Dr. Yue Liu is a Postdoctoral Research Associate with Dr. Todd Monroe in the Department of Biological & Agricultural Engineering of the LSU AgCenter. Currently, Dr. Liu is leading an NIH-funded grant in developing technologies for standardization of germplasm preservation of zebrafish. The zebrafish is an extremely important model for biomedical research that offers tremendous potential for advances in numerous fields. However, protection of these genetic resources is jeopardized by a systemic lack of reliability and efficiency. Zebrafish are currently used worldwide in more than 1,000 laboratories and use continues to grow. But this success comes with a price: there are simply too many lines to maintain as live populations within laboratories. The goal of this project is to use interdisciplinary approaches to develop simple and inexpensive microfabricated and 3-D printed devices to provide a basis for standardization and reproducibility.
Dr. Liu interested in developing biological and engineering technologies for germplasm repository development in assisting agriculture, conservation, stock enhancement, and biomedical research. Interdisciplinary programs are developed to support related projects. Unlike multidisciplinary work where individuals representing different fields come together often as a team, interdisciplinary work involves individuals that have developed the capacity to understand and interact with individuals from other fields in a synthetic way, blending their capabilities into new identities. Dr. Liu is working with interdisciplinary collaborators spanning fields such as reproductive biology, cryobiology, aquaculture, repository science, veterinary science, economics, computer sciences, biological engineering, mechanical engineering, industrial engineering, electrical engineering, business and marketing, and evolutionary biology. This involves integration of research and technology development and is manifested in core fabrication technologies such as 3-dimensional printing and microfabrication. Ultimately, this goal requires establishment and maintenance of an interdisciplinary culture involving routine interactions and constant creation of new ideas and approaches.
Dr. Liu received his PhD degree in Renewable Natural Resources in LSU with Dr. Terrence Tiersch. His dissertation project titled ‘conservation of freshwater live-bearing fishes: development of germplasm repositories for goodeids’. His PhD project focused on using cryopreserved germplasm as tool to assist conservation of imperiled fishes. Goodeid fishes (family Goodeidae) is one of the most at-risk fish group in the world, inhabiting central Mexico and southwest United Stated. However, the viviparity of these fishes greatly challenges sperm cryopreservation. Yue is developing methodologies to evaluate gamete qualities, activate sperm motility, investigate signaling pathways, cryopreservation, and artificial insemination for endangered goodeids. Before coming to LSU, Dr. Liu received his master’s degree in Aquaculture at the Shanghai Ocean University in China, working with Dr. Jiale Li on improvement of quality of cultured freshwater pear mussels.