Biography
Dr. Yingjun Liu earned his Ph.D. from the Institute of Neuroscience at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, where he investigated the role of glial cells and neuroinflammation in Parkinson’s disease, before pursuing postdoctoral training exploring the pathogenesis of prion-related brain disorders in Adriano Aguzzi’s lab at the University of Zurich in Switzerland. His notable work there brought new perspectives to the field by revealing complex interactions between NG2 glia, microglia, and neurons in neurodegenerative diseases. Afterwards, Dr. Liu joined Randall Platt’s lab at ETH Zurich in Switzerland, where he pioneered cutting-edge in vivo whole-genome CRISPR screening technologies to systematically uncover the molecular mechanisms of brain aging and neurodegeneration. Before joining the Gerald Choa Neuroscience Institute and the School of Biomedical Sciences at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Dr. Liu served as an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Life and Health Sciences at Shenzhen University of Advanced Technology. His research findings have been published in academic journals such as Science, Nature Neuroscience, Journal of Experimental Medicine, Communications Biology, and Glia. Additionally, Dr. Liu serves as a review expert for the French National Research Agency and as a peer reviewer for leading journals such as the Journal of Experimental Medicine and the Journal of Clinical Investigation.
Yingjun LIU
Assistant Professor, School of Biomedical Sciences
Research Interests
- investigating the mechanisms of brain aging and neurodegenerative diseases
- innovating therapeutic interventions against brain aging and neurodegenerative diseases
- developing advanced CRISPR and organotypic slice culture-based brain research technologies
Awards
- Outstanding Scientific Research Achievement Innovation Award, The 27th China HI-TECH Fair, 2025
- Spark Grant, Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF), 2023
- Travel Stipend Award, Groningen-Jena Aging Meeting (G-JAM), 2021
- Forschungskredit Career Development Award, University of Zurich, 2020
- Outstanding Reviewer, Virologica Sinica, 2019 and 2020
Selected publications
- Wang, J., Qiu, Y., Marti, Z., Li, F., Wacker, M., Oldrati, P., Mühlenbruch, L., Jin, L., Zhang, H., Xu, W., Li, T., Roschitzki, B., Faigle, W., Liu, Y., Nguyen, J., Lee, J., Haunerdinger, V., Hauri, M., Momburg, F., Bauer, J., Rammensee, H., Sospedra, M., Magliozz, R., Reynolds, R., Walz, J., Martin, R*. (2026) “EBV infection and HLA-DR15 jointly drive multiple sclerosis by myelin peptide presentation” Cell. DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2025.12.046; *: Corresponding author
- Liu, Y.*, Guo, J., Matoga, M., Korotkova, M., Jakobsson, P., Aguzzi, A*. (2024) “NG2 glia protect against prion neurotoxicity by inhibiting microglia-to-neuron prostaglandin E2 signaling” Nature Neuroscience. DOI: 10.1038/s41593-024-01663-x; *: Corresponding author
- Avar, M., Heinzer, D., Thackray, A., Liu, Y., Hruska-Plochan, M., Sellitto, S., Schaper, E., Pease, D., Yin, J., Lakkaraju, A., Emmenegger, M., Losa, M., Chincisan, A., Hornemann, S., Polymenidou, M., Bujdoso, R., Aguzzi, A*. (2022) “An arrayed genome-wide perturbation screen identifies the ribonucleoprotein Hnrnpk as rate-limiting for prion propagation” The EMBO Journal. DOI: 10.15252/embj.2022112338; *: Corresponding author
- Liu, Y.*, Senatore A., Sorce, S., Nuvolone M., Guo J., Aguzzi, A*. (2022) “Brain aging is faithfully modelled in organotypic brain slices and accelerated by prions” Communications Biology. DOI: 10.1038/s42003-022-03496-5; *: Corresponding author
- Liu, Y.*, Aguzzi, A*. (2020) “NG2 glia are required for maintaining microglia homeostatic state” Glia. DOI: 10.1002/glia.23721; *: Corresponding author
- Liu, Y.*, Aguzzi, A.* (2019) “Immunotherapy for neurodegeneration” Science. DOI: 10.1126/science.aaw0685; *: Corresponding author
- Zhu, C., Li, B., Frontzek, K., Liu, Y., Aguzzi, A*. (2019) “SARM1 deficiency upregulates XAF1, promotes neuronal apoptosis and accelerates prion disease” Journal of Experimental Medicine. DOI: 10.1084/jem.20171885; *: Corresponding author
- Liu, Y.*, Sorce, S., Nuvolone, M., Domange, J., Aguzzi, A.* (2018) “Lymphocyte activation gene 3 expression is increased in prion infections but does not modify disease progression” Scientific Reports. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-32712-8; *: Corresponding author
- Aguzzi, A*., Liu, Y.* (2017) “A role for astroglia in prion diseases” Journal of Experimental Medicine. DOI: 10.1084/jem.20172045; *: Corresponding author
- Liu, Y., Zhou, Q., Tang, M., Fu, N., Shao, W., Zhang, S., Yin, Y., Zeng, R., Wang, X., Hu, G., Zhou, J*. (2015) “Upregulation of alphaB-crystallin in the substantia nigra of patients with Parkinson’s disease” Neurobiology of Aging. DOI: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2015.01.015; *: Corresponding author
