Xia Liu

Xia Liu, PhD, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Toxicology and Cancer Biology at the University of Kentucky. Her research focuses on understanding mechanisms of breast cancer metastasis, particularly the roles of neutrophils, tumor-associated inflammation, and liquid biomarker discovery. She co-leads projects on immune checkpoint inhibitors in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) and tumor-induced granulopoiesis.

Dr. Liu earned her PhD in Cancer Biology from Peking Union Medical College & Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, China. Her lab's work integrates molecular biology, immunology, and translational approaches to identify therapeutic targets and improve cancer treatment efficacy.

Key research areas include:

• Neutrophil biology in cancer progression
• CD44-mediated tumor cell clustering
• ICAM1-suPAR-CD11b axis as a therapeutic target
• Machine learning applications in cancer biomarker discovery

Her lab has published in high-impact journals like Molecular Cancer, Nature Communications, and Cancer Discovery. She collaborates with institutions globally to advance metastasis research and clinical translation.

Dr. Liu's lab is located at Research Building 2, Room 424, and maintains an active research website at xialiulab.com.