Yingjun Zhao, PhD

Dr. Zhao is a postdoctoral associate at the Neuroscience Initiative, Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute. He received his PhD degree in chemical biology from Xiamen University (Xiamen, China). His previous work focused on the intracellular trafficking of proteins associated with neurodegeneration, such as beta-secretase 1 and SNX27, and characterizing a novel role for the tauopathy risk gene appoptosin in tau pathogenesis. Currently, his major interest is to elucidate mechanisms underlying synaptic and cognitive deficits in Alzheimer’s disease (AD), and characterize the role of TREM2 (triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells 2 variant) in microglia in the progression of AD.