Peng Liu, PhD | Peng Liu, PhD, Lab

Peng Liu, PhD, an Assistant Professor in the N. Bud Grossman Center for Memory Research and Care in the Department of Neurology aims to develop effective treatments to prevent or delay cognitive deterioration in patients with neurodegenerative disorders including Alzheimer's disease (AD). His research focuses on the role of tau protein dysregulation in age-related neurodegenerative disorders and the normal aging process.

Peng initially joined the University of Minnesota as a postdoc in 2007 then worked as a Research Associate before becoming an Assistant Professor in 2017.

As an undergraduate, Peng studied infectious diseases, particularly malaria, a blood-borne disease plaguing numerous developing countries, including China. Peng subsequently pursued a PhD at the University of Florida where, under the supervision of internationally recognized enzymologist, Ben Dunn, he studied the structures of proteases that are key to the reproduction and development of malaria parasites and the structure-activity relationship of anti-malarial compounds.

During his post-doctoral training under the supervision of Professor Karen Hsiao Ashe, a world-renowned leader in the Alzheimer’s disease (AD) field, Peng focused on understanding the molecular basis of cognitive decline caused by β-amyloid (Aβ) aggregates in AD-type dementia using mouse models.

Education & Training

Education

2006 PhD, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Florida College of Medicine

2001 BS, Biotechnology, Peking University College of Life Sciences, Beijing, P. R. China

Training

2010 – 2017 Research Associate, N. Bud Grossman Center for Memory Research and Care, Department of Neurology, University of Minnesota Medical School

2007 – 2010 Postdoctoral Associate, N. Bud Grossman Center for Memory Research and Care, Department of Neurology, University of Minnesota Medical School

2001 – 2006 Research Assistant, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Florida College of Medicine

2000 – 2001 Undergraduate Research Assistant, The National Laboratory of Protein and Gene Engineering, Peking University College of Life Sciences, P. R. China

Highlight

Liu secures a three-year, $200,000 Alzheimer's Association Research grant

Mounting evidence supports that small aggregated forms of tau, a protein that helps stabilize nerve cells called neurons in the brain, damage brain functions. Understanding the structures of small tau aggregates could provide knowledge to the therapy of brain diseases. However, deciphering structural details of such aggregates is challenging because they are often present in low stability,
varying sizes and low abundance in the brain.

Dr. Liu and colleagues have recently discovered the presence of higher amounts of a specific small, aggregated form of tau in elderly individuals with cognitive impairment than cognitively normal individuals of similar ages. Importantly, they have developed a method to isolate this entity from human brains, taking advantage of its relatively strong stability and uniformity in size.

In this project, the team will study the structure and toxicity of the small tau aggregates isolated from brains of individuals with Alzheimer’s dementia.

They will use a sensitive device called “mass spectrometer” to determine the composition of the tau aggregates, use microscopes to reveal size and shape, and use other biophysical approaches to unveil additional structural features.
The team will assess the impact of the tau aggregates on the process by which neurons communicate with each other. They will introduce the tau aggregates to cultured neurons, and record and analyze signals released and received by neurons.
They will inject the tau aggregates into the brains of mice and evaluate their effects on cognitive function using an object
recognition test.

Impact

Findings of the proposed project could advance our knowledge of how structurally-defined small tau aggregates damage neuronal and cognitive function. This may lead to treatments that benefit various dementias.

"A deep thinker and scholar with exceptional experimental skills in biophysics, biochemistry, enzymology, molecular biology, neuroanatomy, human biomarkers, and cell biology, Peng is the first person at the University of Minnesota to whom faculty members turn for advice about tau
biochemistry." Karen Ashe, MD, PhD