Li Lab

The Mingjie Li Lab focuses on developing and optimizing viral vectors for gene delivery to the nervous system. This work supports both basic neuroscience research and the development of therapeutic strategies for neurological disorders. A major challenge in the field is the difficulty of transfecting or transducing many cell types relevant to nervous system diseases, especially in vivo. The lab addresses this by engineering lentiviral and adeno-associated virus (AAV) vectors capable of efficiently targeting neurons and other non-dividing cells.

The lab is part of the Viral Vectors Core at the Hope Center for Neurological Disorders, where Li serves as a senior scientist. The core’s mission is to assist WashU Medicine neuroscience researchers in designing and producing a variety of viral vectors for use in cell culture and preclinical in vivo studies. Current projects include:

• Developing tissue-specific expression vectors
• Integrating RNA interference (RNAi) technologies with viral delivery systems
• Supporting the translation of preclinical findings into clinical applications

About Mingjie Li

Mingjie Li earned his MD from Jiamusi Medical College, China, in 1983 and his PhD in cellular biophysics from Kochi Medical School, Japan, in 1994. He conducted postdoctoral research at Yale University, focusing on immunoglobulin gene recombination, and later at the Beckman Research Institute of the City of Hope, where he studied viral vector delivery of therapeutic genes for HIV.

Li joined the Department of Neurology in April 2006 as an assistant research professor. His expertise lies in gene delivery systems and their application to neuroscience and neurotherapeutics.

Resources

• Hope Center for Neurological Disorders

Principal investigator

Our team

Recent publications

• Astrocytic APOE3-Christchurch expression ameliorates brain amyloid-β pathology in 5xFAD mice
  November 30, 2026
  Astrocytic APOE3-Christchurch expression ameliorates brain amyloid-β pathology in 5xFAD miceRaulin, A. C., Alnobani, A., Rodriguez-Martinez, P., Lee, E., Linares, C., Yslas, A. R., Li, M., Ren, Y., Doss, S. V., Roy, B., Kuchenbecker, L. A., Martens, Y. A., Liu, C. C., Bu, G. & Kanekiyo, T., Dec 2026, In: Translational psychiatry. 16, 1, 224.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
• Generation of high-titer pseudotyped lentiviral vectors
  December 31, 2018
  Generation of high-titer pseudotyped lentiviral vectorsHu, S., Li, M. & Akkina, R., 2019, Methods in Molecular Biology. Humana Press Inc., p. 125-134 10 p. (Methods in Molecular Biology; vol. 1937).Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review
• Gene therapy methods and their applications in neurological disorders
  December 31, 2017
  Gene therapy methods and their applications in neurological disordersLi, M. & Snider, B. J., Jan 1 2018, Gene Therapy in Neurological Disorders. Elsevier, p. 3-39 37 p.Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review
• Gene therapy in neurological disorders
  December 31, 2017
  Gene therapy in neurological disordersLi, M. & Snider, B. J., Jan 1 2018, Elsevier. 428 p.Research output: Book/Report › Book › peer-review
• Intracerebral adeno-associated virus gene delivery of apolipoprotein E2 markedly reduces brain amyloid pathology in Alzheimer's disease mouse models
  July 31, 2016
  Intracerebral adeno-associated virus gene delivery of apolipoprotein E2 markedly reduces brain amyloid pathology in Alzheimer's disease mouse modelsZhao, L., Gottesdiener, A. J., Parmar, M., Li, M., Kaminsky, S. M., Chiuchiolo, M. J., Sondhi, D., Sullivan, P. M., Holtzman, D. M., Crystal, R. G. & Paul, S. M., Aug 1 2016, In: Neurobiology of Aging. 44, p. 159-172 14 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

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