Publications

Dr. Liu has published peer-reviewed journal articles, with first-author papers in high-impact journals such as Cell (2025), Nature Materials (2017), PNAS (2020), Nature Communications (2021) et.al. In addition, he has corresponding author papers in Nature Communications (2024), ACS Nano (2024), and The EMBO Journal (2022) et.al , and co-author papers in Nature Biotechnology(2025), Science (2024), Nature Reviews Bioengineering (2023), Nature Materials (2022), Biomaterials (2016, 2017) et.al, two book chapters, among others.

2025

• **Liu L#, He P, Wang Y, Ma F, Li D, Bai Z, Qu Y, Zhu L, Yoon CW, Yu X, Huang Y, Liang Z, Zhang Y, Liu K, Guo T, Zeng Y, Zhou Q, Chung HK, Fan R, Wang Y#. Engineering sonogenetic EchoBack-CAR T cells. Cell. 2025;188(10):2621-36.e20. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2025.02.035.

Research highlighted by: Nature Biotechnology; Nature Reviews Cancer; Clinical Translational Medicine, et.al. 

• C.W. Yoon*, C. Song, D.N.M. Nguyen, X. Yu, L. Zhu, P. Ho, Z. Huang, G. Lu, Y. Wang, F. Wei, Y. Qu, A. Zamat, A. Lewis, R. Chen, Y. Zeng, N.S. Lee, C. Jamieson, B. Yu, K.K. Shung, Q. Zhou, Liu L# (Corresponding author), Y. Wang*. Tumour Priming by Ultrasound Mechanogenetics for CAR T Therapy. Nature Materials. Accepted. 

• ** Frei MS, Sanchez SA, He X, Liu L, Schneider F, Wang Z, Hakozaki H, Li Y, Lyons AC, Rohm TV, Olefsky JM, Shi L, Schöneberg J, Fraser SE, Mehta S, Wang Y, Zhang J. Far-red chemigenetic kinase biosensors enable multiplexed and super-resolved imaging of signaling networks. Nature Biotechnology. 2025. doi: 10.1038/s41587-025-02642-8.

• Ma S, Dahabieh MS, Mann TH, Zhao S, McDonald B, Song WS, Chung HK, Farsakoglu Y, Garcia-Rivera L, Hoffmann FA, Xu S, Du VY, Chen D, Furgiuele J, LaPorta MA, Jacobs E, DeCamp LM, Oswald BM, Sheldon RD, Ellis AE, Liu L, He P, Wang Y, Jang C, Jones RG, Kaech SM. Nutrient-driven histone code determines exhausted CD8(+) T cell fates. Science. 2025 Feb 7;387(6734):eadj3020. doi: 10.1126/science.adj3020. Epub 2025 Feb 7. PubMed PMID: 39666821; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC11881194.

2024

• ** Wu Y, Huang Z, Liu Y, He P, Wang Y, Yan L, Wang X, Gao S, Zhou X, Yoon CW, Sun K, Situ Y, Ho P, Zeng Y, Yuan Z, Zhu L, Zhou Q, Zhao Y, Liu T, Kwong GA, Chien S, Liu L (Corresponding author), Wang Y. Ultrasound Control of Genomic Regulatory Toolboxes for Cancer Immunotherapy. Nat Commun. 2024 Dec 1;15(1):10444. doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-54477-7. PubMed PMID: 39617755; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC11609292.

• Lin W, Phatarphekar A, Zhong Y, Liu L, Kwon HB, Gerwick WH, Wang Y, Mehta S, Zhang J. Light-gated integrator for highlighting kinase activity in living cells. Nat Commun. 2024 Sep 6;15(1):7804. doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-51270-4. PubMed PMID: 39242543; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC11379911.

• **Tang M, Qu Y, He P, Yao E, Guo T, Yu D, Zhang N, Kiratitanaporn W, Sun Y, Liu L (Corresponding author), Wang Y, Chen S. Heat-inducible CAR-T overcomes adverse mechanical tumor microenvironment in a 3D bioprinted glioblastoma model. Mater Today Bio. 2024 Jun;26:101077. doi: 10.1016/j.mtbio.2024.101077. eCollection 2024 Jun. PubMed PMID: 38765247; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC11099333.

• Tang M, Jiang S, Huang X, Ji C, Gu Y, Qi Y, Xiang Y, Yao E, Zhang N, Berman E, Yu D, Qu Y, Liu L, Berry D, Yao Y. Integration of 3D bioprinting and multi-algorithm machine learning identified glioma susceptibilities and microenvironment characteristics. Cell Discov. 2024 Apr 9;10(1):39. doi: 10.1038/s41421-024-00650-7. PubMed PMID: 38594259; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC11003988.

