Professor Xiongwei Zhu

Xiongwei Zhu, Ph.D. is Associate Professor, Department of Pathology, Case Western Reserve University.
 
His research focuses on the neurodegenerative mechanisms underlying Alzheimer disease and other neurodegenerative diseases. Alzheimer disease is a major public health problem because it has a huge impact on individuals, families, and society and it has attracted increasing public attention as the population ages which highlights the urgency to understand and treat this disease effectively.
 
Xiongwei has demonstrated that both oxidative stress and cell cycle-related abnormalities are among the earliest contributors to the disease. The major hypothesis being pursued is that while either oxidative stress or abnormalities in mitotic signaling can independently serve as initiators, both processes are necessary to propagate disease pathogenesis and progression. His projects include:

• Mitochondrial abnormality and its contribution to oxidative stress
• Oxidative stress signaling
• Mitogenic signaling and inappropriate cell cycle re-entry

Xiongwei coauthored Activation and redistribution of c-Jun N-terminal kinase/stress activated protein kinase in degenerating neurons in Alzheimer’s disease, Redox-active iron mediates amyloid-β toxicity, Alzheimer’s disease: the two-hit hypothesis, Activation of p38 Kinase Links Tau Phosphorylation, Oxidative Stress, and Cell Cycle-Related Events in Alzheimer Disease, and Activation of neuronal extracellular receptor kinase (ERK) in Alzheimer disease links oxidative stress to abnormal phosphorylation.
 
He earned his B.S. in 1995 and his M.S. in 1998, both from the Department of Biochemistry at Wuhan University in China. He earned his Ph.D. in 2002 from the Department of Pathology at Case Western Reserve University. He was a postdoctoral fellow and instructor in pathology until he became Assistant Professor in 2004. He is the recipient of several awards including the International Junior Investigator Award from International College of Geriatric Psychoneuropharmacology and the Vector Laboratories Young Investigator Award from the International Congress of Histochemistry & Cytochemistry.