Rate My Professor Julia TCW

Julia TCW, PhD, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pharmacology, Physiology & Biophysics at Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, where she directs the Laboratory of Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell Therapeutics. She earned her Ph.D. and A.M. in Molecular and Cellular Biology from Harvard University, with doctoral research on induced pluripotent stem cell reprogramming in the Department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology, and a B.S. from the Catholic University of Korea. Dr. TCW completed postdoctoral training in the Ronald M. Loeb Center for Alzheimer’s Disease, Departments of Neuroscience and Genetics and Genomic Sciences at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, developing iPSC models to study Alzheimer’s disease genetics.

The TCW Lab advances human iPSC therapeutics for Alzheimer’s disease by elucidating functional mechanisms of genetic risks, particularly Apolipoprotein E4, using in vitro iPSCs, in vivo iPSC/mouse chimeras, CRISPR/Cas9-edited cell models, multi-omics analyses, and bioinformatics. Research examines impacts on microglia, astrocytes, pericytes, and organoids, focusing on efferocytosis, lipid metabolism, matrisome, and inflammation, while developing 2D-to-3D human brain platforms for drug screening. Dr. TCW has pioneered differentiation protocols for multiple CNS cell types. Her achievements include the 2022 Druckenmiller Fellowship from the New York Stem Cell Foundation, Toffler Scholar award from the Karen Toffler Charitable Trust, BrightFocus Foundation Alzheimer’s Research award, Carol and Gene Ludwig Award for Neurodegeneration Research, Edward N. and Della L. Thome Memorial Foundation Award, and K, U, and R awards from NIH-NIA. Key publications encompass “APOE4 leads to blood–brain barrier dysfunction predicting cognitive decline” (Nature, 2020), “An efficient platform for astrocyte differentiation from human induced pluripotent stem cells” (Stem Cell Reports, 2017), “Cholesterol and matrisome pathways dysregulated in astrocytes and microglia” (Cell, 2022), and “The innate immunity protein IFITM3 modulates γ-secretase in Alzheimer’s disease” (Nature, 2020).