Tong LI

Office(s): Division of Neuroscience (DN)

Email Address: tong.li3@nih.gov

Biography

Dr. Tong Li is a Program Director in the Neurobiology of Aging and Neurodegeneration Branch in the Division of Neuroscience. Dr. Li is responsible for administering research programs focused on mechanisms of amyloid precursor protein (APP) processing and the cellular and molecular physiology of amyloid-beta and TAR DNA-binding protein 43 (TDP-43) in the context of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and AD-related dementias (ADRD).

Prior to joining NIA in 2023, Dr. Li was a faculty member in the Department of Pathology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. His research focused on understanding the disease mechanism and testing therapeutic strategies for AD/ADRD. He investigated the clinical benefit and risk of the reduction of -secretase in mouse models. He also established inducible mouse models of AD-like tauopathy and studied the mechanism of tau pathogenesis and pathology-related microglial activation.

Dr. Li earned his BA in Biochemistry from the Jilin University and his PhD in Biochemistry from the Shanghai Institute of Biochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences. He conducted postdoctoral research at Yale University.

Research Interests/Portfolio

Mechanisms of APP processing: Cellular and molecular mechanisms that govern the processing of APP.
Cellular and molecular physiology of amyloid-beta: Normal and pathological mechanisms by which amyloid-beta and/or its aggregates modulate cellular structure and function, with a focus on cell-autonomous mechanisms.
Cellular and molecular physiology of TDP-43: Normal and pathological mechanisms by which TDP-43 and/or its aggregates modulate cellular structure and function, with a focus on cell-autonomous mechanisms.