Junjun Liu

Junjun Liu

Ph.D., Professor, Department of Biological Sciences, College of Science

Email

Phone number

909.869.2505

Office location

Building 4, 1-414

Office hours

M T | 2-3 PM

Education and Academic Training

B.S.,  Molecular Biology and Virology, Wuhan University, China

Ph.D.,  Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, The University of Melbourne, Australia

Postdoc,  Cell Biology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), USA

Research Interests

This lab investigates the molecular mechanisms governing the regulation of metastasis, with a particular focus on the role of epigenetic modifications. Specifically, we are studying how the ubiquitination and deubiquitination of histone H2A influence the migration and invasion of breast cancer cells. This project is conducted in collaboration with the City of Hope Cancer Research Institute and is supported by funding from the NIH.

 

Misaligned chromosomes in cells.mp4 

The video above shows our finding that if the activity of deubiquitinase USP16 is impaired, the chromosome alignment during mitosis is significantly affected, which may ultimately cause cancer.

 

Dr. Liu received the following awards in recent years: 

Department of Biology Faculty Research Award, 2020

College of Science Ralph W. Ames Distinguished Research Award, 2024

Outstanding Professor voted by Cal Poly Pomona student-athletes, 2024