THE MAO LAB

Research in Dr. Xiaobo Mao's laboratory focuses on two core topics: (1) the roles of prion-like proteins and strains in neurodegenerative disorders, including spreading pathways, molecular mechanisms of cell-to-cell transmission, neurotoxicity, and neuroinflammation; (2) the therapeutic developments.

Professional headshot of a young Asian man in a dark suit, white shirt, and patterned tie, smiling subtly against a textured green and blue background.

Xiaobo Mao, PhD

TITLE

Associate Professor of Neurology

EDUCATION

PhD - National Center for Nanoscience and Technology, China

RESEARCH FOCUS

Environmental factors, prion-like protein strains and spreading, immune

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RESEARCH TEAM

  • A portrait of a young man with short black hair and glasses, wearing a light blue button-up shirt with a small yellow tag, standing outdoors in front of a modern building with horizontal lines.

    Ning Wang, PhD

    POSTDOCTORAL FELLOW

  • A woman in a white lab coat standing in a laboratory with scientific equipment and shelves filled with supplies in the background.

    Haiqing Liu, PhD

    POSTDOCTORAL FELLOW

  • A smiling man with dark hair and a beard sitting in a laboratory with shelves of chemicals and laboratory equipment in the background.

    Kundlik Gadhave, PhD

    POSTDOCTORAL FELLOW

  • A man in a black shirt standing in a laboratory with shelves of glass bottles and scientific equipment behind him.

    Deok Jeong, PhD

    POSTDOCTORAL FELLOW

  • A woman with long black hair smiling at the camera in front of a grey wall. She is wearing a white blouse with pearl details and a floral choker.

    Xiuli Yang, MD, PhD

    POSTDOCTORAL FELLOW

  • A woman in a lab coat standing in a laboratory environment with shelves of scientific supplies and equipment in the background.

    Shuya Li, PhD

    POSTDOCTORAL FELLOW

  • A young Asian man with dark hair smiling and wearing a bright blue polo shirt with yellow trim, standing in a laboratory filled with shelves of lab supplies, equipment, and chemicals.

    Junkai Hu, PhD

    POSTDOCTORAL FELLOW

  • A young woman in a white lab coat smiling in a laboratory setting with scientific equipment and supplies in the background.

    Shiyu Su

    PhD Candidate

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

  •  Zhang X, Liu H, Wu X, Jia L, Gadhave K, Wang L, Zhang K, Li H, Chen R, Kumbhar R, Wang N, Terrillion CE, Kang BG, Bai B, Park M, Denna MCF, Zhang S, Zheng W, Ye D, Rong X, Yang L, Niu L, Ko HS, Peng W, Jin L, Ying M, Rosenthal LS, Nauen DW, Pantelyat A, Kaur M, Irene K, Shi L, Feleke R, García-Ruiz S, Ryten M, Dawson VL, Dominici F, Weber RJ, Zhang X, Liu P, Dawson TM, Han S, Mao X*. Lewy body dementia promotion by air pollutants. Science, 2025, Sep 4;389(6764):eadu4132.

  • Mao X, Ou MT, Karuppagounder SS, Kam TI, Yin X, Xiong Y, Ge P, Umanah GE, Brahmachari S, Shin JH, Kang HC, Zhang J, Xu J, Chen R, Park H, Andrabi SA, Kang SU, Goncalves RA, Liang Y, Zhang S, Qi C, Lam S, Keiler JA, Tyson J, Kim D, Panicker N, Yun SP, Workman CJ, Vignali DA, Dawson VL, Ko HS, Dawson TM. Pathological α-synuclein transmission initiated by binding lymphocyte-activation gene 3. Science. 2016 Sep 30;353(6307).

  • Kam TI#, Mao X#, Park H# (# equal contribution), Chou SC, Karuppagounder SS, Umanah GE, Yun SP, Brahmachari S, Panicker N, Chen R, Andrabi SA, Qi C, Poirier GG, Pletnikova O, Troncoso JC, Bekris LM, Leverenz JB, Pantelyat A, Ko HS, Rosenthal LS, Dawson TM and Dawson VL. Poly (ADP-ribose) Drives Pathologic α-Synuclein Neurodegeneration in Parkinson’s Disease. Science. 2018;362(6414). doi: 10.1126/science.aat8407.

  • Liu YQ, Mao YY (co-first), Xu EQ, Jia HM, Zhang S, Dawson VL, Dawson TM, Li YM*, Zheng Z*, He WW*, Mao X*. Nanozyme Scavenging ROS for Prevention of Pathologic α-Synuclein Transmission in Parkinson’s Disease. Nano Today. 2021, 36, 101027

  • Zhang SN, Liu YQ, Jia CY, Lim YJ (co-first), Feng GQ, Xu EQ, Kimura Y, Long HF, Tao YQ, Zhao CY, Wang CC, Liu ZY, Hu JJ, Ma MR, Liu ZJ, Jiang L, Li D, Wang RX, Dawson VL, Dawson TM*, Li YM*, Mao X*, Liu C*. Mechanistic basis for receptor-mediated pathological α-synuclein fibril cell-to-cell transmission in Parkinson's disease. Proc Natl Acad Sci. USA. 2021;118(26): e2011196118

  • Butler YR, Liu YQ, Kumbhar R, Zhao PR, Gadhave K, Wang N, Li YM, Mao X*, Wang WJ*. Fibril-specific nanobody prevents prion-like α-synuclein spreading. Nature Communications. 2022, 13:4060.

  • Mao X*, Gu H, Kim D, Kimura Y, Wang N, Xu E, Kumbhar R, Ming X, Wang H, Chen C, Zhang S, Jia C, Liu Y, Bian H, Karuppagounder SS, Akkentli F, Chen Q, Jia L, Hwang H, Lee SH, Ke X, Chang M, Li A, Yang J, Rastegar C, Sriparna M, Ge P, Brahmachari S, Kim S, Zhang S, Shimoda Y, Saar M, Liu H, Kweon SH, Ying M, Workman CJ, Vignali DAA, Muller UC, Liu C, Ko HS*, Dawson VL*, Dawson TM*. Aplp1 interacts with Lag3 to facilitate transmission of pathological α-synuclein. Nature Communications, 2024, 15(1):4663.

PATENTS

  • A detection method for the relative adsorption constant of dye, antibody, drug and pro-drug molecules on peptides.
    Patent # WO2011060598A1 & CN102062718 | 

  • Therapeutic Uses of LAG3 the α-Synuclein Transmission Receptor.
    Patent # WO2018039147A1, PCT/US2017/047878 | 

  • Nanozyme Scavenging ROS for Prevention of Pathologic α-Synuclein Transmission in Parkinson’s Disease
    Patent # C16214 |