Lei Liu, M.D., Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Neurology
Department of Neurology
Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Dr. Lei Liu received his MD from Harbin Medical University (China) and his PhD from Shiga University of Medical Science (Japan). Since 2009, Dr. Liu has been working on the neurochemistry of Alzheimer’s disease from various perspectives, especially focusing on the function and dysfunction of γ-secretase in the aging process and disease progression of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). During his time in Japan, Dr. Liu was awarded by the Japan Society of Dementia Research in 2014 and the Takeda Science Foundation in 2015 for his innovative work in dementia research. Dr. Liu joined Dr. Dennis Selkoe's lab in 2016 to continue his studies on AD, particularly focusing on the biology of γ-secretase. He identified the cellular machinery for amyloid production, which is a high molecular multi-protease complex, composed of both BACE1 and γ-secretase. Furthermore, he discovered a small molecule capable of modulating this machinery.
From 2022, Dr. Liu started to lead an independent lab working on translational neuroscience with broad interests, including investigating 1) the mechanism of action for anti-amyloid immunotherapies in AD and Down Syndrome dementia; 2) the molecular pathology of tau biochemical abnormalities in AD and other tauopathies; 3) the cellular machinery of tau secretion in pathophysiology; and 4) the development of next-generation anti-amyloid disease-modifying therapies, including antibody, small molecule, and RNA editing modalities. Dr. Liu works closely with local, domestic, and international clinical cohorts for translational research.
Dr. Liu also makes several innovations focused on IVD assay development & standardization, human sample processing, and novel non-antibody affinity reagents. His lab is currently funded by NIH. Dr. Liu also serves as a scientific consultant for biotech, pharmaceutical, and investment firms.
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