Duan Liu, Ph.D.

Location

Contact

SUMMARY

Duan Liu, Ph.D., studies the biological mechanisms that drive individual variations in response to drug therapy, particularly in mood and substance use disorders. Dr. Liu clarifies disease pathways to support the development of new therapeutic interventions. His research programs often begin with the discovery of biomarkers through analysis of clinical samples using comprehensive multi-omics approaches. These include genomic, transcriptomic, proteomic and metabolomic studies. Subsequently, Dr. Liu performs functional validation of identified biomarkers to further understand how their biological mechanisms are linked to disease.

Focus areas

• Pharmacogenomics of major depressive disorder. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are the standard of care pharmacotherapy for major depressive disorder. However, many patients with major depressive disorder don't respond to SSRI therapy. Dr. Liu applies a metabolomics-informed genomics approach to study both the severity of depressive symptoms and SSRI response in major depressive disorder. He has discovered several genes that were not previously known to play roles in major depressive disorder and SSRI treatment response. Dr. Liu is now adding proteomic studies to understand the underlying mechanisms of SSRI response.
• Pharmacogenomics of bipolar disorder, alcohol use disorder and their co-occurrence. Bipolar disorder and alcohol use disorder often co-occur, which complicates the pharmacotherapy of both conditions. Dr. Liu studies the biological functions of pharmacogenomic markers for bipolar disorder and alcohol use disorder. His research indicates that abnormal glutamatergic neurogenesis may connect bipolar disorder and alcohol use disorder, raising the possibility of targeting glutamatergic neurotransmission to treat these conditions when they occur together.
• Post-transcriptional gene regulation as a potential therapeutic target. Post-transcriptional gene regulation includes alternative RNA splicing, polyadenylation and modification, which may contribute substantially to the disease mechanisms of neuropsychiatric disorders. This hypothesis is supported by the fact that multiple genes encoding neural-specific RNA-binding proteins — proteins that function in post-transcriptional gene regulation — have been repeatedly associated with a broad range of neuropsychiatric disorders in large-scale human genomics studies. Dr. Liu studies the molecular functions of neural-specific RNA-binding proteins to better understand their roles in disease. His goal is to identify new targets and pathways for pharmacotherapy.
• Biomarker and therapeutic targets for cardiac fibrosis. Cardiac fibrosis is a hallmark of heart failure, and targeting it holds strong potential for treating various cardiovascular diseases. Dr. Liu led a study that identified novel genes that play roles in cardiac fibrosis and myocardial recovery with pharmacotherapy. He focuses on developing druggable targets to treat cardiac fibrosis.

Significance to patient care

Dr. Liu helps find better ways to make medicines work more effectively and safely for each patient. His studies also help researchers understand how certain diseases develop. This knowledge can lead to new treatments that may help patients feel better and live healthier lives.

Professional highlights

• Member, Editorial board, Genes, 2025-present.
• Member, Editorial board, BMC Medical Genomics, 2023-present.
• Presidential Trainee Award, American Society for Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics, 2016, 2020.
• Young Investigator Scholarship Award, International Society for the Study of Xenobiotics, 2008.