Biography

My interest in chemistry ignited during high school, which culminated in a Gold Medal at the 38th International Chemistry Olympiad (IChO). Then I continued academic journey with Chemistry and obtained bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Peking University in 2010 and Ph.D. in chemistry at the same institution in 2015.

My scientific path took a significant turn during my postdoctoral research, where I transitioned to the realm of cancer epigenetics and harnessed the power of chemistry to develop innovative methods for early cancer detection. Collaborating with Professor Mike Makrigiorgos at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard University, I developed techniques to detect low-abundance DNA mutations associated with cancer and abnormal methylation. My academic voyage continued at the University of Oxford, in the lab of Professor Chun-xiao Song at the Ludwig Cancer Research Institute, where I introduced the groundbreaking TAPS technique for DNA methylation analysis. My entrepreneurial spirit also led to the co-founding of Base Genomics, an early cancer screening company eventually acquired by Exact Sciences.

In October 2022, I embraced a new chapter as a Professor in the College of Chemistry and Molecular Sciences and a Principal Investigator at the Taikang Center for Life Sciences at Wuhan University.

Research

My research interest focuses on developing novel technologies for DNA methylation analysis using chemical and biochemical approaches, with a primary application in the field of cancer early screening and related biomedical research. Notably, the TET-assisted Pyridine Borane Sequencing (TAPS) technique stands out due to its advantages in sequencing throughput, cost-effectiveness, and data quality. It holds the potential to replace traditional Bisulfite Sequencing method as the new gold standard for DNA methylation detection.

My research areas encompass:

1. Single-cell multi-omics methods for fundamental cancer research.

2. Development of early cancer diagnosis technologies based on abnormal DNA methylation and hydroxymethylation detection.

The application of cutting-edge sequencing platforms, such as third-generation single-molecule long-read sequencing, in cancer diagnostics.

Representative  Publications

1. Du Y, Tang Y, Lin B, Xue X, Wang Y^*, Liu Y^*. Science China Chemistry, 2023, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11426-023-1729-2

2. Liu Y^*, Song CX^*. ACS Chem Biol, 2022, 17: 2683-2685

3. Liu Y, Xie HY, Li XY, Sun Y, Zhu ZW, Zhao MP. Microchimica Acta, 2022, 189: 138

4. Liu Y, Hu Z, Cheng J, Siejka-Zielinska P, Chen J, Inoue M, Ahmed AA, Song CX^*. Nat Commun, 2021, 12: 618

5. Liu Y, Cheng J, Siejka-Zielinska P, Weldon C, Roberts H, Lopopolo M, Magri A, D'Arienzo V, Harris JM, McKeating JA, Song CX^*. Genome Biol, 2020, 21: 54

6. Liu Y, Siejka-Zielinska P, Velikova G, Bi Y, Yuan F, Tomkova M, Bai C, Chen L, Schuster-Bockler B^*, Song CX^*. Nat Biotechnol, 2019, 37: 424-429

7. Liu Y, Song C, Ladas I, Fitarelli-Kiehl M, Makrigiorgos GM^*. Nucleic Acids Res, 2017, 45: e39