Yvette C Wong

Dr. Yvette C Wong is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Neurology (Movement Disorders) at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine. Her research focuses on cellular mechanisms underlying neurodegenerative diseases, particularly through the study of inter-organelle contact sites using advanced super-resolution microscopy techniques.

Dr. Wong received her BA in Biology & Mathematics from Cornell University (2009) and her PhD in Neuroscience from the University of Pennsylvania (2015), where she studied neuronal autophagy and mitophagy. She completed postdoctoral training at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine (2020).

Her research program investigates the regulation and function of inter-organelle contact site dynamics in cell biology and neurodegenerative disease pathogenesis. Specifically, her lab aims to identify new cellular pathways for organelle dynamics such as mitochondria and lysosomes to advance neuroscience and cell biology, and elucidate their role in neurological disorders including Parkinson's, Charcot-Marie-Tooth, Alzheimer's disease, ALS and Frontotemporal Dementia. Her work employs advanced Super-Resolution live microscopy approaches in human cell lines, neurons, and various disease models to address key questions about inter-organelle contact sites, neurodegenerative disease mechanisms, and super-resolution microscopy techniques.

Dr. Wong's publication record demonstrates a strong focus on mitochondria-lysosome contact sites, with significant contributions to understanding how defects in these contact dynamics contribute to neurodegenerative diseases. Her work spans fundamental cell biology to disease mechanisms, with particular emphasis on Parkinson's disease pathways.

• Toffler Scholar Award, Karen Toffler Charitable Trust (2024)
• ANA Grass Foundation Award in Neuroscience, American Neurological Association (2023)
• NIH New Innovator DP2 Award, NIGMS (2021)
• Warren Alpert Distinguished Scholars Award in Neuroscience, Warren Alpert Foundation (2019)
• NIH Pathway to Independence K99/R00 Award, NINDS (2018)

Dr. Wong has secured significant research funding including the NIH Director's New Innovator Award and NIH K99/R00 Pathway to Independence Award. She serves as co-chair of the Organelle Crosstalk and Contact Sites Special Interest Subgroup for the ASCB & EMBO 2020 Annual Meeting. Her laboratory continues to make important contributions to understanding the cellular mechanisms underlying neurodegenerative diseases through innovative imaging approaches and molecular analysis.