Biochemistry & Pharmacology: Open Access
Open Access

Yong-Yu Liu

Biography

Yong-Yu Liu, Assistant Professor of Pharmacology, earned MD from Soochow University School of Medicine and PhD in Biochemistry from Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, obtained post-doctoral training in molecular endocrinology and oncology from University of Rome-Tor Vergata, University of Manitoba, and John Wayne Cancer Institute. His early work in type II diabetes found that the combination of pancreatic isles damage with high-fat and high-glucose diet can be used to establish type II diabetic models and hybrid receptor (insulin receptor/insulin-like growth factor receptor) is one risk factor for insulin resistance. With interest in molecular therapeutics of cancer, Dr. Liu discovered ceramide glycosylation is critical for the drug resistance of cancer cells. His works show glycosphingolipids, particular globo-series glycosphingolipids participate in gene regulation, enhancing drug efflux and maintaining the stemness of cancer stem cells. His group first reported that wild-type p53 protein can be restored by ceramide-induced post-transcriptional modification in p53 mutant cancer.

Research Interest

Identification of cancer stem cells, Nanoparticle and oligonucleotide delivery, Epigenetic effects on gene regulation and RNA splicing, Characterization molecular markers and therapeutic targets for cancer treatment, Microarray design & gene profiling, Anticancer drug discovery and development (antisense oligonucleotide, siRNA/shRNA, enzyme inhibitors), Evaluation of drug efficiency in in vitro, in vivo models, Gene cloning & gene identification, Establishing transgenic mice/tumor-bearing mice, Signal transduction of growth arrest/apoptosis in cancer chemotherapy.