Dr. Liu is a surgeon scientist in the Department of Otolaryngology at the University of Miami, where he holds the Hotchkiss Chair in Otolaryngology and is Vice Chair for Research. Under the leadership of Dr. Liu, the Center for Hereditary Deafness (CDH), including research and clinical programs, is currently studying mechanisms, diagnosis, and treatments of deafness caused by genetic mutations. Dr. Liu’s lab has active research programs for genetic hearing loss, presbycusis, Usher syndrome, and Neurofibromatosis Type II (NF2). His research lab focuses on targeted gene, cell, and drug-based therapeutics for hearing loss using the latest cutting-edge technologies, such as gene editing, identification of new genes and establishment of diagnostic panels for deafness by next generation sequencing. His lab also carries out studies to translate molecular advances into clinical applications and collaborates with numerous different research teams around the globe on improving clinical care for these disorders. His team is on the forefront to apply NGS and CRISPR/Cas9 in auditory systems. He also studies novel forms of hearing habilitation, in particular the use of innovative genetic/genomic approaches such as genome editing to rescue hearing loss in mice and in human iPSC cell lines. Dr. Liu’s innovative work has led to exciting new ways to enhance our understanding of normal hearing and the genetic aberrations that result in hearing loss. All of his current projects are funded by multiple NIH grants.
