Jian Liu, Ph.D.

Associate Professor

410-614-0386

855 N. Wolfe Street
456 Rangos
Baltimore, MD 21205


The central theme of my research is to understand how mechanical actions feedback to biochemical pathways in cellular processes, and how such mechanochemical crosstalk among key cellular players governs spatial-temporal regulation and shapes cell functions. I confront these challenges by bringing together theoretical and computational studies, rooted in statistical mechanics, with a diversity of biological experiments. My current research interest spans three cellular processes – cell migration, membrane trafficking, and cell division.

Current Lab Members

Name Role Email
Carson Chow, Ph.D. Visiting Scientist carsonc@niddk.nih.gov
Longhua Hu, Ph.D. Research Associate lhu19@jhmi.edu
Haoyuan Jing, Ph.D. Postdoctoral Fellow hjing4@jhmi.edu
Tanya Nesterova Graduate Student tnester2@jhu.edu
Oliver Valera Research Technologist ovalera1@jhu.edu

Publications

Hu L, Perez A, Nesterova T, Lyu Z, Yahashiri A, Weiss DS, Xiao j*, Liu J*. FtsZ-mediated spatial-temporal control over septal cell wall synthesis. PNAS 122 (27): e2426431122 (2025)
Livingston NM, Kwon J, Valera O, Saba JA, Sinha NK, Reddy P, Nelson B, Wolfe C, Ha T, Green R, Liu J*, Wu B*. Bursting translation on single mRNAs in live cells. (2023) Mol Cell 83(13): 2276-2289. e11.
Ogunmowo TH, Jing H, Raychaudhuri S, Kusick GF, Imoto Y, Li S, Itoh K, Ma Y, Jafri H, Dalva MB, Chapman ER, Ha T, Watanabe S*, Liu J*. Membrane compression by synaptic vesicle exocytosis triggers ultrafast endocytosis. (2023) Nature communications 14 (1): 2888
Pittman M, Iu E, Li K, Chen J, Taneja N, Jo MH, Park S, Jung W-H, Liang L, Barman I, Ha T, Gaitanaros S, Liu J*,  Burnette D*, Potnikov S*, Chen Y*. Membrane ruffling is a mechanosensor of extracellular fluid viscosity. (2022) Nature Physics 18 (7): 1112-1121.
Imoto, Y., Raychaudhuri, S.*, Ma, Y.*, Fenske, P., Sandoval, E., Itoh, K., Blumrich, E., Matsubayashi, H.T.,  Mamer, L., Zarebidaki, F., Söhl-Kielczynski, B., Trimbuch, T., Nayak, Shraddha, Iwasa, J., Liu, J., Wu, B., Ha, T., Inoue, T., Jorgensen, E.M., Cousin, M., Rosenmund, C., Watanabe, S., (2022), Dynamin is primed at endocytic sites for ultrafast endocytosis, Neuron, S0896-6273(22)00548-7.
Wu M, Liu J. Mechanobiology in cortical waves and oscillations. Current Opinions in Cell Biology 2020, Accepted.
McCausland JW, Yang X, Squyres GR,  Lyu Z, Bruce KE, Lamanna MM,  Söderström B, Garner EC, Winkler ME,  Xiao J, Liu J. Treadmilling FtsZ polymers drive the directional movement of sPG-synthesis enzymes via a Brownian ratchet mechanism. Nature Communications 2020, Accepted.

Wu ZH, Su MH, Tong CS, Wu M, Liu J. 2018. Membrane shape-mediated wave propagation of cortical protein dynamics. Nature Communications 9(1): 136.

Wu ZH, Plotnikov S, Moalim A, Waterman C, Liu J. 2017. Two distinct actin networks mediate traction oscillations to confer focal adhesion mechanosensing. Biophysical Journal 112(4): 780-94

Dorn J, Zhang L, Maddox P, Liu J, Maddox A. 2016. A theoretical model of cytokinesis implicates feedback between membrane curvature and cytoskeletal organization in asymmetric cytokinetic furrowing. Molecular Biology of the Cell 27(8): 1286-99

Hu L, Vecchiarelli A, Mizuuchi K, Neuman K, Liu J. 2015. Directed and persistent movement arises from mechanochemistry of the ParA/ParB system. PNAS 2015; 112(51): E7055-64.

Chen J, Liu J. 2014. Spatial-temporal model for silencing of the mitotic spindle assembly checkpoint. Nature Communications 5(9): 4795.

Liu J, Sun YD, Drubin DG, Oster GF. 2009. The mechanochemistry of endocytosis. PLoS Biology 2009; 7(9): e1000204.

Liu J, Desai A, Onuchic JN, Hwa T. 2008. An integrated mechano-biochemical feedback mechanism describes chromosome motility from prometaphase to anaphase in mitosis. PNAS 2008; 105: 13752-13757.