation, and interdisciplinary dialogue can all take place—is a major asset in advancing brain health research. Such an environment is made possible only within structures like Campus Biotech.

Read the article on The Lancet Regional Health – Europe

 

Complementary research for a holistic vision
Each of the article’s authors is conducting research aligned with this integrative vision.

Claudio L.A. Bassetti, Professor of Neurology and Dean of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Bern. As Vice-President of the European Brain Council (EBC) and Past-President of the European Academy of Neurology (EAN), he coordinated and drove the creation of the European Brain Health Plan and the Swiss Brain Health Plan in 2022.

Indrit Bègue, Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Geneva and researcher at the Geneva Memory Centre, carries out her work at Campus Biotech, where she also leads the Neuroimaging and Translational Psychiatry Lab. She advocates for a true convergence between neurology and psychiatry. In her article “The Interdisciplinary Synergy Between Neurology and Psychiatry[2] ”, she emphasizes the need to train future clinicians in an integrated approach and to rethink health policies through the lens of connections between mental and neurological disorders.

Antoine Flahault, Director of the Institute of Global Health at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, is also affiliated with Campus Biotech through his digital public health research projects.

 

This leading-edge positioning—at the crossroads of research, clinical practice, and public health—fully illustrates the mission of Campus Biotech: to foster scientific synergies and promote integrated approaches to brain health. By highlighting the work of affiliated researchers, this publication reflects the Campus’s commitment to advancing interdisciplinary science, locally grounded and globally visible.

 

[1] Bègue I, Flahault A, Bassetti CLA, et al., One brain, one mind, one health, one planet—a call from Switzerland for a systemic approach in brain health research, policy and practice. Lancet Reg Health Eur. 2025 Jan;40:100722.

[2] Accorroni A, Nencha U, Bègue I. et al., The interdisciplinary synergy between neurology and psychiatry: advancing brain health. Clin Transl Neurosci. 2025;9(1):18.