Current Research Interests:

Prof. Liu's research focuses on developing protein-based biomaterials for tissue engineering, regenerative medicine, and surgical adhesives. Prof. Liu has developed a family of recombinant proteins that incorporate structural repeats to confer mechanical properties and bioactive domains to elicit the desired cell response. To fully utilize these proteins in tissue engineering applications, her research has investigated the relationship between amino acid sequence and subsequent function.

Selected Publications:

S. Hollingshead, C.-Y. Lin, and J.C. Liu, “Designing Smart Materials with Recombinant Proteins,” Macromolecular Bioscience, 17, 1600554 (2017).

M.J. Brennan, B.F. Kilbride, J.J. Wilker, and J.C. Liu, “A Bioinspired Elastin-based Protein for a Cytocompatible Underwater Adhesive,” Biomaterials, 124, 116-125 (2017).

Y. Kim and J.C. Liu, “Protein-engineered Microenvironments Can Promote Endothelial Differentiation of Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells in the Absence of Exogenous Growth Factors,” Biomaterials Science, 4, 1761-1772 (2016).

N. Vazquez-Portalatin, C.E. Kilmer, A. Panitch, and J.C. Liu, “Characterization of Collagen Type I and II Blended Hydrogels for Articular Cartilage Tissue Engineering,” Biomacromolecules, 17, 3145-3152 (2016).

C.-Y. Lin and J.C. Liu, “Modular Protein Domains: An Engineering Approach Toward Functional Biomaterials,” Current Opinion in Biotechnology, 40, 56-63 (2016).