Office Address
1-274 Nils Hasselmo Hall
312 Church Street SE
Minneapolis, MN 55455
United States
Xiuli
Dan
Research Assistant Professor
Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, and Biophysics
Our research focuses on identifying novel therapeutic targets for Alzheimer's disease by investigating the role of mitophagy dysfunction in disease progression. Additionally, we explore how mitophagy regulation shifts with aging and cellular senescence, aiming to uncover mechanisms that could slow or reverse brain aging.
Research statement
Dr. Dan's research centers on mitochondrial dysfunction in aging and age-related diseases, with a particular focus on Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Her work investigates how disruptions in mitophagy—the process of clearing damaged mitochondria—contribute to aging and AD pathology. Recently, her team discovered novel plaque-like structures mainly composed of accumulated mitochondria in both AD mouse models and human brains. They will further investigate the potential of targeting these structures for therapeutic strategies in AD. Additionally, Dr. Dan is examining how basal mitophagy influences cellular senescence and how these dynamics evolve with age across different brain regions. Her ultimate goal is to combat brain aging by maintaining mitochondrial integrity and functions.
Selected publications
Dan XL, Yang BM, McDevitt RA, Gray S, Chu XX, Claybourne Q, et al. Loss of smelling is an early marker of aging and is associated with inflammation and DNA damage in C57BL/6J mice. Aging Cell. 2023;22(4).
Hou YJ, Park JH, Dan XL, Chu XX, Yang BM, Hussain M, et al. RecQ dysfunction contributes to social and depressive-like behavior and affects aldolase activity in mice. Neurobiol Dis. 2023;180.
Dan XL, Wechter N, Gray S, Mohanty JG, Croteau DL, Bohr VA. Olfactory dysfunction in aging and neurodegenerative diseases. Ageing Res Rev. 2021;70.
Yang BM#, Dan XL#, Hou YJ, Lee JH, Wechter N, Krishnamurthy S, et al. NAD supplementation prevents STING-induced senescence in ataxia telangiectasia by improving mitophagy. Aging Cell. 2021;20(4). (co-first author)
Dan XL, Babbar M, Moore A, Wechter N, Tian JY, Mohanty JG, et al. DNA damage invokes mitophagy through a pathway involving Spata18. Nucleic Acids Res. 2020;48(12):6611-23.
Hou YJ, Dan XL, Babbar M, Wei Y, Hasselbalch SG, Croteau DL, Bohr VA. Ageing as a risk factor for neurodegenerative disease. Nat Rev Neurol. 2019;15(10):565-81.
Education and background
Dr. Dan earned her PhD in Biomedical Sciences from the Chinese University of Hong Kong in 2015. She completed her postdoctoral training at the National Institutes of Health in Baltimore in 2021 and joined Dr. Paul Robins' laboratory that same year as a Researcher 6 in the Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, and Biophysics (BMBB) at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. In 2024, she was appointed as a Research Assistant Professor in the BMBB department at the University of Minnesota.