Research Topics
Liu’s lab at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine
Our lab studies the role of genetic factors and mitochondria-associated mechanisms in neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer’s Disease (AD), Frontotemporal dementia (FTD), and Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Our goal is to understand mechanistic insights into genetic variants causing the pathogenesis of diseases and to develop translational therapeutic strategies for neurodegenerative disorders.
Our specific research interests include:
1. Investigating crosstalk between mitochondria and other organelles (such as, ER, nucleus) in mitochondria-mediated unfolded protein responses
2. Identifying and investigating neuropathological signatures of mitochondrial dysfunction in AD and ADRD through assessments of transcriptome and proteome.
3. Exploring genetic variants strongly associated with amyloid beta production and neurotoxicity using multi-omics approaches.
4. Investigating the genetic factors in mitochondria underlying the crosstalk between TDP-43 pathology and tauopathy in AD and exploring intervention strategies.
5. Understanding the mechanisms underlying mitochondrial dysfunction and developing mitochondria-based therapeutic approaches in AD and ADRD.
6. Studying the role of selective autophagy and mitophagy in the accumulation of toxic components in neurodegenerative processes.
7. Mitochondrial (genome) dysfunction and nuclear-mitochondrial interactions in human health, such as pulmonary and cardiovascular diseases.
Left: Red: MitoDsRed; Green: Mitochondrial X (wild type)
Right: Red: MitoDsRed; Green: Mitochondrial X’ (AD-Linked X mutant)
(The images were generated from Tian Liu Lab)
Live Imaging for photo-activatable mitochondria labeled by mito-dendra2.
(The video was generated from Tian Liu Lab)