Distinguished Professor and Chair Emeritus

http://teamsite/dermatology/images/Images/Web_Teamsite/liu_web_tie.JPGDr. Fu-Tong Liu is internationally known as a pioneer and leading investigator in the studies of the galectin family of animal lectins, which play important roles in many physiological and pathological processes. While Dr. Liu was department chair, the department grew rapidly in size and prestige, under his leadership. His current research is focused on the role of galectins in allergic inflammation, innate immunity, cancer progression, and wound healing. His research group also studies molecular and cellular mechanisms of allergic skin inflammation. Dr. Liu is interested in medical dermatology and has a particular interest in eczema, mast cell-mediated diseases (including urticaria and mastocytosis), and immunobullous disease.

Title: Distinguished Professor Emeritus and Chair Emeritus of Dermatology

Undergraduate Education: National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan, B.S. 1970

Graduate Education: University of Chicago, Chicago Illinois, Ph.D. 1976

Medical Education: University of Miami School of Medicine (the Ph.D. to M.D. program), Miami, Florida, M.D. 1987

Residency: University of California-San Diego, San Diego, California 1990-93, Dermatology

Board Certifications:
American Board of Dermatology. 1993

Professional Memberships:
Association of American Physicians
American Academy of Dermatology
American Association for the Advancement of Science
American Association of Immunologists
American Chemical Society
American Society for Clinical Investigation
American Society for Investigative Pathology
Society of Investigative Dermatology

Positions and Employment

1979-1982 Assistant Member, Department of Cellular and Developmental Immunology, Research Institute of Scripps Clinic, La Jolla, California
1982-1990 Associate Member/Member, Department of Immunology, Med. Biology Institute, La Jolla, California
1990-1996 Associate Member/Head, Allergy Research Section, Department of Molecular & Experimental Medicine, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California
1993-2001 Member, Division of Dermatology and Cutaneous Surgery, Scripps Clinic, La Jolla, California
1996-2001 Member and Head, Division of Allergy, La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology
2001-2012 Professor and Chair (2001-2011), Distinguished Professor and Chair (2012), Department of Dermatology, University of California, Davis, California
2010-present Distinguished Research Fellow and Director, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Academia Sinica, Taiwan
2012-present Distinguished Professor and Chair Emeritus, Department of Dermatology, University of California, Davis, California

 

Honors

1979-1980 National Research Service Award
1982-1987 Leukemia Society of America Scholar Award
1985-1989 NIH Allergy and Immunology Study Section
1988-present Member, American Society for Clinical Investigation
1993-1997 Associate Editor, Journal of Clinical Investigation
1993-1997 NIH Immunology and Transplantation Research Committee
2004-present Member, Association of American Physicians
2004-present Member, American Skin Association Medical/Scientific Advisory Committee
2005 Joan Oettinger Memorial Award (Cancer and Pulmonary Research), UC Davis
2005-present Selection Editor, Journal of Dermatologic Science
2005-present Editorial Board, Clinical Reviews in Allergy and Immunology
2006 Lu Yau-Chin Memorial Lectureship, Taiwanese Dermatology Society
2008-present Reviewer Board, Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology
2012-present Academician, Academia Sinica, Taiwan
2013-present Fellow, American Association for Advancement of Science

Selected Peer-reviewed Publications (from a total of over 298 original research articles and reviews).

Yang, R.-Y., Hsu, D.K. and Liu, F.-T. Expression of galectin-3 modulates T cell growth and apoptosis. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 93:6737-6742, 1996.

Zuberi, R.I., Apgar,J.R., Chen, S.-S. and Liu, F.-T. A role for IgE in airway secretions: IgE immune complexes are more potent inducers than antigen alone of airway inflammation in a murine model. J Immunol 164:2667-2673, 2000.

Hsu, D.K., Yang, R.-Y., Pan, Z., Yu, L., Salomon, D.R., Fung-Leung W.-P., and Liu, F.-T. Targeted disruption of the galectin-3 gene results in attenuated peritoneal inflammatory responses. Am J Pathol 156:1073-1083, 2000.

Sano, H., Hsu, D.K., Yu, L., Apgar, J.R. Kuwabara, I., Yamanaka, T., Hirashima, M., Liu, F.-T. Human galectin-3 is a novel chemoattractant for monocytes and macrophages, J. Immunol 165:2156-2164, 2000.

Yang, R.-Y., Hsu, D.K., Yu, L., Ni, J., and Liu, F.-T. Cell cycle regulation by galectin-12, a new member of the galectin superfamily. J Biol Chem 276:20252-20261, 2001.

Kuwabara, I., Kuwabara, Y., Yang, R.-Y., Schuler, M., Green, D.R., Zuraw, B.L., Hsu, D.K., and Liu, F.-T. Galectin-7 (PIG1:p53-induced gene 1) exhibits pro-apoptotic function through JNK activation and mitochondrial cytochrome c release. J Biol Chem 277:3487-3497, 2002.

