University of California-San Diego · NeuroscienceXu Lab
Xu Chen · La Jolla, California
Research Focus
Xu Chen's research lab at UC San Diego focuses on understanding the underlying mechanisms of tau pathogenesis in Alzheimer's disease, particularly how factors like the ketogenic diet and sex hormones such as testosterone influence tau aggregation and spread. By investigating these relationships in various models, the lab aims to identify potential therapeutic strategies to mitigate the impacts of Alzheimer's disease, especially considering the differences between male and female responses to treatment.
tau pathogenesisAlzheimer's diseaseketogenic diettestosteroneneurodegenerationsex differencesautophagyneuroinflammationbrain signaling
Research Aims
4AIM 01Elucidate the mechanisms by which -hydroxybutyrate (BHB) reduces tau spread in neurons.
AIM 02Investigate the effects of testosterone on tau pathogenesis in female mouse models.
AIM 03Determine the cellular mechanisms through which BHB and testosterone protect against neurodegeneration.
AIM 04Analyze the impact of hormone signaling on tau pathology and neuroinflammation.
Skills the Lab Values
cell culturemouse modelsRNA sequencingpharmacologyimmunohistochemistryWestern blotgenetic manipulationdata analysisbiological modeling
Output against the department
Publications358top 18% of dept.120th of 671
this lab
most publishedleast published
Citations9.2ktop 43% of dept.288th of 671
this lab
most citedleast cited
Career totals from OpenAlex, compared against labs that share a department. A department spans everything from one paper to tens of thousands, so bar heights are on a log scale — otherwise the largest lab would flatten every other bar to a line.