Mentor's introduction
Dr. Liu received his PhD degree from Tzu Chi University, Taiwan in 2008. He conducted postdoctoral research at the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health, investigating the regulatory mechanisms of epithelial-mesenchymal transition and bone metastasis of prostate cancer. He joined Taipei Medical University as an asistant professor in 2012, focusing on genetic and epigenetic events in castration-resistant prostate cancer. He was a Visiting Research Scholar in the Department of Pathology at Duke University Medical Center in 2017, where he studied the regulation of metabolic and inflammatory signals that lead to drug resistance in neuroendocrine prostate cancer.  As a Visiting Professor at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, his main emphasis centers on leading the development of cancer-targeted gene circuit platforms specifically designed for the treatment of castration-resistant prostate cancer and neuroendocrine prostate cancer.

Honor

1. Ta-You Wu Memorial Award, Ministry of Science and Technology, Taiwan (2018)
2. Excellent Young Scholars Research Project, Ministry of Science and Technology, Taiwan (2018)
3. Young Researcher Cancer Research Excellence Award, Taiwan Oncology Society, Taiwan (2018)
4. Excellent Young Scholars Research Project, Ministry of Science and Technology, Taiwan (2016)
5. Young Scholar Award, Taipei Medical University, Taiwan (2015)
6. Excellent Research Award, Taipei Medical University, Taiwan (2014)
7. Young Scholar Award, Taipei Medical University, Taiwan (2014)

Research Topics

Genetic and Epigenetic Mechanisms in Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer: Investigating the specific genetic and epigenetic alterations that contribute to the development and progression of castration-resistant prostate cancer. Identifying key molecular pathways involved in treatment resistance and disease recurrence.

Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition (EMT) and Bone Metastasis in Prostate Cancer: Continuing our earlier work, the lab delves into the regulatory mechanisms of EMT and the formation of bone metastases in prostate cancer. Understanding how cancer cells undergo EMT and acquire the ability to invade surrounding tissues and establish metastatic lesions in bone.

Metabolic and Inflammatory Signals in Neuroendocrine Prostate Cancer: We focus on the regulation of metabolic and inflammatory signals. Investigating how these signals contribute to drug resistance in neuroendocrine prostate cancer, a particularly aggressive form of the disease.

Development of Cancer-Targeted Gene Circuit Platforms: Designing and implementing innovative gene circuit platforms tailored to target cancer cells with precision. Exploring the potential of gene circuits as a therapeutic strategy for castration-resistant prostate cancer and neuroendocrine prostate cancer.

Drug Resistance Mechanisms: Studying the mechanisms underlying resistance to standard cancer treatments, with a particular emphasis on identifying novel targets for intervention. Investigating how cancer cells adapt and evolve to evade the effects of therapeutic agents.