Julia TCW, PhD

Assistant Professor, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine

Biography

Dr. Julia TCW received Ph.D. and A.M. in Molecular and Cellular Biology from Harvard University with research studies in induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) reprogramming in the Department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology. She then perused her postdoctoral research in the Department of Neuroscience, Ronald M. Loeb Center for Alzheimer’s Disease, Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York with a research focus of the development of iPSC models and study Alzheimer’s disease (AD) genetics. She achieved Druckenmiller Fellowship award from New York Stem Cell Foundation and K, U and R awards from NIH-NIA.

Our research laboratory is aiming at human induced pluripotent stem cell therapeutics. There are two main goals; 1) Deciphering functional mechanisms of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) genetics using in vitro iPSCs and in vivo iPSC/mouse Chimera models and 2) Developing in vitro model systems of human brain for drug screen.

1. Much of our research focuses on the effects of AD genetic risks, especially Apolipoprotein E4 (APOE4), the most significant risk factor for late-onset AD on human brain cell types. Our lab uses the forward genetic, unbiased multi-Omics computational (bioinformatics) approach to uncover pathways and network defects of AD genetic risks and demonstrate molecular mechanisms of the risk factors in CNS cell types derived from CRISPR/Cas9 genome-edited isogenic and population iPSCs. We develop novel computational pipelines to identify molecular and network drivers and integrate genetics and transcriptomics/proteomics for a functional genomic study. In vitro and in vivo work have been focused on efferocytosis, lipid metabolism, matrisome and inflammation in pure human microglia, astrocytes and organoids (multiple brain cell types as a whole) associated with AD genetic risks. Further, our lab is also collaborating with the industry to find a drug target for AD therapeutics.

2. We have developed multiple novel CNS cell type protocols including astrocytes, microglia, pericytes, neural progenitors and glutamatergic neurons and continuously put our effort to advance the 2D models to 3D human brain model to establish efficient platforms for drug screen.

Publications

  • Published 10/1/2026

    Sahelijo N, Rajagopalan P, Qian L, Rahman R, Goldstein D, Thomopoulos SI, Bennett DA, Farrer LA, Stein TD, Shen L, Huang H, Nho K, Saykin AJ, Davatzikos C, Thompson PM, Tcw J, Jun GR. Cell-based polygenic risk scores predict clinical progression and prioritize network-based therapeutic targets in Alzheimer's disease. Alzheimers Dement. 2026 Oct; 22(10):e71895. PMID: 42836738.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 9/12/2026

    Xu Y, Namme J, Yang L, Xu Y, Biby S, Qian L, Tuck T, Gomm A, Sarkar N, Liu Z, Murphy S, Wang XY, Tcw J, Zhou Z, Tanzi R, Zhang C, Wang C, Shen S, Zhang S. Discovery of a brain penetrant NLRP3 inflammasome inhibitor that reduces neuropathic pain in mice. Eur J Med Chem. 2026 Dec 15; 320:119319. PMID: 42735485.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 9/10/2026

    You Y, Nguyen SN, Mann SD, Vadakattu P, Kanekiyo T, Zhang Z, Ray NB, Duong A, Tuck T, Tcw J, Goate AM, Karch CM, Shaffer SA, Ikezu S, Gonzalez-Perez MP, Poon WW, Ikezu T. Human iPSC models reveal APOE4-induced microglial remodeling and extracellular vesicle dysregulation in AD pathogenesis. Res Sq. 2026 Sep 10. PMID: 42818533.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 9/3/2026

    West NR, Tcw J. APOE4 astrocytes call the shots on neuronal a-synuclein pathology. Cell Stem Cell. 2026 Sep 03; 33(9):1417-1419. PMID: 42692000.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 8/14/2026

    Coulon A, Rabiller F, Takalo M, Roy A, Pelletier A, Martiskainen H, Siedlecki-Wullich D, Lannette-Weimann N, Majerníková N, Grenon A, Gao V, Erhardt A, Pernodet A, Lemaire M, Limoge F, Walle P, Mendes T, Guyot K, Lemeu C, Carvalho LI, Melo de Farias AR, Hulsman M, Najdek C, Freire-Regatillo A, Saha O, Amouyel P, Charbonnier C, Deleuze JF, Dols-Icardo O, Jeskanen H, Willman RM, Kuulasmaa T, Kurki M, Hardy J, Heikkinen S, Holstege H, Mäkinen P, Nicolas G, Mead S, Wagner M, Ramirez A, Rauramaa T, Palotie A, Sims R, Soininen H, van Swieten J, Williams J, Bellenguez C, Gelle C, Lambert E, Costa MR, Tcw J, Glaab E, Ayral AM, Demiautte F, Grenier-Boley B, Muntaner M, Eberlé D, Deforges S, Haas JT, Kilinc D, Mulle C, Chapuis J, Hiltunen M, Dumont J, Lambert JC. PLCG2 downregulation impairs synaptic function and increases Alzheimer's disease hallmarks in neuronal cultures. Nat Genet. 2026 Sep; 58(9):2164-2176. PMID: 42601455.

    Read at: PubMed

View All 62 Publications:   View Full Profile in BUMC

Other Positions

  • Director of the Laboratory of Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell Therapeutics
    Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine
  • Graduate Medical Sciences Educator and Mentor (Primary Mentor of Graduate Students)
    Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Graduate Medical Sciences

Websites

Education

  • Harvard University, PhD
  • Harvard University, AM
  • Catholic University of Korea, BS

View all profiles