Speaker Profile
MIT
Biography
Li-Huei Tsai is one of the leading figures in the biology of neurodegeneration and brain aging. Her work has defined key molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying Alzheimer’s disease, including the roles of neuronal activity, epigenetic regulation, DNA damage, and neuroimmune interactions in driving neurodegenerative processes. She and collaborators have produced major gene expression and epigenetic atlases of human Alzheimer's brain tissue for the field. Using advanced induced pluripotent stem cell cultures, her lab has produced novel studies of the impact of Alzheimer's risk genes and developed personalized in vitro brain tissue models.
Her laboratory has pioneered novel therapeutic approaches that move beyond traditional pharmacology, most notably non-invasive gamma frequency sensory stimulation to modulate brain activity and Alzheimer’s-related pathology. This work represents a shift toward circuit-level interventions as a new modality for treating neurodegenerative disease.
Tsai’s research bridges fundamental neuroscience and clinical translation, advancing a model in which brain network dynamics and disease biology can be leveraged to develop more targeted, mechanism-driven interventions. Her work expands the field beyond diagnosis toward precision treatment strategies in neurodegeneration.
Session Abstract – PMWC 2027 Silicon Valley
Track Chair:
David Liebeskind, UCLA
PMWC Award Ceremony
• Li-Huei Tsai, MIT Picower Institute (Pioneer)
• Thomas C. Südhof, Stanford (Nobel Laureate, Pioneer)
• David Holtzman, WashU (Pioneer)
• Henrik Zetterberg, UCL / Gothenburg (Luminary)
Featured Speakers
• Thomas C. Südhof, Stanford
• Li-Huei Tsai, MIT Picower Institute
• David Holtzman, WashU
• Henrik Zetterberg, UCL / Gothenburg
• Mark Mintun, Lilly
• Randall Bateman, WashU
• Nikolaos Mellios, Circular Genomics
• Robert Rissman, USC
• Lynn Kramer, Eisai
• Thomas F. Tropea, University of Pennsylvania
• Ari J. Green, UCSF
• Diane Chan, Mass General Brigham
• Leslie Shaw, University of Pennsylvania
• Prashanthi Vemuri, Mayo Clinic
• Kejal Kantarci, Mayo Clinic
• Dan Huddleston, Lightbox Science
• Patrick Brannelly, 10K Brains
• Allan Levey, Emory
From Blood Test to Treatment
Are we finally diagnosing Alzheimer's early enough to change care?
Precision Diagnostics Across Neurology
From biomarker to bedside across neurological disease.
Neurodegeneration Beyond Alzheimer's
Parkinson's, ALS, and FTD in the precision era.
AI & Imaging Across Neurological Disease
Precision phenotyping in stroke, epilepsy, and neurodegeneration.
Why Precision Neurology Is Not Scaling
The evidence, infrastructure, access, and workflow barriers that must be fixed.
Harnessing Brain Rhythms
Gamma oscillations, brain circuits, and the future of neurotherapy.
PMWC Hall of Impact
Previous Speakers Include
Nobel laureates, technology founders, regulators, CEOs and scientific pioneers who have taken the PMWC stage.
