Tsai-Yi Lu, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

Ph.D., 2015, University of Massachusetts Medical School

Postdoctoral Scholar, 2015 – 2016, University of California, Los Angeles

Postdoctoral Research Fellow, 2017 – 2023, Johns Hopkins University

Email: xjv8bn@virginia.edu

Lab Website

Publications

1. Oligodendrocyte lineage homeostasis across the life span
2. Oligodendrocyte precursor cell reactivity during brain injury and trauma
3. Myelin loss during aging and Alzheimer’s disease

Oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPCs, or NG2 glia) comprise the largest pool of progenitor cells in the brain, and continuously generate myelin-producing oligodendrocytes throughout our life until aging onset. However, how OPCs decide to commit to differentiating into oligodendrocytes and the mechanisms mediating their continual renewal have not been fully understood, not to mention the lack of understandings about their pathological transformation during neurodegenerative diseases. To understand the biological mechanisms mediating the homeostasis between OPCs and oligodendrocytes, my laboratory employs a variety of in vivo imaging approaches combined with transgenic mouse models, primary cell cultures, viral gene delivery, pharmacology, and histology, to systematically examine the distinct stages of oligodendrocyte lineage progression under both physiological and pathological conditions.