Microbes and their viruses, called “phages”, have been engaged in a continuous evolutionary arms race for millions of years. As a result, they have evolved a wide variety of systems for antiphage defense. Our lab uses versatile approaches drawn from biochemistry, molecular, structural, and cell biology to understand the mechanism by these systems function. We focus primarily on CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat)-Cas (CRISPR-associated) systems, which are programmable RNA-guided immune pathways found in ~40% of bacteria, most archaea, and even some phages. We aim to acquire fundamental mechanistic insights into these systems, and apply this knowledge to develop new technologies for human health and medicine.
Faculty Details
- Tina Y. Liu
- Position: Assistant Professor
- Email:
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. - Office: CABM, 304
- Interests: Microbial defense pathways, CRISPR-Cas systems, nucleotide signaling, nucleic acid detection, diagnostics, biochemistry, molecular biology, biotechnology
- Website: https://molbiosci.rutgers.edu/faculty-research/faculty/faculty-detail/1045-liu-tina