Jia Liu is a Specially-appointed Associate Professor at the Institute of Cell and Gene Technology, Shenzhen University of Advanced Technology, and holds a doctoral degree in medicine. She has an interdisciplinary research background spanning medical oncology, immunology, and genomics, and conducted postdoctoral research at Hackensack Meridian Health and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in the United States. Her research focuses on tumor immunology and cell therapy, with particular emphasis on elucidating the epigenetic and three-dimensional genome regulatory mechanisms underlying memory formation and exhaustion in CAR-T cells and CD8⁺T cells. In recent years, she has published 11 research articles, including multiple first-author or co-first-author papers in the Journal of Experimental Medicine, PNAS, Nature Communications, and other journals. Her research group will focus on CAR-T cell therapy to explore new mechanisms and strategies for overcoming T-cell exhaustion and enhancing antitumor efficacy.

2007.09–2012.06 Qingdao University Medical College Clinical Medicine Bachelor's Degree

2012.07–2013.08 PKU Healthcare Luzhong Hospital Department of Oncology Resident Physician

2013.09–2016.06 Shandong First Medical University Radiation Oncology Master's Degree (Professional Degree)

2016.09–2020.06 Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University Tumor Immunology and Biotherapy Ph.D. (Academic Degree)

2020.12–2023.10 Hackensack Meridian Health Immunology Postdoctoral Fellow

2023.11–2025.08 Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Oncology Postdoctoral Fellow

2026.08–Present Institute of Cell and Gene Technology, Shenzhen University of Advanced Technology Specially-appointed Associate Professor

Tumor immunology; CAR-T-cell therapy; T-cell exhaustion; epigenetic regulation; three-dimensional genome

Selected Publications

1.Liu J, Zhu S, Hu W, Zhao X, Shan Q, Peng W, Xue HH. CTCF mediates CD8+ effector differentiation through dynamic redistribution and genomic reorganization.Journal of Experimental Medicine. 2023;220(4).

2.Zhu S*,Liu J*, Patel V, Zhao X, Peng W, Xue HH. Antigen exposure reshapes chromatin architecture in central memory CD8+ T cells and imprints enhanced recall capacity.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 2023;120(51).

3.Liu J, Hao S, Chen X, Zhao H, Du L, Ren H, Wang C, Mao H. Human placental trophoblast cells contribute to maternal-fetal tolerance through expressing IL-35 and mediating iTR35 conversion.Nature Communications. 2019;10:4601.

4.Shan Q, Zhu S, Chen X,Liu J, Yuan S, Li X, Peng W, Xue HH. Tcf1-CTCF cooperativity shapes genomic architecture to promote CD8+ T cell homeostasis.Nature Immunology. 2022;23(8):1222-1235.

5.Liu J, Mao Y, Li Z, Zhang D, Zhang Z, Hao S, Li B. Use of texture analysis based on contrast-enhanced MRI to predict treatment response to chemoradiotherapy in nasopharyngeal carcinoma.Journal of Magnetic Resonance Imaging. 2016;44(2):445-455.

6.Liu J, Dong N, Li N, Zhao H, Li Y, Mao H, Ren H, Feng Y, Liu J, Du L, et al. IL-35 enhances angiogenic effects of small extracellular vesicles in breast cancer.The FEBS Journal. 2022;289(12):3489-3504.

7.Liu J, Chen X, Hao S, Zhao H, Pang L, Wang L, Ren H, Wang C, Mao H. Human chorionic gonadotropin and IL-35 contribute to the maintenance of peripheral immune tolerance during pregnancy through mediating the generation of IL-10+ or IL-35+ Breg cells.Experimental Cell Research. 2019;383(2):111513.

8.Fan L, Cao Q,Liu J, Zhang J, Li B. Circular RNA profiling and its potential for esophageal squamous cell cancer diagnosis and prognosis.Molecular Cancer. 2019;18(1):16.

9.Hao S, Chen X, Wang F, Shao Q,Liu J, Zhao H, Yuan C, Ren H, Mao H. Breast cancer cell-derived IL-35 promotes tumor progression via induction of IL-35-producing induced regulatory T cells.Carcinogenesis. 2018;39(12):1488-1496.

10.Mao Y, Fu Z, Zhang Y, Dong L, Zhang Y, Zhang Q, Li X,Liu J. A seven-lncRNA signature predicts overall survival in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.Scientific Reports. 2018;8(1):8823.

11.Mao Y, Wang J, Wang Y, Fu Z, Dong L,Liu J. Hypoxia induced exosomal Circ-ZNF609 promotes pre-metastatic niche formation and cancer progression via miR-150-5p/VEGFA and HuR/ZO-1 axes in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.Cell Death Discovery. 2024;10(1):133.