Malú Gámez Tansey, Ph.D. is the James A. Caplin MD, Chair in Alzheimer’s Disease and Professor of Neurology, Director of Neuroimmunology Research Group, and Executive Associate Director of Education at the Stark Neuroscience Research Institute at Indiana University School of Medicine. She investigates the role of central-peripheral immune crosstalk in brain health and neurodegenerative diseases and the gut-brain axis, with the long-term goal of developing better therapies for patients. Dr. Tansey obtained her B.S/M.S in Biological Sciences from Stanford University and her Ph.D. in Cell Regulation from UT Southwestern followed by post-doctoral work in neuroscience at Washington University. As head of Chemical Genetics at Xencor, she co-invented novel soluble TNF inhibitors that have now advanced to clinical trials in Alzheimer’s disease. She returned to academia as an Assistant Professor of Physiology at UT Southwestern in 2002 and was recruited to Emory University School of Medicine as
EDUCATION
B.S and M.S Biological Sciences from Stanford University
PhD in Cell Regulation from UT Southwestern Graduate School in Dallas, TX
RESEARCH, TEACHING, or OTHER INTERESTS
Neuroscience, Immunology, Multidisciplinary
23882
Scholar Citations
76
Scholar h-index
153
Scholar i10-index
RECENT SCHOLAR PUBLICATIONS
Regulator of G protein signaling 10: a critical regulator of chronic systemic inflammation in parkinson’s disease JEJ Posey, KB Menees, MG Tansey Journal of Neuroinflammation , 2026 2026
XPro1595 in early Alzheimer’s disease with inflammation: results from the phase 2 MINDFuL trial J Jaeger, KA Staats, S Barnum, P Pope, L Kingery, M Buitendyk, S Cohen, ... npj Dementia 2 (1), 37 , 2026 2026
Intestinal inflammation promotes neuroinflammation and PD-associated nigrostriatal pathology independently of LRRK2 G2019S kinase activity AR Merchak, MK Herrick, MC Houser, CE Keating, J Chang, MG Tansey Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience 20, 1794784 , 2026 2026
Parkinson's‐Linked LRRK2 and GBA1 Mutations Modulate the Peripheral Immune Response to Pseudomonas aeruginosa JR Mark, HA Staley, AM Titus, J Agin‐Liebes, A Garrido, L Hughes, ... Movement Disorders 41 (3), 651-666 , 2026 2026 Citations: 2
Profiling peripheral immune cells in Parkinson’s disease: A Scoping Review SJ Recinto, JE Jernigan Posey, N Lefter, Z Vitic, MØ Overgaard, L Liu, ... bioRxiv, 2026.02. 17.706426 , 2026 2026
RGS10 differentially modulates NFκB subunit transcription and inflammatory cytokine profiles in peritoneal macrophages JEJ Posey, K Dheeravath, CL Cole, NK Neighbarger, KB Menees, ... bioRxiv, 2026.02. 09.704897 , 2026 2026
Tissue-specific immune and MAPK signatures in models of reduced Progranulin and Western diet AR Merchak, ME de Sousa Rodrigues, C Cole, N Neighbarger, ... Neurobiology of Disease, 107287 , 2026 2026 Citations: 1
Spatial single-cell multiomics reveals peripheral immune dysfunction in Parkinson’s and inflammatory bowel disease MKL Bolen, M Buendia, J Shi, H Staley, JM Kachergus, PA Efron, G Park, ... npj Parkinson's Disease , 2026 2026 Citations: 1
Repurposing glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists for the treatment of neurodegenerative disorders MN Sabbagh, JL Cummings, C Ballard, WM van der Flier, MT Heneka, ... Nature aging 6 (1), 56-67 , 2026 2026 Citations: 3
