Academic Profile : Faculty

Yi Liu Portrait.jpg picture
Asst Prof Yi Liu
Assistant Professor of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine
Assistant Professor, Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine
Dr. Yi Liu is an Assistant Professor of Cancer Discovery and Regenerative Medicine at the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine (LKCMedicine), Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore. Dr. Liu received his Ph.D. degree in cell biology from Marquette University in Wisconsin, USA under the mentorship of the cilia biologist Dr. Pinfen Yang, where he made significant discoveries to the cilia field by identifying the long-searched key adaptor protein ARMC2 for motile cilia assembly, revealing microtubule dynamics in ciliated green algal cells, and engineering cilia into imaging standards for quantitative fluorescence microscopy. After graduation, Dr. Liu started postdoctoral position at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) working jointly with the cancer cell biologist Dr. Diane Barber and the stem cell biologist Dr. Todd Nystul, where he led a pioneering study to identify intracellular pH (pHi) dynamics as a previously unrecognized regulator for stem cell fate specification. In parallel, Dr. Liu pursued the role of pHi dynamics in cancer and established 3D tumor models for determining the emerging role of pHi dynamics in tumor heterogeneity. Resulted from his training, Dr. Liu has developed a broad interest in cell biology from cytoskeleton dynamics, stem cell differentiation and lineage specification, to cancer progression, and gained unique expertise in pHi dynamics, organoids, 3D cancer spheroids, and advanced 3D imaging,

Dr. Liu is also passionate about science education and communication. As a teaching assistant and a guest lecturer during his Ph.D. and post-doctoral training, Dr. Liu actively participated in teaching students at distinct levels, and he had gained abundant mentorship experience for students of diverse backgrounds.
The research interest of the Liu lab is to decipher cell behaviours from the lens of pHi dynamics. Broadly, the Liu lab will address the following questions:
1. How does pHi dynamics play a role in regenerative stem cell differentiation?
2. How does pHi dynamics contribute to tumour heterogeneity?
3. What are the roles of pHi dynamics in regulating morphogenesis?
 
Awards
2016 Oliver H. Smith Academic Achievement Award, Oliver H. Smith Memorial Fund
2015 Charles O’Hara Scholarship, Biological Sciences Department, Marquette University
2015 Catherine Grotelueschen Scholarship, Biological Sciences Department, Marquette University
2014 Richard W. Jobling Travel Award, Biological Sciences Department, Marquette University
2014 Graduate Travel Award, American Society for Cell Biology
 
Fellowships & Other Recognition
2017 Three Minute Thesis Competition finalist, Marquette University
2016 MU Fellowship, Marquette University