Zhi-Ping Liu, Ph.D.

Zhi-Ping Liu, M.D., is a Professor in the Department of Internal Medicine at UT Southwesterna Medical Center, and a member of its Division of Cardiology.

Originally from China, Dr. Liu holds a bachelor's degree in computer science from the University of Science and Technology of China. She earned a master's degree in biochemistry from the Shanghai Institute of Biochemistry, and then obtained a doctoral degree in biophysics at UT Southwestern.

Prior to joining the faculty in 2001, Dr. Liu performed postdoctoral research in pharmacology and in molecular biology at UT Southwestern.

Dr. Liu's research focuses on transcriptional and molecular mechanisms that mediate hypertensive and ischemic heart disease. Her investigations have unveiled important insights in the field of prostate cancer that have real potential for translation to clinical application. Her particular interest is on the cutting-edge field of epigenetic control, particularly that mediated by histone lysine demethylases (KDM). She also continues her long-term interests in cardiac biology, and has uncovered a novel role for a matricellular protein Cilp1 (cartilage intermediate layer protein 1) in myocardial fibrosis in response to cardiac ischemic injury.

As a testament to the success of her research program, Dr. Liu has been continuously funded by grants from both state and federal agencies, including the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas, and the National Institutes of Health.

Dr. Liu has been invited to speak at a number of national/international meetings, including the AHA Basic Cardiovascular Sciences meeting (2013), AHA Scientific Sessions (2013), the 15th International Symposium of Society of Chinese Bioscientists in America (2015), US-China Cancer Forum (2016), 2nd International Cancer Study & Therapy Conference (2017), 11th Congress of Chinese Society of Critical Care Medicine (2017), TARA international symposium at University of Tsukuba, Japan (2019), Gordon Conference on “Epigenetic Regulation of Cardiovascular Disease” (2019), and the seventh International Congress of the Molecular Biology Association of Turkey (2019). She has also presented seminars in a number of research institutions/universities both national and international, including Wuhan Union hospital (2015), UT Southwestern (2017, 2018, 2019, 2020), UT Arlington (2016), Baylor Research Institute (2017), Fudan University (2017), Southern Medical University (2018), San Yat-sen University, and the University of Massachusetts at Amherst (2019).

Because of her expertise, she has been invited to review manuscript submissions at high-profile journals, including Circulation Research, The Journal of Clinical Investigation, Cancer Research, Journal of the American College of Cardiology, Scientific Reports, and the Journal of Vascular Research. She has also served as a member of review committees, including the AHA Review consortium committee GE1 (2012-2017), AHA Basic Science CDA committee (2018-2019), and NIH/NHLBI study section, ZHL1 CSR-K (01), lncRNA in HLBS diseases (2018).

Undergraduate

Unlisted - International Colle (1982)

Graduate School

Unlisted - International Colle (1986)

Graduate School

UT Southwestern Medical Center (1993)

• Epigenetic regulation of cardiac hypertrophy and heart failure
• Intracellular signaling
• Molecular mechanism of cardiovascular diseases
• Transcriptional regulation
• Vascular biology

Featured Publications

Phenotypic Modulation of Smooth Muscle Cells through Interaction of Foxo4 and Myocardin

Liu, ZP, Wang, Z, Yanagisawa, H, Olson, EN Developmental Cell 2002 9 161-270

FoxO4 inhibits atherosclerosis through its function in bone marrow derived cells.

Zhu M, Zhang QJ, Wang L, Li H, Liu ZP Atherosclerosis 2011 Oct

The histone trimethyllysine demethylase JMJD2A promotes cardiac hypertrophy in response to hypertrophic stimuli in mice.

Zhang QJ, Chen HZ, Wang L, Liu DP, Hill JA, Liu ZP J. Clin. Invest. 2011 Jun 121 6 2447-56

Tumor-suppressive functions of leucine zipper transcription factor-like 1.

Wei Q, Zhou W, Wang W, Gao B, Wang L, Cao J, Liu ZP Cancer Res. 2010 Apr 70 7 2942-50

FoxO4 inhibits NF-kappaB and protects mice against colonic injury and inflammation.

Zhou W, Cao Q, Peng Y, Zhang QJ, Castrillon DH, DePinho RA, Liu ZP Gastroenterology 2009 Oct 137 4 1403-14

Foxo4 regulates TNFa-directed smooth muscle cell migration by activating matrix metalloproteinase 9 gene transcription

Li H, Liang J, Castrillon DH, DePinho RA, Olson EN, Liu Z-P Molecular and Cellular Biology 2007 27 2676-2686

Modulation of cardiac growth and development by HOP, an unusual homeodomain protein

Shin*, CH, Liu*, ZP, Passier*, R, Zhang, CL, Wang, DZ, Harris, TM, Yamagishi, H, Richardson, JA, Childs, G, Olson, EN Cell 2002 110 725-735

Suppression of proliferation and cardiomyocyte hypertrophy by CHAMP, a cardiac-specific RNA helicase

Liu, ZP, Olson, EN. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 2002 99 2043-2048

CHAMP, a novel cardiac-specific helicase regulated by MEF2C

Liu, ZP, Nakagawa, O, Nakagawa, M, Yanagisawa, H, Passier, R, Richardson, JA, Srivastava, D, Olson, EN Dev Biol. 2001 234 497-509

A role for CKII phosphorylation of the cactus PEST domain in dorsoventral patterning of the Drosophila embryo

Liu, ZP, Galindo, RL, Wasserman, SA Genes Dev. 1997 11 3413-3422

• American Heart Association