Correction: MHCII reduction is insufficient to protect mice from alpha-synuclein-induced degeneration and the Parkinson’s HLA locus exhibits epigenetic regulation EM Kline, JE Jernigan, CD Scharer, J Maurer, SL Hicks, MK Herrick, ... Scientific Reports 15 (1), 44842 , 2025 2025
hPBMCs thawing and plating (no specific down-stream assay) R Wallings, M Tansey 2025
Quick-Start Protocol DNeasy Blood Tissue Kit and Genotyping JJ Posey, M Tansey 2025
SOP for BCA protein assay and western immunoblotting for Drosophila Pod M Tansey 2025
MINDFuL: a Multi‐center, Randomized, Double‐blind, Placebo‐controlled Phase 2 Clinical Trial of XPro1595 for Patients with Early Alzheimer's Disease and Biomarkers of Inflammation J Jaeger, S Cohen, T Blomberg, P Pope, K Staats, S Barnum, L Kingery, ... Alzheimer's & Dementia 21, e108386 , 2025 2025 Citations: 1
Interferon gamma stimulates coordinated changes in LRRK2, GCase, and cathepsin activities in idiopathic and genetic Parkinson’s disease monocytes LP Hughes, RL Wallings, J Agin-Liebes, RN Alcalay, A Garrido, ... npj Parkinson's Disease 11 (1), 337 , 2025 2025 Citations: 2
Inhibition of T cell infiltration and soluble TNF signaling is neuroprotective in the alpha-synuclein overexpressing mouse model of Parkinson’s disease A Tavira, L Basurco, MA Abellanas, L Ayerra, C Vidaurre, E Luquin, ... npj Parkinson's Disease 11 (1), 315 , 2025 2025 Citations: 2
XPro1595, a Selective Soluble TNF Neutralizer, in Early Alzheimer’s Disease with Inflammation (ADi): Results from the Phase 2 MINDFuL Trial J Jaeger, KA Staats, S Barnum, P Pope, L Kingery, M Buitendyk, S Cohen, ... medRxiv, 2025.09. 24.25336496 , 2025 2025 Citations: 2
Ending publication bias: A values-based approach to surface null and negative results S Curry, E Mercado-Lara, V Arechavala-Gomeza, CG Begley, C Bernard, ... PLoS Biology 23 (9), e3003368 , 2025 2025 Citations: 12
Lessons from the Tim Greenamyre model LH Sanders, N Blechman, S Berman, E Bezard, F Blandini, J Cannon, ... Neurobiology of Disease 213, 106995 , 2025 2025
Gut-brain nexus: Mapping multimodal links to neurodegeneration at biobank scale M Shafieinouri, S Hong, PS Lee, SM Grant, M Khani, A Dadu, ... Science Advances 11 (35), eadu2937 , 2025 2025 Citations: 4
MOST CITED SCHOLAR PUBLICATIONS
Inflammation and immune dysfunction in Parkinson disease MG Tansey, RL Wallings, MC Houser, MK Herrick, CE Keating, V Joers Nature Reviews Immunology 22 (11), 657-673 , 2022 2022 Citations: 1482
Neuroinflammation in Parkinson's disease: its role in neuronal death and implications for therapeutic intervention MG Tansey, MS Goldberg Neurobiology of disease 37 (3), 510-518 , 2010 2010 Citations: 1342
TNF signaling inhibition in the CNS: implications for normal brain function and neurodegenerative disease MK McCoy, MG Tansey Journal of neuroinflammation 5 (1), 45 , 2008 2008 Citations: 1133
Does neuroinflammation fan the flame in neurodegenerative diseases? TC Frank-Cannon, LT Alto, FE McAlpine, MG Tansey Molecular neurodegeneration 4 (1), 47 , 2009 2009 Citations: 1041
Artemin, a novel member of the GDNF ligand family, supports peripheral and central neurons and signals through the GFRα3–RET receptor complex RH Baloh, MG Tansey, PA Lampe, TJ Fahrner, H Enomoto, KS Simburger, ... Neuron 21 (6), 1291-1302 , 1998 1998 Citations: 796
