Wei Liu, PhD

Dr. Wei Liu joined the Medical College of Wisconsin in 2022. Prior to his appointment at MCW, he was a tenured associate professor at the School of Molecular Sciences and the Biodesign Institute at Arizona State University. Before joining ASU, he conducted research at The Scripps Research Institute. Over more than a decade, Dr. Liu developed innovative tools and approaches to study the structure and function of membrane proteins, with a particular emphasis on G protein–coupled receptors (GPCRs) implicated in cancer.

2017-2021 Thomson Reuters Highly Cited Researchers

Structural biology has a profound impact on biomedical research by revealing the architecture of nature’s fundamental building blocks and providing a foundation for the rational design of interventions that enhance human health. Our laboratory integrates a broad spectrum of tools, expertise, and methodologies to accelerate the structure-to-function pipeline for G protein–coupled receptors (GPCRs). We employ high-throughput (HT) screening to optimize construct design, followed by Cryo-EM and X-ray diffraction–based structure determination. The resulting high-resolution structural data inform computational drug screening and iterative structure-based drug design (SBDD), enabling precise optimization of ligand binding to GPCRs and other drug targets. These efforts are further strengthened through collaborations with industry partners including Pfizer, Eli Lilly, Allergan, and Abilita Therapeutics, focusing on the development of next-generation therapeutics guided by SBDD.