Chia-Chen (Jenny) Liu, PhD

Dr. Chia-Chen (Jenny) Liu is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Neuroscience at Mayo Clinic Jacksonville. She obtained her PhD at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and became a research fellow at Mayo Clinic where she gained much research experiences in the AD field with Dr. Guojun Bu’s team. Her research interest is to understand the pathogenic pathways of age-related neurodegenerative diseases with a focus on the roles of apolipoprotein E (apoE) and apoE receptors. ApoE is expressed by various cell types in the periphery and in the brain. She generated inducible, cell type-specific, apoE2-, apoE3- or apoE4-mouse models to study the specific functions of apoE isoforms in different cell types and their potential mechanisms in aging and AD pathogenesis. In particular, she is interested in exploring the functions of apoE in neuroinflammation in the brain and in the periphery during aging and AD pathogenesis. She is also interested in uncovering novel molecular phenotypes, pathways and networks associated with apoE isoforms in the context of AD using multi-omics approaches. In this current study, she will examine whether introducing apoE2 or apoE3 through gene targeting or blood infusion in apoE4 mice can impact pathological and functional outcomes to explore an opportunity of treating AD in an individualized manner. Her research goal is to dissect the disease mechanisms and inform future therapeutic strategies for AD through precision medicine.