Dr. Liu specialises in extracellular vesicles, osteosarcoma, breast cancer, tissue engineering, immunomodulation and biomaterial functionalisation.
Dr. Liu is a clinician (surgeon)-scientist with clinical and preclinical expertise in tissue repair and immunomodulation. Dr. Liu obtained Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from Shanghai JiaoTong University (China); and a PhD degree from RWTH Aachen University (Germany). Dr. Liu works with extracellular vesicles, including newly discovered matrix-bound nanovesicles. Dr. Liu’s current projects involve assessing the role of extracellular vesicle glycans on immunomodulation in metastatic breast cancer and metastatic pediatric cancers, such as osteosarcoma. Dr. Liu also has a background in biological scaffold functionalization with the goal of developing innovative approaches that bring advanced benefits directly to clinical soft tissue repair. Dr. Liu has 25+ hallmark publications (12 as the first or corresponding author) on functional scaffolds and their applications for tissue repair. Dr. Liu has also completed over 5,000 laparoscopic hernia repair operations. Dr. Liu has received several research grants and supervised many Master’s degree students.
Collaborations
Institute of Applied Medical Engineering – Uniklinik RWTH Aachen;
DWI Leibniz-Institute for Interactive Materials – RWTH Aachen University;
Department of Orthopedics - Shanghai JiaoTong University;
Department of Hernia and Abdominal Wall Surgery – TongJi University;
Department of Endodontics – Shanghai JiaoTong University;
Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery – Shanghai Children’s Medical Center
Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology – DongHua University
Funding
2021-2024 Pudong Health and Family Planning Commission of Shanghai (Grant No. PW2021A-50)
2020-2023 Natural Science Foundation of Shanghai (Grant No. 20ZR1445900)
2017-2020 Natural Science Foundation for Youth Project of Jiangxi Province (Grant No. 2017BAB215009)
Key Publications
Liu Z, Liu X, Bao L, Liu J, Zhu X, Mo X, Tang R. The evaluation of functional small intestinal submucosa for abdominal wall defect repair in a rat model: Potent effect of sequential release of VEGF and TGF-β1 on host integration. Biomaterials. 2021;276:120999.
Liu J, Chen D, Zhu X, Liu N, Zhang H, Tang R, Liu Z. Development of a decellularized human amniotic membrane-based electrospun vascular graft capable of rapid remodeling for small-diameter vascular applications. Acta Biomater. 2022,15;152:144-156.
Liu Z, Rütten S, Buhl EM, Zhang M, Liu J. Development of a Silk Fibroin-Small Intestinal Submucosa Small-Diameter Vascular Graft with Sequential VEGF and TGF-β1 Inhibitor Delivery for In Situ Tissue Engineering. Macromol Biosci. 2023;23:e2300184.
Liu Z, Liu J, Liu N, Zhu X, Tang R. Tailoring electrospun mesh for a compliant remodeling in the repair of full-thickness abdominal wall defect - The role of decellularized human amniotic membrane and silk fibroin. Mater Sci Eng C Mater Biol Appl. 2021;127:112235.
Liu Z, Wei N, Tang R. Functionalized Strategies and Mechanisms of the Emerging Mesh for Abdominal Wall Repair and Regeneration. ACS Biomater Sci Eng. 2021;14;7(6):2064-2082.