Vice-Chancellor’s Research Fellowship awarded

30 June 2020

We welcome Dr Tianqing (Michelle) Liu as the newly appointed Vice-Chancellor’s Research Fellow, Pharmacology and Natural Products Chemistry at NICM Health Research Institute.

With over 10 years’ experience in the biotechnology field Dr Liu brings to the Institute a strong research background in drug screening, nanomaterial preparation and characterisation, 2D and 3D tissue culture, development of scientific models for drug delivery and biomedical imaging applications in diseases such as cancer, neurological disorders, and iron-related diseases.

Acting Director of the Institute, Professor Dennis Chang says over the next four years, Dr Liu will be integral in delivering research impact and excellence.

“Dr Liu will contribute to new research in the field of pharmacology and herbal medicines by working across disciplines to address local, national and international challenges,” said Professor Chang.

“She will be responsible for developing and administering robust research projects in her areas of expertise, liaising with project partners and collaborators nationally and internationally, and producing impactful outputs for research end users.”

Dr Liu has a well-established track record of esteemed research and outputs, with 35 original research publications, including eight first author articles in leading peer-reviewed journals.

She is recognised for scientific excellence with several grants, fellowships and awards, including the NHMRC Peter Doherty - Australian Biomedical Fellowship in 2016.

With a passion for women in STEM, Dr Liu was acknowledged in 2015 and awarded the Women in Technology Rising Star Award. She was also named a finalist for both the L'Oréal-UNESCO for Women in Science Australian and New Zealand Fellowship, and the Australian Society for Medical Research Queensland Health and Medical Research Early Career Research Awards.

Dr Liu completed her PhD in 2014 at the University of South Australia in nanomedicines, which is the application of ‘nano’ meaning tiny materials, devices or particles to medicine for disease diagnosis, monitoring, control, prevention and treatment.

Her most recent appointment was as an Early Career Research Fellow at QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Queensland, focusing on investigating nanotechnology to improve therapeutic efficacy of iron chelators to treat disorders such as Parkinson’s Disease, dementia and neurodegeneration.