Gangning Liang

Dr. Gangning Liang is a Professor in the Department of Urology at the University of Southern California (USC), serving as Director of Epigenetic Translational Research at the USC Institute of Urology and Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center. His career spans over three decades, with academic appointments since 1998, progressing from Assistant to Full Professor. He holds an MD from Shanghai Second Medical School (1985) and a PhD in Pharmaceutical Science from the University of Nebraska Medical Center (1995), followed by postdoctoral training in epigenetics at USC under Dr. Peter A. Jones.

His research focuses on epigenetic mechanisms in cancer, particularly DNA methylation and microRNA roles in tumorigenesis. Key areas include developing epigenetic biomarkers for bladder, kidney, and prostate cancers, and translating these into clinical diagnostics and therapies. He has secured over 10 NIH grants as PI/co-PI, advancing projects like urine-based DNA methylation tests for cancer detection and monitoring.

Dr. Liang’s work bridges basic and clinical research, emphasizing precision medicine through epigenetic profiling. He has published over 100 peer-reviewed articles in top journals (e.g., Cell, Cancer Cell, Nature Communications). His lab explores epigenetic therapy synergies with chemotherapy and immunotherapy, targeting epigenetic vulnerabilities in cancers like renal cell carcinoma and melanoma.

Notable contributions include identifying bladder cancer recurrence markers via urine sediments and demonstrating how DNA methyltransferase inhibitors induce viral mimicry responses in tumors. Ongoing projects include optimizing epigenetic biomarkers for early cancer detection and enhancing therapeutic efficacy through combinatorial epigenetic-drug strategies.