Andrew Liu

Biography

I am trained in the general areas of biochemistry, molecular biology and genetics, and I have become very interested in physiology in recent years. I teach Biochemistry ii (upper undergraduate and graduate level) and Biological Clocks (graduate level, team with Dr. David Freeman). The major focus of my lab is the biochemical and molecular basis of circadian rhythms in physiology and behavior. We use mice and rats and cultured mammalian cells as model systems and employ highly integrated approaches in our experiments. I have always been fascinated by the prevalence of the circadian phenomenon and the multi-dimensional organization of the system. Leveraging our expertise and various cell and animal clock models, my lab carries out three main areas of research: i) probe the biochemical and structural basis of circadian behavior; ii) identify novel genes and networks that modulate clock function; and iii) investigate the physiology of blood pressure regulation and pathophysiology of hypertension, centering on circadian rhythms of blood pressure, asleep hypertension and chronotherapeutics. We study the circadian system at multiple levels of biological organization (i.e., cell, tissue, organ, and organism). Scientifically, our goal is to fill in the gaps in knowledge about the molecular and cellular processes connecting genes to behavior, and to elucidate how the molecular clocks regulate behavior, physiology, and metabolism. Ultimately, I hope to gather sufficiently detailed knowledge to effectively modulate our timekeeping system to improve treatments for clock-related disorders and enhance body fitness.

Research Interest

Circadian rhythms in mammals, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Physiology, Chronobiology.