Institute of Biological Chemistry, Academia Sinica

Research

Professor Liao is a world leader in metabolic and synthetic biology, particularly in microbial synthesis of fuels and chemicals, and in the redesign of primary metabolic network. He also developed Network Component Analysis (NCA) and Ensemble Modeling for analyzing transcription regulatory networks, and designed synthetic (artificial) gene-metabolic regulatory circuits, which set the foundation for metabolic synthetic biology.

Degrees and Positions Held

DEGREES

• 1982 – 1987   Ph.D., Chemical Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Wisconsin, U.S.A.
• 1976 – 1980   B.S., Chemical Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan

POSITIONS HELD

• 2016 – present   President, Academia Sinica, Taiwan
• 2016   Distinguished Research Fellow, Institute of Biological Chemistry, Academia Sinica
• 2015 – 2016   Chair, Bioengineering, UCLA
• 2013 – 2016   Professor (joint appointment), Department of Bioengineering, UCLA
• 2012 – 2016   Chair, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, UCLA
• 2011 – 2016   Ralph M. Parsons Foundation Professor, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, UCLA
• 2011 – 2016   Professor (joint appointment), Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, UCLA
• 2010 – 2016   Member, Molecular Biology Institute, UCLA
• 2009 – 2012   Vice Chair, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, UCLA
• 2008 – 2011   Chancellor’s Professor, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, UCLA
• 2007 – 2015   Associate Director for Energy Research, UCLA-DOE Institute for Genomics and Proteomics
• 2003 – 2007   Associate Director, NASA-UCLA Institute for Cell Mimetic Space Exploration
• 2002 – 2007   Vice Chair, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, UCLA
• 1997 – 2016   Professor, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, UCLA
• 1993 – 1997   Adjunct Associate Professor, Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Texas A&M University
• 1993 – 1997   Associate Professor, Department of Chemical Engineering, Texas A&M University
• 1990 – 1993   Assistant Professor, Department of Chemical Engineering, Texas A&M University
• 1987 – 1989   Research Scientist, Eastman Kodak Company, Rochester, New York

AWARDS / HONORS

• 2023   The Gregory N. Stephanopoulos Award for Metabolic Engineering, USA
• 2021   The Samson - Prime Minister’s prize for innovation in alternative energy and smart mobility for transportation, Israel
• 2019   Novozymes Award for Excellence in Chemical and Biochemical Engineering
• 2015   Fellow, National Academy of Inventors, USA
• 2015   Member, National Academy of Sciences, USA
• 2014   Academician , Academia Sinica
• 2014   NAS Award for the Industrial Application of Science, USA
• 2013   ENI Award, Renewable Energy Prize, Italy
• 2013   Member, National Academy of Engineering, USA
• 2012   White House Champion of Change for Innovations in Renewable Energy, USA
• 2010   Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Award, Academic Category, USA
• 2009   James E. Bailey Award, Society for Biological Engineering, USA
• 2009   Alpha Chi Sigma Award for Chemical Engineering Research, AIChE
• 2009   Marvin J. Johnson Award, American Chemical Society
• 2008   Charles Thom Award, Society for Industrial Microbiology and Biotechnology
• 2006   Merck Award in Metabolic Engineering
• 2006   Food, Pharmaceutical and Bioengineering Division Award, AIChE
• 2002   Fellow, American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering
• 1992   National Science Foundation Young Investigator Award, USA

Selected Publications

An ATP-sensitive phosphoketolase regulates carbon fixation in cyanobacteria. 
Lu KJ, Chang CW, Wang CH, Chen FY, Huang IY, Huang PH, Yang CH, Wu HY, Wu WJ, Hsu KC, Ho MC, Tsai MD, Liao JC 
Nature Metabolism (2023)

SARS-CoV-2 N protein mediates intercellular nucleic acid dispersion, a feature reduced in Omicron. 
Wu JL, Kuan II, Guo JY, Hsu WC, Tang WC, Chan HJ, Chen YJ, Chen BC, Wu HC, Liao JC 
iScience (2023)

Climate change challenges, plant science solutions. 
Eckardt NA, Ainsworth EA, Bahuguna RN, Broadley MR, Busch W, Carpita NC, Castrillo G, Chory J, DeHaan LR, Duarte CM, Henry A, Jagadish SVK, Langdale JA, Leakey ADB, Liao JC, Lu KJ, McCann MC, McKay JK, Odeny DA, Jorge de Oliveira E, Platten JD, Rabbi I, Rim EY, Ronald PC, Salt DE, Shigenaga AM, Wang E, Wolfe M, Zhang X. 
The Plant Cell (2023)

Subtyping of major SARS-CoV-2 variants reveals different transmission dynamics based on 10 million genomes. 
Yang HC, Wang JH, Yang CT, Lin YC, Hsieh HN, Chen PW, Liao HC, Chen CH, Liao JC 
PNAS Nexus (2022)

Metabolomics-Driven Identification of the Rate-Limiting Steps in 1-Propanol Production. 
Ohtake T, Kawase N, Pontrelli S, Nitta K, Laviña WA, Shen CR, Putri SP, Liao JC, Fukusaki E 
Frontiers in Microbiology (2022)

