Department:Neurosurgery
Medical School:Tsinghua University, School of Life Sciences, China
Academic Rank:Professor
Cancer biology
Glial cell biology and CNS development
Genetic mouse models
CNS tumors
Stem cell biology
The main research interest in the Liu laboratory is to dissect the molecular and cellular mechanisms of brain cancer development, in particular high-grade glioma. By using cutting-edge mouse genetics, combined with live imaging as well as other biochemical, molecular and cell biology approaches, his group is aiming to address some fundamental questions in cancer biology. For instance, why does the same mutation only provoke a particular type of cell to transform, but not affect others? How do extrinsic and intrinsic cues work together to determine whether a cell stays normal, or goes awry? His lab is also interested in translating the basic cancer research into clinical applications. Taking the strategy of comparative studies between species, the lab is aiming to identify potential effective therapeutic targets for glioma patients and to develop novel brain-penetrable small molecule inhibitors by rational drug designs.
Tian, A., Kang, B., Li, B., Qiu, B., Jiang, W., Shao, F., Gao, Q., Liu, R., Cai, C., Jing, R., Wang, W., Chen, P., Liang, Q., Bao, L., Man, J., Wang, Y., Shi, Y., Li, J., Yang, M., Wang, L., Zhang, J., Hippenmeyer, S., Zhu, J., Bian, X., Wang, Y.‐J., Liu, C.# (2020) Oncogenic State and Cell Identity Combinatorially Dictate the Susceptibility of Cells within Glioma Development Hierarchy to IGF1R Targeting. Adv. Sci. https://doi.org/10.1002/advs.202001724 (# Correspondence)
Shao F, Liu C.# (2018) Revisit the Candidacy of Brain Cell Types as the Cell(s) of Origin for Human High-Grade Glioma. Front Mol Neurosci. 11:48. doi:10.3389/fnmol.2018.00048. (# Correspondence)
Shao, F., Jiang, W., Gao, Q., Li, B., Sun, C., Wang, Q., Chen, Q., Sun, B., Shen, H., Zhu, K., Zhang, J. and Liu, C.# (2017). Frozen tissue preparation for high-resolution multiplex histological analyses of human brain specimens. Journal of Neuro-Oncology (# Correspondence).
Ledur PF, Liu C,#, He H, Harris AR, Minussi D, Zhou HY, Shaffrey M, Asthagiri A, Lopes M, Schiff D, Lu Y-C, Mandell J, Lenz G, Zong H.# Culture conditions tailored to the cell of origin are critical for maintaining native properties and tumorigenicity of glioma cells. Neuro Oncol (2016) doi: 10.1093/neuonc/now062. (1. Co-first author, # Correspondence).
Liu C, Sage JC, Miller MR, Verhaak RG, Hippenmeyer S, Vogel H, Foreman O, Bronson RT, Nishiyama A, Luo L, Zong H. Mosaic analysis with double markers reveals tumor cell of origin in glioma. Cell. 2011 Jul 22; 146 (2): 209-21. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2011.06.014.
Stem Cell and Translational Research. Funding Source: National Key Research and Development Program of China