• Peds - Infectious Disease

The research of George Y. Liu, MD PhD, focuses on understanding how interactions between Gram-positive pathogens and the host leads to a productive infection. From the bacterial side, Dr. Liu strives to identify novel immune evasion mechanisms that facilitate S. aureus or GBS invasion of the host. Conversely, he is also studying host antimicrobial mechanisms that keep bacterial infection in check. Ultimately, based on knowledge of host and bacterial defense mechanisms, he seeks to identify novel strategies to treat infections caused by antibiotic-resistant pathogens.

• Undergraduate: California Institute of Technology, 1990
• Doctorate: University of Cambridge, 1995
• Medical School: University of California San Diego School of Medicine, 1998
• Residency: University of California Davis Medical Center, 2001
• Fellowship: University of California San Diego Medical Center, 2006

• Infectious Disease
• Pathology and Laboratory Medicine
• Pediatrics

• American Society for Clinical Investigation (Elected), 2017
• ASM Merck Irving S. Sigal Memorial Award, 2009
• Pediatric Infectious Disease Society Young Investigator Award, 2008
• Burroughs Wellcome Career Award in Biomedical Sciences, 2004
• Howard Hughes Medical Institute Postdoctoral Fellowship, 2002

• Tseng CW, Biancotti JC, Berg BL, Gate D, Kolar SL, Muller S, Rodriguez MD, Rezai-Zadeh K, Fan X, Beenhouwer DO, Town T, Liu GY. Humanized mice are more susceptible to Staphylococcus aureus skin and soft tissue infection. PLoS Pathog. 2015;11:e1005292.
• Sabrina Müller, Wolf AJ, Iliev ID, Berg BL, Underhill DM, and Liu GY. Poorly cross-linked peptidoglycan formed in MRSA due to mecA induction strongly activates the NLRP3 inflammasome and exacerbates immunopathology. Cell Host Microbe. 2015;18:604-612.
• Liu C*, Liu GY*, Song Y, Yin F, Hensler ME, Nizet V, Wang AH, Oldfield E. A cholesterol lowering drug inhibits Staphylococcus aureus virulence. Science. 2008;319:391-394 (*Co-first authors).