Personal profile

Liu Sixue, professor of Sun Yat-sen School of Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, doctoral supervisor, Sun Yat-sen University Yixian Scholars Program Outstanding Scholar, winner of the national high-level talent Introduction youth project. She received her bachelor's degree from Hunan Normal University and her master's degree from China Agricultural University. After receiving her doctorate degree from Beijing Institute of Genomics, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, she went to the University of California, Los Angeles for postdoctoral research. She will return to China and join Sun Yat-sen Medical College in 2024.
Committed to integrating clinical and preclinical multi-omics data, combined with in vitro and in vivo functional experiments, systematically analyze the mechanisms of tumor metastasis and drug resistance and develop new therapies, Relevant research results have been published in international academic journals such as Nature Medicine, Cancer Cell, Cancer Discovery, and Cell Reports Medicine, and some of the therapies have entered the clinical trial stage. She was awarded the Career Development Award by Melanoma Research Foundation, USA, Research funding includes Melanoma Research Alliance Researcher Award (twice) and Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center Postdoctoral Award.

The main research direction of the research group

The research group is committed to integrating clinical and preclinical multiple omics data, combined with in vitro and in vivo functional experiments, (1) systematically analyze the co-evolution process of tumor and microenvironment, and explore its mechanism in tumor metastasis and drug resistance; (2) Establish a risk assessment model for tumor metastasis and drug resistance based on multi-modal deep learning; (3) On the basis of the above, develop new therapeutic methods to inhibit tumor metastasis and drug resistance.

Representative academic works

(# co-first author; *co-corresponding author)

1. Liu S, Dharanipragada P, Lomeli S, Wang Y, Zhang X, Yang Z, Lim R, Dumitras C, et al. (2023). Multi-organ landscape of terminal, therapy-resistant, cutaneous melanoma. Nature Medicine, 29, 1123–1134. （Sole First author）
2. Liu S#, Knochelmann H#, Lomeli S, Hong A, Richardson M, Yang Z, Lim R, Dumitras C, Timmers C, Romeo M, C, et al. (2021). Response and Recurrence Correlates in Patients Treated with Neoadjuvant Anti-PD-1 Therapy for Resectable Oral-Cavity Squamous Cell Carcinoma. Cell Reports Medicine, 2, 100411-1–100411-12. （First Author）
3. Wang Y#, Liu S#, Yang Z#, Algazi AP#, Lomeli SH, Wang Y, Othus M, Hong A, Wang X, Randolph CE, et al. (2021). Anti-PD-1/L1 lead-in before MAPK inhibitor combination maximizes antitumor immunity and efficacy. Cancer cell 39, 1375-1387 e1376. （Co-first author）
4. Hong A#, Piva M#, Liu S#, Hugo W, Lomeli SH, Zoete V, Randolph CE, et al. (2021). Durable Suppression of Acquired MEK Inhibitor Resistance in Cancer by Sequestering MEK from ERK and Promoting Antitumor T-cell Immunity. Cancer discovery 11, 714-735. （Co-first author）
5. Wu N#, Liu S#, Li J#, Hu Z#, Yan S, Duan H, Wu D, Ma Y, Li S, Wang X, et al. (2021). Deep sequencing reveals the genomic characteristics of lung adenocarcinoma presenting as ground-glass nodules (GGNs). Translational lung cancer research 10, 1239-1255. （Co-first author）
6. Liu S#, Yang Z#, Li G#, Li C, Luo Y, Gong Q, Wu X, Li T, Zhang Z, Xing B, et al. (2019). Multi-omics Analysis of Primary Cell Culture Models Reveals Genetic and Epigenetic Basis of Intratumoral Phenotypic Diversity. Genomics, proteomics & bioinformatics 17, 576-589. （First author）
7. Dharanipragada P, Zhang X, Liu S, Lomeli S, Hong A, Wang Y, Yang Z, et al. (2023). Blocking Genomic Instability Prevents Acquired Resistance to MAPK Inhibitor Therapy in Melanoma. Cancer discovery, 13(4): 880–909.
8. Yang Z, Wang Y, Liu S, Deng W, Lomeli SH, Moriceau G, Wohlschlegel J, Piva M, et al. (2022). Enhancing PD-L1 Degradation by ITCH during MAPK Inhibitor Therapy Suppresses Acquired Resistance. Cancer discovery 12:1942-1959.
9. Knochelmann H, Horton J, Liu S, Armeson K, Kaczmar J, Wyatt M, Richardson M, Lomeli S, Xiong Y, E.M. Graboyes E, et al. (2021). Neoadjuvant Presurgical PD-1 Inhibition in Oral Cavity Squamous Cell Carcinoma. Cell Reports Medicine, 2, 100426-1–100426-10.
10. Ablain J, Liu S, Moriceau G, Lo RS, Zon LI. (2021). SPRED1 deletion confers resistance to MAPK inhibition in melanoma. The Journal of experimental medicine 218. 
11. Li G, Yang Z, Wu D, Liu S, Li X, Li T, Li Y, Liang L, et al. (2021). Evolution under spatially heterogeneous selection in solid tumors. Mol Biol Evol Nov 25;msab335. Online ahead of print.
12. Li T, Liu J, Feng J, Liu Z, Liu S, Zhang M, Zhang Y, Hou Y, Wu D, Li C, et al. (2021). Variation in the life history strategy underlies functional diversity of tumors. Natl Sci Rev 8, nwaa124. Li C, Hou Y, Xu J, Zhang A, Liu Z, Qi F, Yang Z, Chen K, Liu S, Huang H, et al. (2017). A Direct Test of Selection in Cell Populations Using the Diversity in Gene Expression within Tumors. Molecular biology and evolution 34, 1730-1742.
13. Yang Z, Jia M, Liu G, Hao H, Chen L, Li G, Liu S, Li Y, Wu CI, Lu X, Wang S. (2017). Genomic sequencing identifies a few mutations driving the independent origin of primary liver tumors in a chronic hepatitis murine model. PloS one 12, e0187551.
14. Zhou Y#, Liu S#, Song J, and Zhang Z. (2013). Structural propensities of human ubiquitination sites: accessibility, centrality and local conformation. PloS one 8, e83167. （Co-first author）

Obtain fund

National High-level Talent Introduction Youth Project, 2024-2027
Melanoma Research Foundation Career Development Award (2022-2024, $100,000)
Melanoma Research Alliance Researcher Award (2019-2021, US $70,000)
Postdoctoral Award, Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, UCLA (2020-2021, $30,000).

Recruitment/Recruitment Information:
The laboratory has long-term enrollment in bioinformatics, genomics, molecularMaster's students, doctoral students, postdocs and research assistants in biology, cell biology, biomedical engineering and other related majors are welcome to join our team if you are interested in tumor metastasis and drug resistance research! Please contact Prof. Sixue Liu's Research group (liusx28@mail.sysu.edu.cn).