Biography
Dr. Liou received her Ph.D. in Cancer Biology from Harvard University (1989) working with thesis advisor Dr. Laurie H. Glimcher and completed a post-doctoral fellowship under the direction of Dr. David Baltimore, Nobel Laureate, President of Rockefeller University and California Institute of Technology. Being one of the first scientists to clone the transcription factors XBP/ATF family and a pioneer in the functional studies of c-Rel proto-oncogene, Dr. Lious research experience includes over 20 years as a molecular biologist and immunologist and has established her scientific reputation with over 70 peer-reviewed publications, many in prestigious journals such as Science, Cell, Immunity, Nature Immunology, and PNAS. She is the editor of the book NF-kB/Rel Transcription Factor Family.
Under her leadership, Dr. Lious research team generated a c-Rel knockout mouse model and performed pioneer studies showing that blocking c-Rel activity protects the animals from developing lung inflammation (asthma), autoimmune diseases (e.g. multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, type I diabetes), and transplant rejection. C-Rel, as a proto-oncogene, is also highly associated with B cell malignancies and solid tumors such as breast cancer. Serendipitously, her team has also discovered that c-Rel is involved in neuroprotection and long-term memory. These discoveries lend a strong support for c-Rel as rational therapeutic target for autoimmunity, inflammation, transplantation rejection, cancers, and neurodegenerative diseases. Dr. Lious research serves solid scientific foundation for ImmuneTarget, Inc business platform, co-founded by Dr. Liou and her colleague Dr. Kendall A. Smith, with the mission of developing small molecular inhibitors of oncogenic transcription factors as novel target-specific therapies.
Dr. Liou has firm belief in honor, integrity, determination, and thrive for success and excellence in professional and personal life. Experiencing the richness of scientific knowledge in academic research, Dr. Liou is inspired to bring forward precious scientific knowledge to practical applications. Her professional goal is to develop a research and business platform through which innovative biomedical discoveries are translated into therapeutics, medical devices, or services for the benefit of human health. As a scientist entrepreneur, Dr. Lious passion is to devote herself in bridging innovative basic research into targeted therapies through drug discovery and development programs.
