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East side of the Jennie Smoly Caruthers Biotech Building

Welcome to the Liu Lab

Our lab uses live-cell microscopy and sequencing-based techniques to understand the fundamental mechanisms underlying cell signaling networks, particularly signaling aberrations that lead to diseaess like cancer and Parkinson's disease.

Lab members standing outside with the Flatirons behind them

Who We Are

The Liu lab currently includes graduate students from the Biochemistry, Organic Chemistry, and MCDB, as well as post-doctoral researchers and undergraduate trainees.

Tightly-packed cells with three fluorescent markers

What We Do

Our current projects include understanding the cell signaling behind:

  • Collective cell migration in wound healing and cancer
  • Mitochondrial biostasis and its role in aging, obesity, and Parkinson's disease
  • Macromolecule delivery using extracellular vesicles

Welcome to the Liu Lab

We are interested in understanding the fundamental mechanisms underlying cell-cell interactions and communication. Cells adapt to their environment mainly through the activities of signal transduction networks. Aberrations of normal signaling networks can lead to human diseases such as cancer and Parkinson's disease. We study how signaling systems such as TGF-脽 or EGF regulate collective migration of epithelial sheets and wound healing using high content live-cell imaging and mathematical modeling. We are developing small molecule modulators of cell signaling networks that control cell proliferation and mitochondrial homeostasis and translating them for human therapeutics. Beyond growth factor signaling, we are also interested in deciphering the rules that govern intercellular communication via extracellular vesicles (EV). Borrowing from mechanisms of EV delivery, we are developing programmable EVs for delivering macromolecules to the intracellular space. See more research here.

News and Events

12/2020: Our paper entitled "Suppression of alpha-catenin and adherens junctions enhances epithelial cell proliferation and motility via TACE-mediated TGF-alpha autocrine/paracrine signaling" has been accepted at Molecular Biology of the Cell.

11/2020: Our paper entitled "Programmable Extracellular Vesicles for Macromolecule Delivery and Genome Modifications" has been accepted by Developmental Cell.

5/2019: OKI-179, an isoform-selective small molecule inhibitor of histone deacetylases originally discovered in the Liu lab, recieved FDA IND regulatory clearance to start phase I trials.  

 

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