• Lin W, Phatarphekar A, Zhong Y, Liu L, Kwon HB, Gerwick WH, Wang Y, Mehta S, Zhang J. Light-gated Integrator for Highlighting Kinase Activity in Living Cells. Nat Commun.  2024 Mar 20;. doi: 10.1101/2024.03.18.585554. PubMed PMID: 38562887; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC10983958.

• **Zhu L, Man CW, Harrison RES, Wu Z, Limsakul P, Peng Q, Hashimoto M, Mamaril AP, Xu H, Liu L (Corresponding author), Wang Y. Engineering a Programmed Death-Ligand 1-Targeting Monobody Via Directed Evolution for SynNotch-Gated Cell Therapy. ACS Nano. 2024 Mar 19;18(11):8531-8545. doi: 10.1021/acsnano.4c01597. Epub 2024 Mar 8. PubMed PMID: 38456901; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC10958600.

2023

• Duan Y, Chen J, Meng X, Liu L, Shang K, Wu X, Wang Y, Huang Z, Liu H, Huang Y, Zhou C, Gao X, Wang Y, Sun J. Balancing activation and co-stimulation of CAR tunes signaling dynamics and enhances therapeutic potency. Mol Ther. 2023 Jan 4;31(1):35-47. doi: 10.1016/j.ymthe.2022.08.018. Epub 2022 Aug 31. PubMed PMID: 36045585; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC9840118.

• ** Liu L, Yoon CW, Yuan Z, Guo T, Qu Y, He P, Yu X, Zhu Z, Limsakul P, Wang Y. Cellular and molecular imaging of CAR-T cell-based immunotherapy. Adv Drug Deliv Rev. 2023 Dec;203:115135. doi: 10.1016/j.addr.2023.115135. Epub 2023 Nov 4. Review. PubMed PMID: 37931847; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC11052581

• Liu L, Wang Y, Schmitt DL. LUNAS: A Rapid and Sensitive Nucleic Acid Detection Assay Using Split NanoLuc Luciferase Complementation. ACS Cent Sci. 2023 Apr 26;9(4):593-596. doi: 10.1021/acscentsci.3c00366. eCollection 2023 Apr 26. PubMed PMID: 37122472; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC10141587.

2022 (Before USC)

• Song Y, Soto J, Chen B, Hoffman T, Zhao W, Zhu N, Peng Q, Liu L,, Ly C, Wong PK, Wang Y, Rowat AC, Kurdistani SK, Li S. Transient nuclear deformation primes epigenetic state and promotes cell reprogramming. Nat Mater. 2022 Oct;21(10):1191-1199. doi: 10.1038/s41563-022-01312-3. Epub 2022 Aug 4. PubMed PMID: 35927431; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC9529815.

• ** Pan Y, Shi LZ, Yoon CW, Preece D, Gomez-Godinez V, Lu S, Carmona C, Woo SH, Chien S, Berns MW, Liu L (Corresponding author), Wang Y. Mechanosensor Piezo1 mediates bimodal patterns of intracellular calcium and FAK signaling. EMBO J. 2022 Sep 1;41(17):e111799. doi: 10.15252/embj.2022111799. Epub 2022 Jul 17. PubMed PMID: 35844093; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC9433934.

• ** Liu L, Qu Y, Cheng L, Yoon CW, He P, Monther A, Guo T, Chittle S, Wang Y. Engineering chimeric antigen receptor T cells for solid tumour therapy. Clin Transl Med. 2022 Dec;12(12):e1141. doi: 10.1002/ctm2.1141. Review. PubMed PMID: 36495108; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC9736813.

• Wu Y, Huang Z, Harrison R, Liu L, Zhu L, Situ Y, Wang Y. Engineering CAR T cells for enhanced efficacy and safety. APL Bioeng. 2022 Mar;6(1):011502. doi: 10.1063/5.0073746. eCollection 2022 Mar. Review. PubMed PMID: 35071966; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC8769768.

2021

• Gong Y, Wei C, Cheng L, Ma F, Lu S, Peng Q, Liu L (Corresponding author), Wang Y. Tracking the Dynamic Histone Methylation of H3K27 in Live Cancer Cells. ACS Sens. 2021 Dec 24;6(12):4369-4378. doi: 10.1021/acssensors.1c01670. Epub 2021 Dec 8. PubMed PMID: 34878766; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC9013700.

• Liu L, Limsakul P, Meng X, Yan H, Harrison , Huang T, Shi Y, Yu Y, Charupanit K, Zhong S, Lu S, Zhang J, Chien S, Sun J, Wang Y. FRET-Seq: a High-Throughput FRET-Based Screening Platform to Improve FRET Biosensors in Mammalian Cells. Protocol Exchange. 2021/08. doi: 10.21203/rs.3.pex-1580/v1.

