
Jen Liou, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Endowed Title Sowell Family Scholar in Medical Research
Department Physiology
Graduate Programs Cell and Molecular Biology
Biography
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
- Recent insights into mammalian ER-PM junctions.
- Chen YJ, Quintanilla CG, Liou J Curr. Opin. Cell Biol. 2019 Feb 57 99-105
- 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 Mar 217
- 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
- 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* [*: Co-corresponding authors] Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA May 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 July 2005 15 1235-41
- Myristoylation-Dependent Palmitoylation of the Receptor Tyrosine Kinase Adaptor FRS2a.
- Barylko B, Chen YJ, Hennen J, Angert I, Chen Y, Mueller JD, Sun HQ, Taylor CA, Liou J, Yin H, Albanesi JP, Biochemistry 2019 Jun 58 25 2809-2813
- STING-mediated disruption of calcium homeostasis chronically activates ER stress and primes T cell death.
- Wu J, Chen YJ, Dobbs N, Sakai T, Liou J, Miner JJ, Yan N, J. Exp. Med. 2019 Apr 216 4 867-883
Honors & Awards
- Endowed Scholar in Biomedical Research
UT Southwestern Medical Center (2009)
Professional Associations/Affiliations
- American Society for Cell Biology