Yuanjie (Jessie) Liu, PhD

My research interests are focused on investigating the intricate relationship between the gut microbiome and cancer, with a particular emphasis on the roles of microbiota in modulating cancer therapy response and early detection to identify the microbial taxa associated with specific biological phenotypes or clinical outcomes in cancer. Meanwhile, in viral-infection induced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), tumor-associated microbes have been characterized and the representative taxa biomarker associated with viral etiology have been identified. The biological function of these microbiota in influencing the tumor microenvironment (TME) have been investigated using the multiplexed fluorescent immunohistochemistry (mIFH), to characterize the spatial relationships of the tumor-associated microbiota, cancer cells, tumor-infiltrating T cells, NK cells, and myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) and to determine   the specific TME mediated by tumor microbiota. These research efforts may provide potential implications for developing novel therapeutic strategies or diagnostic tools based on the modulation of the gut microbiome or targeting intra-tumoral microbes.

Furthermore, my research interests also expand to areas of host's innate immune against hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection and HBV DNA integration induced liver carcinogenic transformation.