• ** Liu L, Limsakul P, Meng X, Huang Y, Harrison RES, Huang TS, Shi Y, Yu Y, Charupanit K, Zhong S, Lu S, Zhang J, Chien S, Sun J, Wang Y. Integration of FRET and sequencing to engineer kinase biosensors from mammalian cell libraries. Nat Commun. 2021 Aug 19;12(1):5031. doi: 10.1038/s41467-021-25323-x. PubMed PMID: 34413312; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC8376904.

• Liu L, Yu H, Long Y, You Z, Ogawa R, Du Y, Huang C. Asporin inhibits collagen matrix-mediated intercellular mechanocommunications between fibroblasts during keloid progression. FASEB J. 2021 Jul;35(7):e21705. doi: 10.1096/fj.202100111R. PubMed PMID: 34105826.

2020

• Xing D, Liu W, Li JJ, Liu L, Guo A, Wang B, Yu H, Zhao Y, Chen Y, You Z, Lyu C, Li W, Liu A, Du Y, Lin J. Engineering 3D functional tissue constructs using self-assembling cell-laden microniches. Acta Biomater. 2020 Sep 15;114:170-182. doi: 10.1016/j.actbio.2020.07.058. Epub 2020 Aug 6. PubMed PMID: 32771588.

• ** Liu L, Yu H, Zhao H, Wu Z, Long Y, Zhang J, Yan X, You Z, Zhou L, Xia T, Shi Y, Xiao B, Wang Y, Huang C, Du Y. Matrix-transmitted paratensile signaling enables myofibroblast-fibroblast cross talk in fibrosis expansion. PNAS. 2020 May 19;117(20):10832-10838. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1910650117. Epub 2020 May 1. PubMed PMID: 32358190; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC7245086.

• ** Liu L, He F, Yu Y, Wang Y. Application of FRET Biosensors in Mechanobiology and Mechanopharmacological Screening. Front Bioeng Biotechnol. 2020;8:595497. doi: 10.3389/fbioe.2020.595497. eCollection 2020. Review. PubMed PMID: 33240867; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC7680962.

2019 (Before UCSD)

• Huang C, Liu L, You Z, Du Y, Ogawa R. Managing keloid scars: From radiation therapy to actual and potential drug deliveries. Int Wound J. 2019 Jun;16(3):852-859. doi: 10.1111/iwj.13104. Epub 2019 Mar 12. Review. PubMed PMID: 30864269; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC7948876.

• ** Liu L, You Z, Yu H, Zhou L, Zhao H, Yan X, Li D, Wang B, Zhu L, Xu Y, Xia T, Shi Y, Huang C, Hou W, Du Y. Mechanotransduction-modulated fibrotic microniches reveal the contribution of angiogenesis in liver fibrosis. Nat Mater. 2017 Dec;16(12):1252-1261. doi: 10.1038/nmat5024. Epub 2017 Nov 13. PubMed PMID: 29170554.

• Zhu L, Fan X, Wang B, Liu L, Yan X, Zhou L, Zeng Y, Poznansky MC, Wang L, Chen H, Du Y. Biomechanically primed liver microtumor array as a high-throughput mechanopharmacological screening platform for stroma-reprogrammed combinatorial therapy. Biomaterials. 2017 Apr;124:12-24. doi: 10.1016/j.biomaterials.2017.01.030. Epub 2017 Jan 27. PubMed PMID: 28182873.

• Huang C, Liu L, You Z, Zhao Y, Dong J, Du Y, Ogawa R. Endothelial dysfunction and mechanobiology in pathological cutaneous scarring: lessons learned from soft tissue fibrosis. Br J Dermatol. 2017 Nov;177(5):1248-1255. doi: 10.1111/bjd.15576. Epub 2017 Oct 1. Review. PubMed PMID: 28403507.

• Wang B, Qin P, Zhao H, Xia T, Wang J, Liu L, Zhu L, Xu J, Huang C, Shi Y, Du Y. Substrate stiffness orchestrates epithelial cellular heterogeneity with controlled proliferative pattern via E-cadherin/β-catenin mechanotransduction. Acta Biomater. 2016 Sep 1;41:169-80. doi: 10.1016/j.actbio.2016.05.025. Epub 2016 May 18. PubMed PMID: 27208640.

• Wang J, Chen F, Liu L, Qi C, Wang B, Yan X, Huang C, Hou W, Zhang MQ, Chen Y, Du Y. Engineering EMT using 3D micro-scaffold to promote hepatic functions for drug hepatotoxicity evaluation. Biomaterials. 2016 Jun;91:11-22. doi: 10.1016/j.biomaterials.2016.03.001. Epub 2016 Mar 9. PubMed PMID: 26994875.