Scientific Committee

Bio: Xiaolei Zhu, M.D., Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and Co-Director of the JH Center for the Advancement of HIV Neurotherapeutics. His research focuses on how microglial/macrophage and lymphocyte signaling contribute to neuropsychiatric and neurocognitive disorders, including chronic stress–related depression and HIV-associated brain dysfunction. Dr. Zhu’s laboratory integrates mouse models, single-cell and spatial transcriptomics, and translational therapeutic development, with a particular emphasis on microglia-directed glutaminase inhibition and gut–brain immune mechanisms. He has published in journals such as Nature Immunology, Science Translational Medicine, and Neurotherapeutics, and serves on editorial boards and scientific committees in the areas of neuroimmunology, neuroHIV, and experimental neurotherapeutics.