University of Pennsylvania · BiologyXu Lab
Hong Xu · Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Research Focus
Dr. Hong Xu's lab at the University of Pennsylvania focuses on understanding tauopathies, which are neurodegenerative diseases associated with the abnormal accumulation of tau proteins in the brain. The lab investigates how a protein called ASAP1 influences the spreading of tau pathology, potentially leading to better treatments for conditions like Alzheimer's disease. By studying how tau spreads and its interaction with cellular pathways, the lab aims to identify new therapeutic targets for these devastating diseases.
tauopathyAlzheimer's diseaseneurodegenerationendocytosisASAP1tau transmissionstem cell modelsdrug discovery
Research Aims
3AIM 01Investigate the role of ASAP1 in tau transmission in human neurons.
AIM 02Evaluate the effects of ASAP1 on tau spread in vivo using animal models.
AIM 03Elucidate the relevance of ASAP1 signaling in human tauopathies.
Skills the Lab Values
human induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) cultureCRISPR gene editinganimal modelsimmunohistochemistrybehavioral assaysWestern blotRNA extraction and analysiscell signaling pathway analysis
Output against the department
Publications80bottom 23% of dept.792nd of 1,033
this lab
most publishedleast published
Citations4.7kbottom 36% of dept.662nd of 1,033
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.