Liu Lab Team

Learn more about Dr. Liu  

Talia completed her Ph.D. in Chemistry at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) in November 2024. Her thesis work focused on characterizing how phosphorylation of splicing factors influences structural features, phase separation, and ligand binding.  She now investigates the structural dynamics of Mineralocorticoid Receptor (MR) in the presence of agonists or antagonists to understand molecular mechanism of actions of various ligands. Her research employs biophysical chemistry, fluorescence microscopy, and cellular assays to gain insight into whether MR agonists and antagonists induce distinct effects on MR structural dynamics and phase separation, with the goal of developing novel therapeutic strategies for muscular dystrophies as well as cardiac and renal pathologies.

Lisa is originally from Shanghai, China. She came to Emory University pursuing a BS in chemistry. She minors in linguistics and loves learning new languages in her free time. In high school, she participated in mini research project on enzyme activity and was part of the Neuroscience Club. Lisa has strong passion on chemical biology and biochemistry. She is currently working on characterizing the potency and side-effects new GR/MR modulators.

Anita Wang originally comes from Shanghai, China. She came to Emory University in 2022, majoring in Biology. Anita got in touch with some basic laboratory techniques during high school time, such as yeast cell culture and bacteria transformation. Right now, she focuses on the protein purification and characterization of ancestral corticosteroid receptor (AncCR) ligand binding domain (LBD) and a collaborative project on cystathionine-lyase (CSE). 

Fiona is originally from Beijing, China. She is pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree in Quantitative Sciences and Biology, graduating in 2025. She is passionate about understanding biological processes through molecular and computational approaches. Fiona's research experience includes studying the evolution of estrogen receptor response elements (ERE), transcriptional regulation of the mineralocorticoid receptor by forming biological condensates, and MD simulations on protein-drug interactions. Additionally, she has a keen interest in statistics and modeling. In her free time, Fiona enjoys creating intricate origami designs.