Dr. Huiping Liu

BCA 2026 Exceptional Project Grantee

Dr. Liu is an Associate Professor of Pharmacology and Medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and Interim Director of the Breast Cancer Research Program at the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center. An internationally recognized leader in metastatic breast cancer research, she is leveraging artificial intelligence and machine learning to uncover how breast cancer spreads and to translate those discoveries into new therapies for patients.

Dr. Liu's groundbreaking research has transformed our understanding of circulating tumor cells (CTCs), demonstrating that stem-like cancer cells can travel together in multicellular clusters that are up to 50 times more likely to form metastatic tumors than individual cancer cells. Her laboratory has identified key molecular markers that drive these clusters and has uncovered new mechanisms that enable cancer cells to spread, evade the immune system, and colonize distant organs. Her team is also developing innovative therapeutic antibodies designed to disrupt these processes and bring promising discoveries from the laboratory to the clinic.

Beyond her scientific discoveries, Dr. Liu is an elected member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation (ASCI), Co-Leader of the American Cancer Society Cancer Stem Cell Consortium, a Biohub Chicago Investigator funded by the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, and co-organizer of the International Cancer Stem Cell Conferences, helping advance global collaboration in cancer stem cell and metastasis research.

With support from Breast Cancer Alliance, Dr. Liu is investigating immune-suppressive DPT cells, a newly identified population of immune cells that helps metastatic breast cancer evade the body's natural defenses. By targeting these cells, her research aims to eliminate breast cancer metastasis and pave the way for innovative treatments that improve survival for patients with advanced disease.