Dr. Sijia Liu,

Post-Doc

orcid.org/0000-0002-1326-4932

Research:

I am trained as a cell biologist and have dedicated most of my research on metastasis breast cancer study. Metastasis is the leading cause of breast cancer-associated deaths, lack of target make it difficult to treatment. Deubiquitinase (DUB), a post-translational modifier critical for protein stability and activity of signaling, some have shown to be aberrantly expressed in breast cancer rendering them as potential pharmacological targets. My work is set up DUB activity profiling in breast cancer with different DUB activity based probes and mass spectrometry technique. We established two profiling methods and identified some potential targets, validated their function in zebrafish and mice xenograft cancer models. Using biochemistry and molecular biology methods I have investigated the underlying mechanism by which DUBs regulate metastasis. We also collaborated with chemists and design and developed specific activity DUB inhibitors and cell permeable fluorescent probes for monitor metastasis in vivo and clinical samples.

Curriculum Vitae:

In 2014 I finished my master study in biochemistry and molecular biology at Sichuan University and thereafter started my PhD in Leiden University Medical Center focused on cell and chemical biology in the ten Dijke group.

Publications

Regulation of the TGF-β pathway by deubiquitinases in cancer.
Liu S1, de Boeck M, van Dam H, Ten Dijke P.

Int J Biochem Cell Biol. 2016 Jul;76:135-45. doi: 10.1016/j.biocel.2016.05.001. Epub 2016 May 4.
Invasive Behavior of Human Breast Cancer Cells in Embryonic Zebrafish.
Ren J, Liu S, Cui C, Ten Dijke P.

J Vis Exp. 2017 Apr 25;(122). doi: 10.3791/55459.
Mutational activation of BRAF confers sensitivity to transforming growth factor beta inhibitors in human cancer cells.
Spender LC, Ferguson GJ, Liu S, Cui C, Girotti MR5, Sibbet G, Higgs EB, Shuttleworth MK2, Hamilton T, Lorigan P, Weller M, Vincent DF9, Sansom OJ9, Frame M10, ten Dijke P, Marais R, Inman GJ.

Oncotarget. 2016 Dec 13;7(50):81995-82012. doi: 10.18632/oncotarget.13226

Groups: