Dr. Yi Liu

Biography 

Dr. Liu received his PhD in Molecular Genetics from the University of Toronto and completed his postdoctoral training at the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, MIT. His research focuses on leveraging human embryonic stem cell (hESC) and induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) technologies to establish human cell-based models for investigating the pathogenesis of neurodevelopmental disorders. His lab is developing a suite of models, including two-dimensional (2D) neural differentiation systems, three-dimensional (3D) cerebral organoids, and in vivo human-mouse chimeric models. By integrating proteomics, super-resolution imaging, and single-cell multi-omics approaches, his lab aims to dissect the transcriptional and epigenetic regulatory mechanisms that govern human neuronal development and to understand how these processes are disrupted in disease. Through the identification of critical cellular pathways and disease-relevant genomic regions, his lab seeks to catalyze mechanism-driven therapeutic development, with a focus on integrating advanced drug delivery systems and gene therapy strategies.

Liu Y, Whitfield T, Bell G, Flamier A, Young R, Jaenisch R. Exploring the complexity of MECP2 function in Rett syndrome. Nature Reviews Neuroscience 2025 Jul;26(7):379-398.

Liu Y*, Flamier A*, Bell G, Diao A, Whitfield T, Wang H, Wu Y, Schulte F, Friesen M, Guo R, Mitalipova M, Liu S, Vos S, Young R, Jaenisch R. MECP2 interacts with RNA polymerase II to modulate transcription in human neurons. Neuron 2024 Jun 19;112(12):1943-1958.e10.

Liu Y, Kim J, Philip R, Sridhar V, Chandrashekhar M, Moffat J, M. van Breugel, Pelletier L. Direct interaction between CEP85 and STIL mediates PLk4-driven directed cell migration. Journal of Cell Science 2020; 133(8).

Liu Y, Gupta G, Barnabas D, Agircan F, Mehmood S, Wu D, Coyaud E, Johnson C, S, Andreeva A, Freund S, Robinson C, Cheung S, Raught B, Pelletier L*, van Breugel M*. Direct binding of CEP85 to STIL ensures robust PLK4 activation and efficient centriole assembly. Nature Communications 2018; 9(1): 1731.

Shao X*, Liu Y*, Yu Q*, Ding Z, Qian W, Zhang L, Zhang J, Jiang N, Gui L, Xu Z, Hong Y, Ma Y, Wei Y, Liu X, Jiang C, Zhu M, Li H and Li H. Numb regulates vesicular docking for homotypic fusion of early endosomes via membrane recruitment of Mon1b. Cell Research 2016; 26(5):593-612 (*co-first author).

Gupta GD*, Coyaud É*, Gonçalves J*, Mojarad BA*, Liu Y, Wu Q, Gheiratmand L, Comartin D, Tkach JM, Cheung SW, Bashkurov M, Hasegan M, Knight JD, Lin ZY, Schueler M, Hildebrandt F, Moffat J, Gingras AC, Raught B, Pelletier L. A dynamic protein interaction landscape of the human centrosome-cilium interface. Cell 2015; 163(6):1484-99.