Guojun Bu, Ph.D.

Chief Scientific Officer, SciNeuro Pharmaceuticals


Guojun Bu, Ph.D., is Chief Scientific Officer at SciNeuro Pharmaceuticals, a neuroscience-focused biopharmaceutical company that develops novel therapeutics to address major unmet need within Central Nervous System (CNS) diseases. Dr. Bu has overall leadership responsibility for SciNeuro’s discovery and preclinical research activities. developing novel therapeutics to address major unmet need within CNS diseases.

Dr. Bu is a world-renowned neuroscientist and former Chair, Department of Neuroscience, Mayo Clinic, Mary Lowell Leary Professor of Medicine and Associate Director, Center for Regenerative Medicine. Prior to joining Mayo Clinic in 2010, he was a Professor in Cell Biology and Neuroscience in the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Dr. Bu received his B.S. degree in biology from Beijing Normal University and his Ph.D. degree in biochemistry from Virginia Tech. He is a leader in the field of apoE and apoE receptors, which play critical roles in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). His primary interest is to understand why APOE4 is a strong genetic risk factor for AD and how this pathway can be targeted for therapy. His laboratory is also exploring the potentials of human skin fibroblast-derived stem cells in the replacement of lost neurons and blood vessels in AD and vascular dementia. Dr. Bu has received several honors and awards including the Faculty Scholar Award and the Zenith Fellows Award from the Alzheimer’s Association and the Established Investigator Award from the American Heart Association. He is the Editor-in-Chief of Molecular Neurodegeneration and serves in review panels for the National Institutes of Health and the BrightFocus Foundation.

Funded Research

These projects were made possible from Cure Alzheimer's Fund support.

Selected Publications

These published papers resulted from Cure Alzheimer’s Fund support.

Kai Zhuang, Changquan Huang, Lige Leng, Honghua Zheng, Yuehong Gao, Guimiao Chen, Zhilin Ji, Hao Sun, Yu Hu, Di Wu, Meng Shi, Huifang Li, Yingjun Zhao, Yunwu Zhang, Maoqiang Xue, Guojun Bu, Timothy Y. Huang, Huaxi Xu, Jie Zhang Neuron-Specific Menin Deletion Leads to Synaptic Dysfunction and Cognitive Impairment by Modulating p35 Expression, Cell, volume 24, Issue 3, July 17, 2018, Read More

Na Zhao, Chia-Chen Liu, Alexandra J. Van Ingelgom, Yuka A. Martens, Cynthia Linares, Joshua A. Knight, Meghan M. Painter, Patrick M. Sullivan, Guojun Bu Apolipoprotein E4 Impairs Neuronal Insulin Signaling, Neuron, 96(1), 27 Sep 2017, 115-129, Read More

Jing Zhao, Mary D. Davis, Yuka A. Martens, Mitsuru Shinohara, Neill R. Graff-Radford, Steven G. Younkin, Zbigniew K. Wszolek, Takahisa Kanekiyo, Guojun Bu APOE ε4/ε4 diminishes neurotrophic function of human iPSC-derived astrocytes, Human Molecular Genetics, 26(14), 15 Jul 2017, 2690-2700, Read More

Mitsuru Shinohara, Masaya Tachibana, Takahisa Kanekiyo, Guojun Bu Role of LRP1 in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease: evidence from clinical and preclinical studies, Journal Of Lipid Research, 58(7), Jul 2017, 1267-1281, Read More

Li Zhong, Zhen-Lian Zhang, Xinxiu Li, Chunyan Liao, Pengfei Mou, Tingting Wang, Zongqi Wang, Zhe Wang, Min Wei, Huaxi Xu, Guojun Bu, Xiao-Fen Chen TREM2/DAP12 Complex Regulates Inflammatory Responses in Microglia via the JNK Signaling Pathway, Frontiers In Aging Neuroscience, 9, 21 Jun 2017, 204, Read More

Justin T. Rogers, Chia-Chen Liu, Na Zhao, Jian Wang, Travis Putzke, Longyu Yang, Mitsuru Shinohara, John D. Fryer, Takahisa Kanekiyo, Guojun Bu Subacute ibuprofen treatment rescues the synaptic and cognitive deficits in advanced-aged mice, Neurobiology of Aging, 53, May 2017, 112-121, Read More

Nobutaka Sakae, Chia-Chen Liu, Mitsuru Shinohara, Jessica Frisch-Daiello, Li Ma, Yu Yamazaki, Masaya Tachibana, Linda Younkin, Aishe Kurti, Minerva M. Carrasquillo, Fanggeng Zou, Daniel Sevlever, Gina Bisceglio, Ming Gan, Romain Fol, Patrick Knight, Miao Wang, Xianlin Han, John D. Fryer, Michael L. Fitzgerald, Yasumasa Ohyagi, Steven G. Younkin, Guojun Bu, and Takahisa Kanekiyo ABCA7 Deficiency Accelerates Amyloid- Generation and Alzheimer’s Neuronal Pathology, Neurobiology of Disease, 36(13), 30 Mar 2016, 3848–3859, Read More

Mitsuru Shinohara, Takahisa Kanekiyo, Longyu Yang, Duane Linthicum, Motoko Shinohara, Yuan Fu, Laura Price, Jessica L. Frisch-Daiello, Xianlin Han, John D. Fryer, Guojun Bu APOE2 eases cognitive decline during Aging: Clinical and preclinical evaluations, Annals of Neurology, 79(5), 2 Mar 2016, 758-774, Read More

Atagi Y, Liu CC, Painter MM, Chen XF, Verbeeck C, Zheng H, Li X, Rademakers R, Kang SS, Xu H, Younkin S, Das P, Fryer JD, Bu G Apolipoprotein E Is a Ligand for Triggering Receptor Expressed on Myeloid Cells 2 (TREM2), The Journal of Biological Chemistry, 290(43), Oct 2015, 26043-50, Read More

Casey CS, Atagi Y, Yamazaki Y, Shinohara M, Tachibana M, Fu Y, Bu G, Kanekiyo T, Journal of Biological Chemistry, 290(22), May 2015, 14208-14217, Read More

Chia-Chen Liu, Jin Hu, Chih-Wei Tsai, Mei Yue, Heather L. Melrose, Takahisa Kanekiyo, and Guojun Bu Neuronal LRP1 Regulates Glucose Metabolism and Insulin Signaling in the Brain, The Journal of Neuroscience, 35(14), April 2015, 5851-5859, Read More