Researchers
Liping Liu is a new PhD graduate from Prof Jenny Stow’s laboratory (IMB), and just started working as a research officer in Prof David Fairlie’s group (IMB). Through many years of research, she has gained profound understanding of cell biology, immunology, inflammation, and anti-cancer therapy. She has advanced skills in a wide array of techniques, including microscopy, molecular cloning, protein production, gene-slicing, animal tests, et al.
Other Research interests:
Cellular uptake mechanisms of cell-penetrating peptides
Cell-penetrating peptides (CPPs) are short peptides capable of translocating themselves or linked drug cargos into cells through the plasma membrane, thus having huge potential in the treatment of multiple diseases. However, the mechanisms by which CPPs enter cells has not been completely understood. As a postdoctoral researcher, I will be working on this specific area, mainly including endocytosis, and endosomal escape pathways of a series of CPPs with different structures. The findings might help to design CPPs that possess enhanced drug delivery capacity.
TLR signalling pathways for selective inflammatory responses in innate immunity
Immune cells like macrophages rely on Toll-like receptors (TLRs) to detect pathogens or other stimuli, thus triggering signalling pathways to fine-tune protective immune and inflammatory responses. Uncontrolled inflammation is a major factor that contributes to tissue damage that accompanies many chronic diseases and cancer. My PhD projects mainly investigated the roles of TLR signalling regulators, including coreceptors, signalling adaptors, and multiple kinases that help to bias and control inflammatory cytokine release and phagocytosis in macrophages. The signalling mechanism revealed by her research might help explore new strategies for future control of inflammation through new or existing drugs.
Peptide-mediated drug delivery for targeted tumour therapy
Conventional anticancer agents or therapies often display little selectivity, resulting in poor therapeutic indexes and substantial toxicities to normal healthy tissues. My previous research designed a peptide-DOX conjugate (PDC) which showed excellent tumour-targeting ability, higher cell internalization, superior anti-tumour potency and extended half-life, thus providing a novel platform for the delivery of various drugs to tumour sites.
