Dr Tu Haitao

Dr Tu Haitao is a Senior Research Fellow at the National Neuroscience Institute (NNI) in Singapore, specialising in translational and clinical research on neurodegenerative diseases. He holds a PhD in Microbial Genetics & Molecular Biotechnology from the National University of Singapore and leads innovative projects investigating the pathophysiology of Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and NOTCH2NLC-related disorders. Dr Tu employs advanced models, including patient-derived iPSC cerebral organoids and transgenic mice, to elucidate disease mechanisms and identify potential therapeutic targets.

He has secured competitive grants, including the SingHealth Duke-NUS Academic Medicine Award, and has published in high-impact journals. Actively collaborating with clinician-scientists and interdisciplinary teams, Dr Tu’s research aims to translate fundamental discoveries into clinical strategies to improve outcomes for patients with neurodegenerative diseases.

• Ph.D., National University of Singapore, 2011
• ​B.Sc., China Agricultural University, China, 2003

• Senior Research Fellow, National Neuroscience Institute

• Young Investigator Award, GASND Summit, 2025
• Best Junior Research Award (Bronze), Basic Science & Translational Research, NNI, 2025

• Pathophysiology underlying NOTCH2NLC GGC repeat expansion-associated disorders
• Disease-modifying therapies for Parkinson’s disease

• Chia SY, Li M, Li Z, Tu H, Lee JWL, Qiu L, Ling J, Reynolds R, Albani S, Tan EK, Ng ASL, Chen J*, Zeng L*. Single-nucleus transcriptomics reveals a distinct microglia state and increased MSR1-mediated phagocytosis as common features across dementia subtypes. Genome Med. 2025 Aug 18;17(1):92. doi: 10.1186/s13073-025-01519-4.
• Tu H, Yeo XY, Zhang ZW, Zhou W, Tan JY, Chi L, Chia SY, Li Z, Sim AY, Singh BK, Ma D, Zhou Z, Bonne I, Ling SC, Ng ASL, Jung S, Tan EK, Zeng L. NOTCH2NLC GGC intermediate repeat with serine induces hypermyelination and early Parkinson's disease-like phenotypes in mice. Mol. Neurodegener. 2024 Nov 28;19(1):91. doi: 10.1186/s13024-024-00780-2.
• Zhang ZW*, Tu HT*, Jiang M, Vanan S, Chia SY, Jang SE, Saw WT, Ong ZW, Ma DR, Zhou ZD, Xu J, Guo KW, Yu WP, Ling SC, Margolin RA, Chain DG, Zeng L, Tan EK. (2022) APP Intracellular Domain Promotes Expression of LRRK2 Enabling a Feed-Forward Loop of Neurodegeneration in Parkinson’s Disease. Sci. Signal. 2022 Aug 23, 15(748):eabk3411. Doi: 10.1126/scisignal.abk3411. Co-first author.
• Tu H, Zhang ZW, Qiu L, Lin Y, Jiang M, Chia SY, Wei YF, Ng ASL, Reynolds R, Tan EK, Zeng L. (2022) Increased expression of pathological markers in Parkinson’s disease dementia post-mortem brains compared to dementia with Lewy bodies. BMC Neurosci. Doi:10.1186/s12868-021-00687-4.
• Li, X., Yang, Q., Peng, L., Tu, H., Lee, L. Y., Gelvin, S. B., & Pan, S. Q. (2020). Agrobacterium-delivered VirE2 interacts with host nucleoporin CG1 to facilitate the nuclear import of VirE2-coated T complex. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 117(42), 26389-26397. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2009645117

Link to Google Scholar Profile for Full List of Publications: ‪Tu Haitao - ‪Google Scholar