Brain’s self-cleaning machinery may be key to Alzheimer’s

Fei Yin, Ph.D., Assistant Director at the Center for Innovation in Brain Science, is leading a research team that is looking at specialized cells take out the trash in the brain. When they break down, waste builds up, possibly setting the stage for Alzheimer’s disease.

When he was growing up in China, Fei Yin, PhD, wanted to be a scientist.

“In elementary school, most children wanted to be scientists, but we didn’t really know what that meant and what it took,” he recalled. “Before I was applying for college, I didn’t know what scientific path to take.”

After completing his undergraduate studies in biochemistry, Yin matriculated at the University of Southern California, where his path became clearer. His doctoral adviser, Enrique Cadenas, MD, PhD, was an expert in mitochondria, the “powerhouses” of the cell that generate the energy it needs to do its job.