Member of GWOW
Professor and VFW Endowed Chair in Pharmacotherapy for the Elderly
Graduate Programs in Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology (ECP), Neuroscience (GPN), and Molecular Pharmacology and Therapeutics (MPaT)
Associate Department Head, Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology (ECP)
Ling Li’s Work
Links between Alzheimer’s disease and lipid metabolism. Ling Li, PhD, Professor and VFW Endowed Chair in Pharmacotherapy for the Elderly in the Department of Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology, focuses on the connections between Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and cardiovascular/cerebrovascular diseases. An experimental pathologist and molecular biologist/neurobiologist by training, Li has developed multiple research programs to investigate the pathogenesis and pharmacotherapy of AD and atherosclerosis using genetically modified mouse models for over 20 years. The research in the Li lab employs a combination of genetic, pharmacological, behavioral, electrophysiological, and advanced cellular/molecular approaches to address basic and clinical questions. Current research projects in the Li Lab include: the role of cholesterol, isoprenoids and protein prenylation in regulating synaptic plasticity and cognitive function in AD; structure and function of high-density lipoproteins (HDL) and associated apolipoproteins (APO); and the therapeutic potential of HDL-mimetic peptides to rescue lipidation deficiency associated with APOE4 and to enhance cerebrovascular function and cognitive performance in aging and in AD. Other research projects in my laboratory include the role of systemic and neuro-inflammation in aging and in AD, modeling and reversing Alzheimer’s pathology in human iPSC-derived brain organoids, and the therapeutic potential of natural and synthetic anti-inflammatory compounds for AD. Another newly developed, ongoing interdisciplinary research projects in the Li lab, in collaboration with Maxim Cheeran, PhD, a virologist and neuroimmunologist, and Walter Low, PhD, a neuroscientist and computational biologist, is to define the acute and long-term impact of SARS-CoV-2 infection (“long-Covid”) and its interaction with APOE on cognitive function and pathogenic processes in aging and Alzheimer’s disease. The long-term goal of the Li lab research is to develop effective approaches to prevent/mitigate cognitive decline and other comorbidities associated with aging and Alzheimer’s disease.