Insights From a PI Leading Alzheimer's Research

Last April in Cell, a research team led by Li-Huei Tsai showed that not only 40Hz light, but also exposure to 40Hz sound, can effectively increase gamma power and synchrony across the brain, reduce amyloid and tau buildup, and improve learning and memory in multiple mouse models of Alzheimer’s disease. One month later in Neuron, the team showed in that longer-term regimens of 40Hz light (three to six weeks versus one week) change gene expression in neurons and microglia, prevent synapse and neuron loss, and improve learning and memory.

The novel yet simple light-based therapy for Alzheimer’s disease that Tsai’s lab first developed in 2016 is now in clinical trials at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. While many members of the group continue to work to better understand several key mechanistic questions underlying the measured benefits of sensory gamma rhythm stimulation — including the means by which glial cells as well as neurons change their gene expression and activity as a result — other members of the team have begun a program of human clinical studies studying safety and efficacy in healthy people and in people with early Alzheimer’s or cognitive impairment.

For her groundbreaking research and commitment to mentoring women of all backgrounds and career levels, Tsai received the Mika Salpeter Lifetime Achievement Award in 2016. Here, she talks about creativity in research, as well as diversity and mentoring as hallmarks of a strong lab.

This interview was originally published in 2017.

Speaker

Li-Huei Tsai, PhD

Li-Huei Tsai is a professor of neuroscience and the director of the Picower Institute for Learning and Memory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Tsai is also a fellow of American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), a member of the National Academy of Medicine, and an Academician of the Academia Sinica in Taiwan. She was previously a professor at Harvard Medical School and the investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Her research interests lie in elucidating the pathogenic mechanisms underlying neurological disorders that impact learning and memory. Tsai received her PhD from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and completed her postdoctoral training at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratories and Massachusetts General Hospital.