About
Mr. Jacob Liu is an undergraduate Regents’ Scholar attending the University of California, majoring in the Biological Sciences with a specialization in Human Biology as a member of the Campuswide Honors Collegium. Mr. Liu has been working in the Tombolab since the Summer of 2021 as a Bio Sci 199 Researcher. During the Spring of 2022, Mr. Liu was awarded Excellence in Research by the School of Biological Sciences for his work pertaining to the chimeragenesis of mechanosensitive voltage-gated proton channels leading to a publication in the Journal of Undergraduate Research in the Biological Sciences. Mr. Liu went on to present in the 29th Annual Undergraduate Research Symposium held by the UCI Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP), and the 2022 Southern California Conference for Undergraduate Research (SCCUR) at Pepperdine University in Malibu, California.
Research
From the Summer of 2021 through the Spring of 2022, Mr. Liu worked on the PsHv1-L2-3At chimeragenesis project which consisted of replacing the differing amino acids in the intracellular loop between the S2 and S3 transmembrane helical domains of relatively non-mechanosensitive Picea sitchensis Hv1 with elements from the more mechanosensitive Arabidopsis thaliana Hv1. The produced chimeric Hv1 model as expressed on Xenopus oocyte membranes was then evaluated for possible mechanosensitive elements through patch clamp electrophysiology experimentation.
During the Summer of 2022, Mr. Liu re-started a project investigating interactions between the Hv1 proton channel and cytoskeletal proteins. The work involved expressing tagged proteins in HEK293T cells and performing Co-IP experiments in preparation for future research endeavors.
Other
Mr. Liu’s future plans include attending medical school with aspirations for surgery, and somewhere along the way obtain a PhD to teach at the collegiate level and lead research in the applied health sciences field of minimally invasive biotechnological alternatives to traditional surgical methods.
During Mr. Liu’s spare time, he enjoys swimming in the ocean, watching movies and TV, reading books, building LEGOs, cooking and baking delicious treats, and playing the piano. His favorite movie in La La Land, though he thoroughly enjoys everything from Star Wars to Sleepless in Seattle.
Mr. Liu is also a major shark enthusiast! 🦈