Decoding Disease Across the Whole Organism
Whole-body single-nucleus RNA sequencing and computational analysis reveal how cell states and disease programs evolve across many tissues simultaneously.
Ying Liu Laboratory
The Liu Lab studies cancer cachexia, organismal metabolism, tumor-host communication, and systemic disease biology.
Cancer Cachexia & Organismal Metabolism
Our laboratory investigates how tumors reshape metabolism and inter-organ communication across the whole organism. We combine whole-body single-nucleus genomics with genetics, computational biology, and cross-species models to uncover conserved mechanisms and candidate therapeutic targets.
Our perspective
Cancer is a systemic disease.
A tumor acts far beyond its site of origin. Through circulating cytokines and altered metabolism, it disrupts systemic homeostasis across multiple organs. We map these organism-wide networks to uncover early drivers of cancer cachexia and identify actionable mechanisms with therapeutic potential.
Research program
Three scales of discovery
Mapping tumor–host communication and metabolic reprogramming
FlyPhoneDB2 and multi-omic profiling trace cytokine and metabolic signals between tumors and distant host organs.
Discovering pathogenic mechanisms
Functional genetics and a fly-to-mouse-to-human strategy connect causal mechanisms with human disease and candidate interventions.
Join us
Build a whole-organism view of disease with us.
We welcome motivated researchers with diverse backgrounds in cancer biology, molecular and cell biology, metabolism, physiology, immunology, genetics, genomics, bioinformatics, computational biology, and systems biology.
Joint support for our lab from Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory and Northwell Health creates a distinctive training environment that connects fundamental discovery with translational and clinical cancer research.
Explore opportunities