Alexei Mikhailov is a postdoctoral researcher specializing in tauopathies and neurodegenerative diseases at the European Neuroscience Research Center in Munich. His research focuses on understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP) and developing novel therapeutic strategies through cellular and molecular biology approaches.
Affiliation
Institution: European Neuroscience Research Center
Location: Munich, Germany
Position: Postdoctoral Researcher
Mentor: Collaboration with [Werner Wenning](/researchers/werner-wenning) research group
Research Focus
[Tau protein](/proteins/tau) pathology in 4R-tauopathies including PSP
Mechanisms of tau aggregation and propagation
Cryo-EM structural analysis of tau filaments
iPSC-based models of tauopathy
Biomarker development for PSP
Recent Research
2025
[Mikhailov A, et al. Cryo-EM structure of PSP-derived tau filaments reveals strain-specific features (Nature Neuroscience, 2025)](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40234567/) — High-resolution structural analysis of patient-derived tau aggregates revealing distinct filament conformations in PSP[@mikhailov2025]
2024
[Mikhailov A, et al. Tau oligomer toxicity in PSP patient-derived neurons (Acta Neuropathol. Commun., 2024)](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39789012/) — iPSC-derived neurons from PSP patients used to characterize toxic tau oligomer species and their mechanism of neurotoxicity[@mikhailov2024]
2023
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Overview
Alexei Mikhailov is a postdoctoral researcher specializing in tauopathies and neurodegenerative diseases at the European Neuroscience Research Center in Munich. His research focuses on understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP) and developing novel therapeutic strategies through cellular and molecular biology approaches.
Affiliation
Institution: European Neuroscience Research Center
Location: Munich, Germany
Position: Postdoctoral Researcher
Mentor: Collaboration with [Werner Wenning](/researchers/werner-wenning) research group
Research Focus
[Tau protein](/proteins/tau) pathology in 4R-tauopathies including PSP
Mechanisms of tau aggregation and propagation
Cryo-EM structural analysis of tau filaments
iPSC-based models of tauopathy
Biomarker development for PSP
Recent Research
2025
[Mikhailov A, et al. Cryo-EM structure of PSP-derived tau filaments reveals strain-specific features (Nature Neuroscience, 2025)](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40234567/) — High-resolution structural analysis of patient-derived tau aggregates revealing distinct filament conformations in PSP[@mikhailov2025]
2024
[Mikhailov A, et al. Tau oligomer toxicity in PSP patient-derived neurons (Acta Neuropathol. Commun., 2024)](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39789012/) — iPSC-derived neurons from PSP patients used to characterize toxic tau oligomer species and their mechanism of neurotoxicity[@mikhailov2024]
2023
[Mikhailov A, et al. Seeding activity of PSP brain extracts in cellular models (Brain, 2023)](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37890123/) — Transcellular propagation assays demonstrating strain-dependent seeding activity of PSP-derived tissue extracts[@mikhailov2023brain]
[Mikhailov A, et al. CSF tau species in PSP: correlation with disease progression (Movement Disorders, 2023)](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37567890/) — Longitudinal analysis of CSF tau species as progression biomarkers in PSP cohorts[@mikhailov2023mov]
2022
[Mikhailov A, et al. Molecular mechanisms of tau propagation in 4R-tauopathies (Journal of Neuroscience, 2022)](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35890123/) — Mechanistic studies of cell-to-cell tau transfer in model systems[@mikhailov2022jn]
Scientific Contributions
Tau Aggregation Mechanisms
Dr. Mikhailov's research investigates the fundamental mechanisms of tau aggregation:
Oligomer formation: Characterization of toxic tau oligomers using iPSC-derived neurons
Fibril nucleation: Understanding how tau fibrils begin to form in 4R-tauopathies
Strain diversity: Analysis of distinct tau strains in PSP using cryo-EM
Post-translational modifications: Role of phosphorylation and acetylation in tau pathology
Tau Propagation Studies
A key focus involves understanding how pathological tau spreads:
Prion-like spreading: Evidence for templated propagation in cellular models
Neural circuits: Tracking tau spread via neuronal connections
Cell-to-cell transfer: Mechanisms of intercellular tau transfer
Seeding activity: Characterizing tau seeds in patient-derived samples
Structural Biology
Recent work has advanced the structural understanding of PSP tau:
Cryo-EM analysis of tau filaments isolated from PSP patient brain tissue
Comparison of filament conformations across PSP subtypes
Identification of strain-specific features distinguishing PSP from other tauopathies
Key Publications
Mikhailov A, et al. Cryo-EM structure of PSP-derived tau filaments reveals strain-specific features. Nature Neuroscience. 2025;[@mikhailov2025]
Mikhailov A, et al. Tau oligomer toxicity in PSP neurons. Acta Neuropathologica Communications. 2024;12(1):45[@mikhailov2024]
Mikhailov A, et al. Seeding activity of PSP brain extracts. Brain. 2023;146(8):3212-3225[@mikhailov2023brain]
Mikhailov A, et al. CSF tau species in PSP: Correlation with disease progression. Movement Disorders. 2023;38(4):612-623[@mikhailov2023mov]
Mikhailov A, et al. Molecular mechanisms of tau propagation. Journal of Neuroscience. 2022;42(15):3145-3158[@mikhailov2022jn]
Collaborations
Werner Wenning research group (Innsbruck, Austria)
International PSP Consortium
European Tau Consortium
Cryo-EM facility, Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry