Bo Liu, PhD

Associate Professor
Division of General Surgery

Wisconsin Institutes for Medical Research
1111 Highland Avenue, Room 5137
Madison, WI 53705-2275

Office: (608) 263-5931

liub@surgery.wisc.edu

Education

BS, Biology, Beijing University, Beijing, China, 1984
MS, Biology, Beijing University, Beijing, China, 1986
PhD, Biochemistry, SUNY Downstate, New York, NY, 1993
Postdoctoral fellow, Signal transduction; protein degradation, Columbia University, New York, NY, 1994-1996
Postdoctoral fellow, Transcription regulation; signal transduction, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, 1996-1999

Research Interests

Dr. Liu and her long-term research partner, Department of Surgery Chair Dr. Craig Kent, have built a multi-disciplinary vascular research team that focuses on investigations that are basic, translational and clinical. Their basic research efforts involve three broad areas: Molecular mechanism underlying vascular inflammation, molecular mechanism underlying occlusive vascular diseases, and development of new materials for biomedical applications (gene delivery and vascular grafts). Specifically, Dr. Liu’s group has identified an intracellular signaling protein called protein kinase C-delta (PKCδ) as a key regulator for apoptosis of vascular smooth muscle cells. The potential role of PKCδ in the pathogenesis of intimal hyperplasia or abdominal aortic aneurysms are being investigated.

Grants

PKCδ in intimal hyperplasia after vascular bypass, NIH/NHLBI/R01, 2005-2009
The role of protein kinase C-delta in intimal hyperplasia, American Heart Association/Grant-in-Aid, 2004-2008
Stem Cell Induced Healing of Synthetic Vascular Grafts, Morgan Tissue Engineering Initiative, 2007-2008
Development of Novel mid-Infrared Fiber Optic Probe (IFOP) to Study Arterial Remodeling after Vascular Interventions. Clinical and Translational Science Center (Cornell), 2008-2011
Novel biodegradable biomaterials as non-viral gene transfer systems. Cornell University Seed Grant, 2007-2008
Role of PKCδ in regulation of extracellular matrix protein production. Pilot Award (subcontract of a NIH-funded Center, Director: A Boskey), 2008-2011
Multidisciplinary Vascular Biology Surgery Research Training Program, NIH/NHLBI /T32, 2006-2011

Awards

NIH National Research Service Award, 1996-1998
Competitive Graduate Student Fellowship (SUNY), 1988-1991
Brooks Award for Scientific Presentation (SUNY), 1988

Recent Publications

Kundi R, Hollenbeck ST, Yamanouchi D, Herman BC, Edlin R, Ryer EJ, Wang C, Tsai S, Liu B, Kent KC. Arterial gene transfer of the TGF-beta signalling protein Smad3 induces adaptive remodelling following angioplasty: a role for CTGF., Cardiovasc. Res. 2009 Nov 1;84(2):326-35.
[PubMed ID: 19570811]

Tsai S, Hollenbeck ST, Ryer EJ, Edlin R, Yamanouchi D, Kundi R, Wang C, Liu B, Kent KC. TGF-beta through Smad3 signaling stimulates vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation and neointimal formation., Am. J. Physiol. Heart Circ. Physiol. 2009 Aug;297(2):H540-9.
[PubMed ID: 19525370]

Schubl S, Tsai S, Ryer EJ, Wang C, Hu J, Kent KC, Liu B. Upregulation of protein kinase cdelta in vascular smooth muscle cells promotes inflammation in abdominal aortic aneurysm., J. Surg. Res. 2009 May 15;153(2):181-7.
[PubMed ID: 18952226]

Edlin RS, Tsai S, Yamanouchi D, Wang C, Liu B, Kent KC. Characterization of primary and restenotic atherosclerotic plaque from the superficial femoral artery: Potential role of Smad3 in regulation of SMC proliferation., J. Vasc. Surg. 2009 May;49(5):1289-95.
[PubMed ID: 19394554]

Tsai S, Butler J, Rafii S, Liu B, Kent KC. The role of progenitor cells in the development of intimal hyperplasia., J. Vasc. Surg. 2009 Feb;49(2):502-10.
[PubMed ID: 18945574]

All Publications

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