Shixin Liu

Shixin Liu is an Associate Professor at The Rockefeller University, specializing in biochemistry, biophysics, and chemical biology. His research focuses on single-molecule techniques to study DNA/chromatin-based molecular machines and their roles in gene regulation. He leads the Laboratory of Nanoscale Biophysics and Biochemistry, investigating processes like transcription, translation, and genome replication coordination.

Education: B.S. in biology from University of Science and Technology of China (2003), Ph.D. in chemistry from Harvard University (2009). Postdoctoral training at UC Berkeley (2010–2015). Academic positions include Assistant Professor (2016–2022) and current role as Associate Professor.

Research interests include chromatin architecture, nucleosome dynamics, and bacterial transcription mechanisms (e.g., Mycobacterium tuberculosis). His lab pioneered the SEnd-seq method for transcriptome mapping, revealing novel regulatory paradigms in bacteria. Awards include the NIH Innovator Award, Vilcek Prize, and multiple early-career fellowships.

Advising and grants: Active in graduate programs (David Rockefeller, Tri-Institutional) and has secured NIH and private funding. Research bridges fundamental biology with applications in epigenetics and infectious disease.

Labs/Teams: Laboratory of Nanoscale Biophysics and Biochemistry, collaborating on interdisciplinary projects in biophysics and chemical biology.