Ranjie Xu, PhD

Contact Info

Assistant Professor

Department of Basic Medical Sciences
Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine
625 Harrison Street
West Lafayette, IN 47907

765-496-4007
xu1726@purdue.edu

About

Dr. Ranjie Xu is an Assistant Professor at Purdue University specializing in neuroscience, stem cell biology, and molecular biology. His research focuses on developing human pluripotent stem cell (hPSC)-based models to uncover the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying neurodevelopment and neurological disorders, such as Alzheimer’s disease and autism spectrum disorders, with particular emphasis on neuroimmune interactions, neurovascular interactions, and tau pathology. Dr. Xu has developed advanced hPSC-based models, ranging from 2D neural cultures and 3D brain organoids to human-mouse (neural/microglial) chimeric brain models, to investigate disease mechanisms and accelerate drug discovery. In addition, his laboratory is developing innovative hPSC-based cell therapies for these neurological disorders. His work has been published in leading journals such as Cell Stem Cell, Molecular Psychiatry, Nature Communications, and Stem Cell Reports. He earned his PhD in Neuroscience from the University of Science and Technology of China and completed postdoctoral training at Rutgers University. His research has been supported by the NIA, NINDS, Indiana CTSI, PIIN, and the Showalter Trust, among others.

Education

2015 - PhD | University of Science and Technology of China
2009 - BA | Anhui Normal University

Experience

2022 | Assistant Professor (tenure track), Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Purdue University
2022 | Member, Purdue Institute for Integrative Neuroscience, Purdue University
2017–2022 | Post-Doctoral Associate, Department of Cell Biology and Neuroscience, Rutgers University
2016–2017 | Post-Doctoral Associate, Department of Neurological Sciences, University of Nebraska Medical Center