Karen Liu

Professor Karen Liu is a Professor of Genetics and Development at King's College London, affiliated with the Faculty of Dentistry, Oral & Craniofacial Sciences and the Centre for Craniofacial & Regenerative Biology. She has led an independent research group since 2007, focusing on neural crest cell biology and its applications in regenerative medicine.

• PhD in Molecular Biology (University of California, Berkeley, 2003)
• BA in Biology (Columbia University, 1994)

Her research bridges developmental biology with clinical applications, particularly in craniofacial anomalies and ciliopathy-related disorders. Using Xenopus and mouse models, she investigates:

• Signal transduction pathways (GSK-3, Wnt)
• Post-translational control mechanisms
• Neural crest development and cancer links
• Regenerative potential of stem cells

Recent publications highlight her work on mouse models for rare diseases, primary cilia in development, and genetic mechanisms of craniofacial disorders. She has secured major grants including £1.5M from Cancer Research UK for neuroblastoma studies.

• Supervisor Excellence Award (2018)
• American Liver Foundation Student Fellow (2001)
• King's Innovation Fellow (2010)

Her lab collaborates internationally and has supervised 17 trainees. Current projects include patient-derived hiPSC modeling of neural crest cancers and functional genomics of congenital anomalies.