Mayr, S.I, Zuberi, R.I., Zhang, M., de Sousa-Hitzler, J., Ngo, K., Kuwabara, Y., Yu, L., Fung-Leung, W.-P., and Liu, F.-T. IgE-dependent mast cell activation potentiates airway responses in murine asthma models. J Immunol 169:2061-2068, 2002.

Sano, H., Hsu, D.K., Apgar,J.R., Yu, L., Sharma, B.B., Kuwabara, I., Izui, S., and Liu, F.-T. Critical role of galectin-3 in phagocytosis by macrophages. J Clin Invest 112:389-97. 2003.

Yang, R.Y., Hsu, D.K., Yu, L., Chen, H.-Y., and Liu, F.-T. Galectin-12 is required for adipogenic signaling and adipocyte differentiation. J Biol Chem 279:29761-6, 2004.

Ueda, S., Kuwabara, I. and Liu, F.-T. Suppressive effect of galectin-7 on tumor growth. Cancer Research 64:5672-6, 2004.

Zuberi, R., Hsu, D.K., Kalayci, O., Chen, H.-Y., Sheldon, H.K., Yu. L., Apgar, J., Kawakami, T., Lilly, C.M., and Liu, F.-T. Critical role for galectin-3 in airway inflammation and bronchial hyperresponsiveness in a murine model of asthma. Am J Pathol 165:2045-53, 2004.

Liu, F.-T. and Rabinovich, G.A. Galectins as novel modulators of tumor progression. Nature Reviews Cancer 5: 29-41, 2005.

Chen, H.-Y., Sharma, B.B, Yu, L., Zuberi, R., Weng, I.-C., Kawakami, Y., Kawakami, T., Hsu, D.K., and Liu, F.-T. Role of galectin-3 in mast cell functions. Galectin-3-deficient mast cells exhibit impaired mediator release and defective JNK expression. J Immunol 177:4991-7, 2006.

Saegusa, J., Hsu, D.K., Liu, W., Kuwabara, I., Kuwabara, Y., Yu, L., and Liu, F.-T. Galectin-3 protects keratinocytes from UVB-induced apoptosis by enhancing AKT activation and suppressing ERK activation. J Invest Dermatol 128:2403-11, 2008.

Cummings, R.D. and Liu, F.-T. Chapter 33 Galectins, In Essentials of Glycobiology, 2nd Ed. (Varki, A., et al. Ed. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press), 2008.

Hsu, D.K., Chen, H.-Y., Yu, L., Chernyavsky, A.I., Grando, S.A., and Liu, F.-T. Endogenous galectin-3 is localized in membrane lipid rafts and regulates migration of dendritic cells. J Invest Dermatol 129:573-83, 2009.

Saegusa, J., Hsu, D.K., Chen, H.-Y., Yu, L., Fermin, A., Fung, M.A., and Liu, F.-T. Galectin-3 is critical for the development of the allergic inflammatory response in a mouse model of atopic dermatitis. Am J Pathol 174:922-931, 2009.

Chen, H-Y., Fermin, A., Vardhana, S., Weng, I-C., Lo, K.F.R., Chang,E-Y., Maverakis, E., Yang, R.Y., Hsu, D.K., Dustin, M., and Liu, F.-T.Galectin-3 negatively regulates TCR-mediated CD4+ T cell activation at the immunological synapse, Proc Natl Acad Sci USA106:14496-14501, 2009.

Liu, F.-T. and Bevins, C.L. A Sweet Target for Innate Immunity. Nature Medicine 16:263-64, 2010.

Markowska A.I., Liu, F.-T., and Panjwani, N. Galectin-3 is an important mediator of VEGF- and bFGF-mediated angiogenic response. J Exp Med 207:1981-93, 2010.

Yang, R.-Y., Yu, L., Graham, J., Hsu, D.K., Lloyd, K.C., Havel, P.J., and Liu, F.-T. Ablation of a galectin preferentially expressed in adipocytes increases lipolysis, reduces adiposity, and improves insulin sensitivity in mice. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 108: 18696-701, 2011.

Choy, D.F., Hsu, D.K., Seshasayee, D., Fung, M.A., Modrusan, Z., Martin, F. Liu, F.T., and Arron, J.R. Comparative transcriptomic analyses of atopic dermatitis and psoriasis reveal shared neutrophilic inflammation. J Allergy Clin Immunol 130:1335-1343, 2012 (co-corresponding author).

Liu, W., Hsu, D.K., Chen, H.-Y., Yang, R.-Y., Carraway 3rd, K.L., Isseroff, R.R., and Liu, F.-T. Galectin-3 regulates intracellular trafficking of epidermal growth factor receptor through Alix and promotes keratinocyte migration. J Invest Dermatol 132:2828-37, 2012.

Fermin Lee, A, Chen, H.-Y., Wan, L., Wu, S.-Y, Yu, J.-S., Huang, A.C.,  Miaw, S.-C., Hsu, D.K., Wu-Hsieh, B.A., and Liu, F.-T. Galectin-3 modulates Th17 responses by regulating dendritic cell cytokines. Am J Pathol 183:1209-22, 2013