Ming Guo, M.D., Ph.D., is P. Gene & Elaine Smith Chair in Alzheimer's Disease Research.

As a practicing Neurologist, she sees patients with memory disorders, neurodegenerative and neurogenetic disorders, referred from both domestic and international sources.

As a researcher, her lab investigates molecular mechanisms of the two most common neurodegenerative disorders, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease. Mutations in PINK1 and PARKIN lead to inherited forms of Parkinson's disease. Her lab is one of the first two labs worldwide to report the function of PINK1, and to discover that PINK1, a mitochondria-localized serine-threonine kinase, and PARKIN, an E3 ubiquitin ligase, act in a common genetic pathway to regulate mitochondrial integrity and mitochondrial quality control.