Qingyun Liu, PhD has joined the Department of Genetics as a tenure-track Assistant Professor, effective January 1, 2024.
Dr. Liu completed his Bachelor of Economics (International Economics and Trade) and Bachelor of Science (Biological Sciences) degrees at Sichuan University, Chengdu China in 2011 followed by a PhD in Medical Microbiology and Molecular Epidemiology at Fudan University, Shanghai China in 2016. After one year as a postdoctoral researcher at Fudan University, Qingyun moved to Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health as a Postdoctoral Fellow (2019-2022) and Research Associate (2022-2023).
His research program is focused on the study the evolutionary mechanisms and genetic basis underlying drug resistance and transmissibility in bacterial pathogens, including M. tuberculosis and M. abscessus, among others. The lab’s research strategy involves utilizing bacterial genomes from real-world clinical isolates to identify mutations underlying evolving traits, such as antibiotic resistance, transmission, and virulence, followed by employing cutting-edge experimental microbiology methods to dissect the altered bacterial functions responsible for these evolved traits. The ultimate goal is to uncover bacterial processes that can be targeted for the development of new vaccines, therapeutics, and public health intervention strategies.