Research Interest：
Nucleic acid structure, Nucleic acid drug, mRNA vaccine
Education History：
2015-2018, Senior research associate, School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, UK
2011-2015, Research associate, School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, UK
2008-2011, Research fellow, Cancer Research UK, UK
2003-2008, Ph.D. in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, Institute of Biophysics (IBP), Chinese Academy of Sciences, China
1999-2003, BSc in Physics, Department of Physics, Shandong Normal University, China
Honors and Awards
Dr. Liu received his Ph.D. from the Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, in 2008. He then finished post-doctoral training at Cancer Research UK and the University of Dundee. He was honored with a fellowship from the Cancer Research UK China Fellow Program and a scholarship from the Scottish Universities Life Sciences Alliance (SULSA). In 2018, he joined Nankai University and the State Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemical Biology.
Dr. Liu's research primarily focuses on DNA damage repair nucleases and RNA catalytic molecules. His work in this field has been published in prestigious journals such as Nature Chemical Biology, Cell Reports, JACS, and Nucleic Acid Research. Recently, he has been actively involved in the development of novel RNA-based technologies for RNA vaccines and therapeutics. This includes research on self-amplifying mRNA, circular RNA, RNA scissors, and transient RNA interference applications.
Scientific Achievements & Selected Publications
1. Wilson, T. J., Y. Liu, N. S. Li, Q. Dai, J. A. Piccirilli and D. M. J. Lilley (2019). “Comparison of the Structures and Mechanisms of the Pistol and Hammerhead Ribozymes.” J Am Chem Soc 141(19): 7865-7875.:
2. Liu, Y., A. D. Freeman, A. C. Declais and D. M. J. Lilley (2018). “A monovalent ion in the DNA binding interface of the eukaryotic junction-resolving enzyme GEN1.” Nucleic Acids Res 46(20): 11089-11098.
3. Liu, Y., A. Freeman, A. C. Declais, A. Gartner and D. M. J. Lilley (2018). “Biochemical and Structural Properties of Fungal Holliday Junction-Resolving Enzymes.” Methods Enzymol 600: 543-568.
4. Liu, Y., T. J. Wilson and D. M. J. Lilley (2017). “The structure of a nucleolytic ribozyme that employs a catalytic metal ion.” Nat Chem Biol 13(5): 508-513.
5. Liu, Y. and D. M. J. Lilley (2017). “Crystal Structures of Cyanine Fluorophores Stacked onto the End of Double-Stranded RNA.” Biophys J 113(11): 2336-2343.
6. Wilson, T. J., Y. Liu, C. Domnick, S. Kath-Schorr and D. M. Lilley (2016). “The Novel Chemical Mechanism of the Twister Ribozyme.” J Am Chem Soc 138(19): 6151-6162.
7. Liu, Y., A. D. Freeman, A. C. Declais, T. J. Wilson, A. Gartner and D. M. Lilley (2015). “Crystal Structure of a Eukaryotic GEN1 Resolving Enzyme Bound to DNA.” Cell Rep 13(11): 2565-2575.
8. Liu, Y., T. J. Wilson, S. A. McPhee and D. M. Lilley (2014). “Crystal structure and mechanistic investigation of the twister ribozyme.” Nat Chem Biol 10(9): 739-744.