Neuroinflammatory mechanisms in Parkinson's disease: potential environmental triggers, pathways, and targets for early therapeutic intervention MG Tansey, MK McCoy, TC Frank-Cannon Experimental neurology 208 (1), 1-25 , 2007 2007 Citations: 761
The gut-brain axis: is intestinal inflammation a silent driver of Parkinson’s disease pathogenesis? MC Houser, MG Tansey NPJ Parkinson's disease 3 (1), 3 , 2017 2017 Citations: 670
Persephin, a novel neurotrophic factor related to GDNF and neurturin J Milbrandt, FJ De Sauvage, TJ Fahrner, RH Baloh, ML Leitner, ... Neuron 20 (2), 245-253 , 1998 1998 Citations: 656
What does plasma CRP tell us about peripheral and central inflammation in depression? JC Felger, E Haroon, TA Patel, DR Goldsmith, EC Wommack, ... Molecular psychiatry 25 (6), 1301-1311 , 2020 2020 Citations: 527
Neuroinflammation in Alzheimer disease MT Heneka, WM Van der Flier, F Jessen, J Hoozemanns, DR Thal, ... Nature Reviews Immunology 25 (5), 321-352 , 2025 2025 Citations: 508
Relationships of gut microbiota, short-chain fatty acids, inflammation, and the gut barrier in Parkinson’s disease VTE Aho, MC Houser, PAB Pereira, J Chang, K Rudi, L Paulin, ... Molecular Neurodegeneration 16 (1), 6 , 2021 2021 Citations: 501
Peripheral and central immune system crosstalk in Alzheimer disease—a research prospectus BM Bettcher, MG Tansey, G Dorothée, MT Heneka Nature Reviews Neurology 17 (11), 689-701 , 2021 2021 Citations: 471
Blocking soluble tumor necrosis factor signaling with dominant-negative tumor necrosis factor inhibitor attenuates loss of dopaminergic neurons in models of Parkinson's disease MK McCoy, TN Martinez, KA Ruhn, DE Szymkowski, CG Smith, ... Journal of Neuroscience 26 (37), 9365-9375 , 2006 2006 Citations: 457
TrnR2, a novel receptor that mediates neurturin and GDNF signaling through Ret RH Baloh, MG Tansey, JP Golden, DJ Creedon, RO Heuckeroth, CL Keck, ... Neuron 18 (5), 793-802 , 1997 1997 Citations: 455
GFRα-mediated localization of RET to lipid rafts is required for effective downstream signaling, differentiation, and neuronal survival MG Tansey, RH Baloh, J Milbrandt, EM Johnson Neuron 25 (3), 611-623 , 2000 2000 Citations: 431
The role of innate and adaptive immunity in Parkinson's disease GT Kannarkat, JM Boss, MG Tansey Journal of Parkinson’s disease 3 (4), 493-514 , 2013 2013 Citations: 410
Parkin deficiency increases vulnerability to inflammation-related nigral degeneration TC Frank-Cannon, T Tran, KA Ruhn, TN Martinez, J Hong, M Marvin, ... Journal of Neuroscience 28 (43), 10825-10834 , 2008 2008 Citations: 325
Microglial phenotypes in Parkinson’s disease and animal models of the disease V Joers, MG Tansey, G Mulas, AR Carta Progress in neurobiology 155, 57-75 , 2017 2017 Citations: 322
Inactivation of TNF signaling by rationally designed dominant-negative TNF variants PM Steed, MG Tansey, J Zalevsky, EA Zhukovsky, JR Desjarlais, ... Science 301 (5641), 1895-1898 , 2003 2003 Citations: 322
Inhibition of soluble TNF signaling in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease prevents pre-plaque amyloid-associated neuropathology FE McAlpine, JK Lee, AS Harms, KA Ruhn, M Blurton-Jones, J Hong, ... Neurobiology of disease 34 (1), 163-177 , 2009 2009 Citations: 321
CONSULTANCY
Multiple biotechs and pharmaceutical companies. Multiple SABs and Advisory Groups.
