Ruya Liu

Ruya Liu is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology at the University of Maryland, Baltimore School of Medicine (UMB SOM), where she serves as Physiology & Pharmacology Assistant Track Leader for the Graduate Program in Life Sciences (GPILS) Molecular Medicine PhD Program and lectures in graduate courses including Muscle Cell Biology and Cardiac Muscle Physiology.

Her educational foundation includes:

• Bachelor's Degree in Clinical Medicine (BM) from Beihua University Faculty of Medicine, China (2007; Outstanding Graduate Top 1%)
• PhD in Medicine from Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, China (2012; Outstanding Graduate Top 5%)

Dr. Liu's research centers on molecular mechanisms of cardiomyocyte homeostasis, cardiac metabolism, and regeneration. Her lab pioneered the discovery of TEAD1's critical roles in cardiomyocyte contractility, perinatal replication, and mitochondrial quality control, and recently identified C5x (RIMOC1) as a novel regulator of cardiomyocyte turnover. Her work uniquely bridges cardiac biology with pancreatic beta-cell proliferation and circadian regulation of adipogenesis, revealing conserved Hippo-TEAD pathway functions across metabolic tissues.

Analysis of her 2020-2025 publications reveals three dominant themes: (1) Mitochondrial regulation in cardiomyocytes and beta-cells (40% of recent work), (2) Circadian control of adipocyte development via cytoskeletal signaling (30%), and (3) Novel regulators of cardiac regeneration like C5x (30%). Her research consistently connects fundamental molecular mechanisms to translational applications in heart failure, diabetes, and metabolic syndrome.

Her scientific recognition includes:

• American Heart Association Career Development Award (2019)
• NHLBI Keystone Symposium Scholarship (2015)
• Baylor College of Medicine Best Presentation Award (2015)
• Multiple Outstanding Graduate honors in China

Dr. Liu actively mentors graduate students and has secured substantial research funding:

• Current PI: NHLBI R56 grant (2024-2025) on C5ORF51 in cardiomyocyte homeostasis
• Previous PI: AHA Career Development Award (2019-2023), Samuel and Emma Winters Foundation grant, two University of Pittsburgh institutional grants
• Co-I: NIH/NIDDK R01 (2014-2019), VA Merit award (2016-2021), NIH/NHLBI R01 (2021)

Her laboratory at UMB SOM employs conditional cardiomyocyte-specific knockout mouse models to investigate Hippo-TEAD signaling and collaborates with mitochondrial biology and diabetes research teams. The lab has trained multiple undergraduate fellows and graduate students, with ongoing projects focused on translating C5x/RIMOC1 discoveries into cardiac regenerative therapies.