David R. Liu

David R. Liu is the Thomas Dudley Cabot Professor of the Natural Sciences at Harvard University, and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator. His research integrates chemistry and evolution to illuminate biology and enable next-generation therapeutics, with interests in the engineering, evolution, and in vivo delivery of genome editing proteins, the evolution of proteins with novel therapeutic potential, and the discovery of bioactive synthetic small molecules and polymers. Liu's work includes technologies such as base editing, prime editing, and phage-assisted continuous evolution (PACE), which have been adopted by thousands of labs globally. He is also the director of the Merkin Institute of Transformative Technologies in Healthcare and vice chair of the faculty at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard.

David R. Liu is a researcher at Harvard University specializing in chemistry, evolution, genome editing, DNA, and RNA. His work focuses on developing innovative genome editing technologies, including base editing and prime editing, which enable precise modifications to DNA without requiring double-stranded breaks. Liu's research explores the chemical mechanisms underlying DNA and RNA modifications, such as 5-methylcytosine to 5-hydroxymethylcytosine conversion. His contributions span molecular biology, synthetic chemistry, and bioinformatics, with applications in cancer genomics and precision medicine. Liu's publications highlight advancements in CRISPR-based tools, directed evolution of proteins, and high-throughput analysis of genome editing outcomes.