Washington University in St Louis · Biomedical EngineeringThe NeuroInflammation Lab
Zhude Tu · Saint Louis, Missouri
Research Focus
Dr. Zhude Tu's research lab focuses on understanding neuroinflammation in neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's disease and multiple sclerosis. Using advanced imaging techniques like positron emission tomography (PET), the lab aims to develop new radiotracers to visualize critical receptors involved in inflammation. This work not only seeks to identify biomarkers for these conditions but also explores potential therapeutic targets to improve treatment outcomes.
PET imagingneuroinflammationsphingosine-1-phosphate receptor 1Parkinson's diseasemultiple sclerosisradiotracersbiomarkerstherapeutic targetsclinical imagingCNS diseases
Research Aims
5AIM 01Investigate neuroinflammation in the brains of Parkinson's disease patients using S1P1 radiotracers.
AIM 02Develop and validate a new PET radiotracer for S1P1 to measure inflammation in multiple sclerosis patients.
AIM 03Analyze S1PR1 expression in various brain regions using advanced imaging techniques.
AIM 04Identify therapeutic targets based on S1PR1 signaling pathways in neurodegenerative diseases.
AIM 05Quantify the effects of neuroinflammation in animal models to inform clinical studies.
Skills the Lab Values
positron emission tomography (PET)autoradiographyimmunohistochemistryimmunofluorescenceELISAradioligand synthesisanimal modelsdata analysisimaging analysis softwaretissue sample processing
Output against the department
Publications186bottom 43% of dept.336th of 595
this lab
most publishedleast published
Citations3.6kbottom 29% of dept.425th of 595
this lab
most citedleast cited
Career totals from OpenAlex, compared against labs that share a department. A department spans everything from one paper to tens of thousands, so bar heights are on a log scale — otherwise the largest lab would flatten every other bar to a line.