Susan Liu

Susan Liu
Name	Susan Liu
Birth date	1978
Birth place	Taipei, Taiwan
Alma mater	Massachusetts Institute of Technology; University of Cambridge; National Taiwan University
Occupation	Biomedical engineer; researcher; professor
Known for	Biomaterials; tissue engineering; regenerative medicine

Susan Liu

Susan Liu is a biomedical engineer and academic known for her work in biomaterials, tissue engineering, and regenerative medicine. Her interdisciplinary research bridges cellular biology, materials science, and clinical translation, with collaborations spanning universities, hospitals, and research institutes. Liu has held faculty positions, led multi-institutional projects, and contributed to high-impact journals, conferences, and policy advisory boards.

Early life and education

Liu was born in Taipei and completed early schooling at institutions in Taiwan before moving to North America for higher education. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Bioengineering from National Taiwan University and pursued graduate studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where she completed a PhD in Biological Engineering. Her doctoral research was conducted in collaboration with laboratories affiliated with Harvard Medical School and the Broad Institute. Postdoctoral training included a fellowship at the University of Cambridge within departments linked to the Wellcome Trust and the Medical Research Council, where she worked on biomimetic scaffolds and stem cell niches.

Academic and research career

Liu began her independent career as an assistant professor at a major research university, later promoted to associate and full professor with joint appointments in departments connected to a medical school and an engineering faculty. She has held visiting scholar positions at institutions such as the Max Planck Institute and the Karolinska Institutet and has been a principal investigator on grants from agencies including the National Institutes of Health, the European Research Council, the Wellcome Trust, and Taiwan’s Ministry of Science and Technology. Her lab emphasizes translational pathways, collaborating with university-affiliated hospitals, biotechnology companies, and translational centers like the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center and the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority. Liu has served on review panels for the National Science Foundation, peer-review committees for research councils in the United Kingdom and Canada, and advisory boards for centers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Stanford University.

Major publications and contributions

Liu’s publications include articles in leading journals such as Nature Materials, Science Translational Medicine, Cell Stem Cell, and the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Her seminal papers describe engineered extracellular matrices, injectable hydrogels for myocardial repair, and mechanotransduction in stem cell differentiation. She has co-authored consensus reports and technical reviews for organizations such as the International Society for Stem Cell Research and contributed chapters to handbooks used by researchers at institutions including Johns Hopkins University and University College London. Liu’s group developed a multifunctional scaffold platform that has informed device designs for regenerative therapies evaluated in trials at university hospitals and regulatory interactions with agencies like the Food and Drug Administration. Her work is frequently cited in patents filed by biotechnology firms and appears in systematic reviews conducted by agencies such as the World Health Organization.

Awards and honours

Liu has received awards and honours from professional societies and national academies. These include early-career recognitions from the Biomedical Engineering Society and the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering, mid-career prizes from the International Union of Societies for Biomaterials Science and Engineering, and election to a national academy of sciences. She has been named a fellow of professional bodies such as the Royal Society of Biology and has been awarded research fellowships sponsored by the Wellcome Trust and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Liu’s contributions have been recognized with named lectures at conferences organized by the Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine International Society, keynote invitations at meetings hosted by the European Society for Biomaterials, and innovation awards from technology transfer offices at universities including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Personal life

Outside her professional roles, Liu maintains connections to cultural and educational institutions in Taiwan and the United Kingdom. She has participated in mentoring programs run by organizations like the Society for Women Engineers and Women in Bio, and she contributes to outreach initiatives with museums and science centers, including the Smithsonian Institution and the Science Museum in London. Liu balances academic responsibilities with family life and interests in classical music, participating in benefit concerts linked to charities such as Médecins Sans Frontières and charitable foundations associated with major hospitals.

Selected media and public engagement

Liu has been featured in science coverage by major outlets including Nature News, The New York Times, BBC News, and Science Magazine. She has appeared as an expert commentator on programs produced by National Public Radio and the British Broadcasting Corporation, and has presented at public forums hosted by the World Economic Forum and the Royal Institution. Her interviews and opinion pieces have addressed translational research pathways, ethical issues in regenerative medicine, and innovation policy, published in venues such as The Lancet, The Guardian, and institutional blogs affiliated with the National Institutes of Health and the Wellcome Trust. Liu regularly contributes to editorial boards of journals published by Nature Research and Elsevier and takes active roles in organizing symposia at conferences including the Gordon Research Conferences and the Keystone Symposia.

Category:Biomedical engineers Category:Women bioengineers Category:Living people