Mandy Liu, PhD

I have a broad background in physiology, with specific training and expertise in research areas such as ion channel mechanisms and patch clamp electrophysiology. For my postdoctoral projects, I carried out electrophysiological experiments to study nicotinic acetylcholine receptors at neuromuscular junctions, voltage-gated cardiac sodium channel and other cardiac ion channels. I have developed a sophisticated understanding of cardiac physiology and experience working with acutely isolated/cultured cardiomyocytes and human iPSC-derived cardiomyocytes. I have published papers in Circulation Research “Cardiac Na+ current regulation by pyridine nucleotides” and “Reactive oxygen species originating from mitochondria regulate the cardiac sodium channel” to study how NADH-induced metabolic stress downregulates cardiac Na+ channel and how NAD+ reverses the channel changes. Recently, I am focusing on studying the regulation of the unfolded protein response on cardiac ion channels in cardiomyopathy, to elucidate the underlying cellular mechanism for the integrated phenotypes at the organ and animal levels.

cardiac ion channels under ER stress and the activated unfolded protein response; UPR and arrhythmias;

Active Grants
Rhode Island Foundation

• Liu M., Sanyal S., Gao G., Gurung I.S., Zhu X., Gaconnet G., Kerchner L.J., Shang L.L., Huang C.L.H., Grace A., London B., Dudley S.C., Jr. Cardiac Na+ current regulation by pyridine nucleotides, Circ. Res., 105(8), 737-745, 2009. 
• Liu M., Liu H., Dudley S.C., Jr. Reactive oxygen species originating from mitochondria regulate the cardiac sodium channel, Circ Res., 107(8), 967-974, 2010.
• Liu M., Gu L., Sulkin M.S., Liu H., Jeong E-M., Greener I., Xie A., Efimov I.R., Dudley S.C., Jr. Mitochondrial dysfunction causing cardiac sodium channel downregulation in cardiomyopathy. J Mol Cell Cardiol., 54: 25-34, 2013.
• Gao G., Xie A., Zhang J., Herman A.M., Jeong E-M., Gu L., Liu M., Yang K-C., Kamp T.J., Dudley, S.C., Jr. The unfolded protein response regulates cardiac sodium current in systolic human heart failure. Circ Arrhythm Electrophysiol., 6(5):1018-1024, 2013.
• Liu M., Yang K-C., Dudley S.C., Jr. Cardiac sodium channel mutations: Why so many phenotypes? Nat Rev Cardiol., 2014, 11:607-615.
• Liu M., Dudley S.C., Jr. Targeting the unfolded protein response in heart diseases. Expert Opin Ther Targets, 2014, 18(7):719-723.
• Liu M., Dudley S.C., Jr. Role for the unfolded protein response in heart failure and cardiac arrhythmias, Int. J. Mol. Sci, 2016, 17:52.
• Liu M., Shi G., Yang K-C., Gu L., Dudley S.C., Jr. The role of PKC in the metabolic regulation of the cardiac Na+ channel, Heart Rhythm, 14(3):440-447, 2017.