PhD
Assistant Professor
Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics
UNC-Chapel Hill
Cancer Cell Biology
Area of Interest
The Pengda Liu Lab is interested in deciphering the molecular mechanisms underlying aberrant signaling events that contribute to tumorigenesis mediated by protein modifications and protein-protein interactions. Understanding these events may lead to identification of novel drug targets and provide new treatment strategies to combat human cancer. To this end, we are interested in the potential of enzymes, and their inhibition, for generating traditional inhibitory chemical compounds or antibodies as potential therapeutic tools. Cell signaling networks determine cell fate and aberrant activation of oncogenic signaling is a key mechanism during cancer development; however, cell-signaling networks are complicated and dynamic with fluxes in both space and time. Thus, to understand how cancer-associated aberrant cell decisions are made requires addressing the following questions through a global view of cell signaling networks, including to identify the key molecular events that lead to malignant diseases but do not occur in healthy cells and to elucidate how can cancer-associated signaling modules be targeted for cancer treatment.
Awards and Honors
- 2020 The Breast Cancer Alliance Young Investigator Grant
- 2019-2020 – North Carolina Biotechnology Center Flash Grant
- 2019-2022 – Department of Defense Peer Reviewed Cancer Career Development Award (declined)
- 2019 UNC Lineberger Development Award
- 2019 Avantor Sciences Foundation Grant
- 2019 vwr Charitable Foundation Grant
- 2018 V Scholar
- 2017 Atomwise AIMS Award
- 2017 IBM Junior Faculty Development Award
- 2016 East Carolina University 40 under 40 leadership award
- 2014-2019 – K99/R00 NCI Pathway to Independence Award
- 2014 NIH/NCI Howard Temin Pathway to Independence Award in Cancer Research Award
- 2012-2014 – T32 Postdoctoral Training Fellowship from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), NIH
- 2012 NIH/Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA T32 Training Fellowship)
- 2006 Carol F. Volkman Award
