Member Biography
Xiaowen Liu, Ph.D.
719 Indiana Avenue
Suite 304
Indianapolis, IN 46202
Phone: (317) 278-7613
Research Program Membership
Full member:
Assistant Professor
BioHealth Informatics
IU School of Informatics
Dr. Liu's research interests include:
We use RNA-Seq and mass spectrometry to analyze three cell systems that are derived from an immortalized breast epithelial cell line hTERT-HME1. Three conditions are wild type cells, and the cells with two point mutations on PIK3CA gene, E545K and H1047R. These mutations are observed in >37.1% of breast cancer, particularly ER positive breast cancer. Previous studies strongly suggest that these PIK3CA mutants confer constitutive activation of PI3K, which initiates PI3K/AKT/mTOR cascades that promote cell proliferation and survival. Our preliminary data using bottom-up MS has identified many phosphorylation sites on AKT substrates that differed between three cell types. We hope to identify additional combinatorial altered phosphorylation patterns of AKT substrates in the three cell lines using the top-down approach. Positive outcome of these analyses will result in the development of novel biomarkers of PI3K activation in breast cancer. The research is supported by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, National Institutes of Health (NIH), through Grant R01GM118470.
Ph.D. - City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong 12/2007
Post-doctoral Fellowship - University of California, San Diego, CA 07/2012
Post-doctoral Fellowship - University of Waterloo, Canada 07/2009
Post-doctoral Fellowship - University of Western Ontario, Canada 04/2008
