Jen Liou, Ph.D. Associate Professor Endowed Title Sowell Family Scholar in Medical Research School Medical School Department Physiology Graduate Programs Cell and Molecular Biology Biography Download Curriculum Vitae Dr. Jen Liou received her PhD in Microbiology and Immunology from University of California at San Francisco (UCSF), under the mentorship of Dr. Arthur Weiss, for her work on dissecting signaling transduction events in lymphocyte activation using biochemical and genetic approaches. During her postdoctoral training under Dr. Tobias Meyer at Stanford University, Dr. Liou studied cellular signaling using systems biology and quantitative live-cell imaging approaches. She collaborated with four colleagues and generated an siRNA library targeting 2,304 human signaling proteins. She used this library to address a long-standing question in lymphocyte activation and calcium signaling: the molecular mechanism underlying store-operated calcium (SOC) signaling. Dr. Liou identified STIM1/2 as the calcium sensors in the endoplasmic reticulum for SOC signaling and characterized the activation mechanisms of STIM1/2. Her work represented a major breakthrough that set the direction of many laboratories in the field. An article in the Summer 2009 edition of Stanford Medicine, "Anatomy of an Experiment: Chasing Down the Cell’s Gatekeepers" describes Dr. Liou’s research. Education Undergraduate National Taiwan University (1992), Zoology Graduate School National Taiwan University (1994), Zoology Graduate School University of California-San F (2001), Biology Research Interest Calcium Signaling High-Resolution Imaging in Live Cells Inter-Organelle Communication Membrane Contact Sites Phosphoinositide Metabolism Publications Featured Publications Nir1 constitutively localizes at ER-PM junctions and promotes Nir2 recruitment for PIP2 homeostasis Quintanilla CG, Lee WR, Liou J. Mol Biol Cell 2022 33 Br2 EB1 binding restricts STIM1 translocation to ER-PM junctions and regulates store-operated Ca2+ entry. Chang CL, Chen YJ, Quintanilla CG, Hsieh TS, Liou J. J Cell Biol. 2018 217 2047-2058 Cortical actin contributes to spatial organization of ER-PM junctions. Hsieh TS, Chen YJ, Chang CL, Lee WR, Liou J Mol. Biol. Cell 2017 Sep RASSF4 controls SOCE and ER-PM junctions through regulation of PI(4,5)P2. Chen YJ, Chang CL, Lee WR, Liou J J. Cell Biol. 2017 Jun ER-Plasma Membrane Junctions: Why and How Do We Study Them? Chang CL, Chen YJ, Liou J Biochim. Biophys. Acta 2017 May Homeostatic Regulation of the PI(4,5)P2-Ca(2+) Signaling System at ER-PM Junctions. Chang CL, Liou J Biochim. Biophys. Acta 2016 Feb Phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate Homeostasis Regulated by Nir2 and Nir3 at Endoplasmic Reticulum-Plasma Membrane Junctions. Chang CL, Liou J J. Biol. Chem. 2015 Apr Feedback regulation of receptor-induced Ca2+ signaling mediated by E-Syt1 and Nir2 at endoplasmic reticulum-plasma membrane junctions. Chang CL, Hsieh TS, Yang TT, Rothberg KG, Azizoglu DB, Volk E, Liao JC, Liou J Cell Rep 2013 Nov 5 3 813-25 Live-cell imaging reveals sequential oligomerization and local plasma membrane targeting of STIM1 following Ca2+ store depletion Liou J, Fivaz M, Inoue T, Meyer T Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 2007 104 9301-06 STIM Is a Ca2+ Sensor Essential for Ca2+-Store-Depletion-Triggered Ca2+ Influx Liou J, Kim ML, Heo WD, Jones JT, Myers JW, Ferrell JE Jr, Meyer T Current Biology 2005 15 1235-41 Results 1-10 of 26 1 2 3 Next Last Honors & Awards Capstone Project Recognition AwardUT Southwestern LEAD Program (2018) Endowed Scholar in Biomedical ResearchUT Southwestern Medical Center (2009) Professional Associations/Affiliations American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology American Society for Cell Biology
