John Liu received his bachelor’s degree from Harvard University in Chemical and Physical Biology. He completed his MD and PhD training at the University of California, San Francisco, under joint mentorship with Daniel Lim and Jonathan Weissman. He continued onto residency in Radiation Oncology at UCSF and pursued postdoctoral research as a Holman Pathway Research Fellow with Luke Gilbert, David Raleigh, and William Weiss. Dr. Liu is a Principal Investigator at the UCSF Brain Tumor Center, with a research focus on functional genomics in brain tumors and using epigenomic editing to understand and overcoming treatment resistance in malignant glioma. When not conducting research, John enjoys spending time with his wife and daughter and is frequently seen cycling in the early mornings around the many hills of the San Francisco Bay Area.

I-Ching Wang received her Ph.D. degree from Baylor College of Medicine in Neuroscience. She worked on how brain activity modulates gut microbial ecology in her PhD project. With her expertise in neuroscience, she is interested in developing in vivo functional genomic methods in brain tumor models for discovery of therapeutic targets. When not in the lab, I-Ching enjoys playing badminton, exploring coffee shops, hiking and watching movies. 

Chris Zou is broadly interested in how to scale and make sense of biological datasets. He's currently working on the lab's projects involving the DNA damage response in GBM. Previously, Chris built healthcare software at Datavant and Nuna, founded Health Engine, UC Berkeley's healthcare startup accelerator, and studied CS and biochemistry at Berkeley. Outside of the lab, Chris enjoys a good cookie, throwing big deck parties, and running all over SF.

Akane Hubbard received her undergraduate degree in biology from the University of Michigan. She joins the lab with experience from the National Cancer Institute and Caribou Biosciences. With the Liu Lab, she is leveraging her diverse research background to develop functional genomic tools to better understand and treat glioblastoma. In her free time, Akane can be found backpacking in the mountains or searching for the best kouign-amann in the city.

Sasha Sengelmann is an undergraduate at the University of California, Berkeley, majoring in Molecular and Cell Biology. Within the Liu Lab, she is currently exploring molecular mechanisms of radiation and chemotherapy resistance with focus on the DNA damage response, and developing novel genetic and epigenetic editing technologies for in vivo application. Outside of the lab, Sasha enjoys reading, trying new foods, and spending time with friends. 

Former lab members

Katie Lin
Research Associate
Currently: Scientist, Pfizer

Joanna Pak
Research Associate
Currently: Clinical Laboratory Scientist