Dr. Li Gan is a leading neuroscientist and Director of the Helen and Robert Appel Alzheimer’s Disease Research Institute at Weill Cornell Medicine. Trained at Yale, Harvard, and UCSF, Dr. Gan is recognized for her groundbreaking research on how immune responses and protein mismanagement in brain cells contribute to Alzheimer’s and related diseases.

Her discoveries have reshaped scientific understanding of why toxic proteins build up in the brain and how the immune system can drive or resist neurodegeneration. By using human stem cell models and gene-editing technologies, her lab has identified promising new targets for therapies aimed at slowing or preventing cognitive decline.

Dr. Gan has authored over 110 scientific papers and leads several major NIH-funded research projects. Her work has earned national and international honors, and she advises global research foundations and scientific journals.