A cell-free self-replenishing CO₂-fixing system. 
Luo S, Lin PP, Nieh LY, Liao GB, Tang PW, Chen C, Liao JC 
Nature Catalysis (2022)

Identification of COVID-19 B-cell epitopes with phage-displayed peptide library. 
Guo JY, Liu IJ, Lin HT, Wang MJ, Chang YL, Lin SC, Liao MY, Hsu WC, Lin YL, Liao JC, Wu HC 
Journal of Biomedical Science (2021)

Role of cyanobacterial phosphoketolase in energy regulation and glucose secretion under dark anaerobic and osmotic stress conditions. 
Chuang DS, Liao JC 
Metabolic Engineering (2021)

Novel allosteric inhibition of phosphoribulokinase identified by ensemble kinetic modeling of Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 metabolism. 
Nishiguchi H, Liao JC, Shimizu H, Matsuda F 
Metabolic Engineering Communications (2020)

Analysis of genomic distributions of SARS-CoV-2 reveals a dominant strain type with strong allelic associations. 
Yang HC, Chen CH, Wang JH, Liao HC, Yang CT, Chen CW, Lin YC, Kao CH, Lu MJ, Liao JC 
Proc Natl Acad Sci USA (2020)

Converting Escherichia coli to a Synthetic Methylotroph Growing Solely on Methanol. 
Chen FY, Jung HW, Tsuei CY, Liao JC 
Cell (2020)

Metabolome analysis revealed the knockout of glyoxylate shunt as an effective strategy for improvement of 1-butanol production in transgenic Escherichia coli. 
Nitta K, Laviña WA, Pontrelli S, Liao JC, Putri SP, Fukusaki E 
Journal of Bioscience and Bioengineering (2019)

Synthetic methanol auxotrophy of Escherichia coli for methanol-dependent growth and production. 
Chen CT, Chen FY, Bogorad IW, Wu TY, Zhang R, Lee AS, Liao JC 
Metabolic Engineering (2018)

Escherichia coli as a host for metabolic engineering. 
Pontrelli S, Chiu TY, Lan EI, Chen FY, Chang P, Liao JC 
Metabolic Engineering (2018)

Metabolic repair through emergence of new pathways in Escherichia coli. 
Pontrelli S, Fricke RCB, Teoh ST, Laviña WA, Putri SP, Fitz-Gibbon S, Chung M, Pellegrini M, Fukusaki E, Liao JC 
Nature Chemical Biology (2018)

A modified serine cycle in Escherichia coli coverts methanol and CO₂ to two-carbon compounds. 
Yu H, Liao JC 
Nature Communications (2018)

Directed strain evolution restructures metabolism for 1-butanol production in minimal media. 
Pontrelli S, Fricke RCB, Sakurai SSM, Putri SP, Fitz-Gibbon S, Chung M, Wu HY, Chen YJ, Pellegrini M, Fukusaki E, Liao JC 
Metabolic Engineering (2018)

Augmenting the Calvin-Benson-Bassham cycle by a synthetic malyl-CoA-glycerate carbon fixation pathway. 
Yu H, Li X, Duchoud F, Chuang DS, Liao JC 
Nature Communications (2018)

Construction and evolution of an Escherichia coli strain relying on nonoxidative glycolysis for sugar catabolism. 
Lin PP, Jaeger AJ, Wu TY, Xu SC, Lee AS, Gao F, Chen PW, Liao JC 
Proc Natl Acad Sci USA (2018)

Rearrangement of Coenzyme A-Acylated Carbon Chain Enables Synthesis of Isobutanol via a Novel Pathway in Ralstonia eutropha. 
Black WB, Zhang L, Kamoku C, Liao JC, Li H 
ACS Synthetic Biology (2018)

Orthogonal partial least squares/projections to latent structures regression-based metabolomics approach for identification of gene targets for improvement of 1-butanol production in Escherichia coli. 
Nitta K, Laviña WA, Pontrelli S, Liao JC, Putri SP, Fukusaki E 
Journal of Bioscience and Bioengineering (2017)

Metabolomics-driven approach to solving a CoA imbalance for improved 1-butanol production in Escherichia coli. 
Ohtake T, Pontrelli S, Laviña WA, Liao JC, Putri SP, Fukusaki E 
Metabolic Engineering (2017)

Kinetically accessible yield (KAY) for redirection of metabolism to produce exo-metabolites. 
Lafontaine Rivera JG, Theisen MK, Chen PW, Liao JC 
Metabolic Engineering (2017)

Metabolic systems modeling for cell factories improvement. 
Chen PW, Theisen MK, Liao JC 
Current Opinion in Biotechnology (2017)

Rational engineering of diol dehydratase enables 1,4-butanediol biosynthesis from xylose. 
Wang J, Jain R, Shen X, Sun X, Cheng M, Liao JC, Yuan Q, Yan Y 
Metabolic Engineering (2017)

Engineering a Thermostable Keto Acid Decarboxylase Using Directed Evolution and Computationally Directed Protein Design. 
Soh LMJ, Mak WS, Lin PP, Mi L, Chen FY, Damoiseaux R, Siegel JB, Liao JC 
ACS Synthetic Biology (2017)

Publication List