Edison Liu

Edison T. Liu is an American chemist who is the former president and CEO of The Jackson Laboratory, and the former director of its NCI-designated Cancer Center (2012-2021). Before joining The Jackson Laboratory, he was the founding executive director of the Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS) (an A*STAR institute), chairman of the board of the Health Sciences Authority, and president of the Human Genome Organization (HUGO) (2007-2013). As the executive director of the GIS, he brought the institution to international prominence as one of the most productive genomics institutions in the world.

Between 1997 and 2001, he was the scientific director of the National Cancer Institute's Division of Clinical Sciences where he was in charge of the intramural clinical translational science programs. From 1987 to 1996, Liu was a faculty member at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he was the director of the Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center's Specialized Program of Research Excellence in Breast Cancer; the director of the Laboratory of Molecular Epidemiology at UNC School of Public Health; chief of Medical Genetics; and the chair of the Correlative Science Committee of the national cooperative clinical trials group, CALGB.

Liu's scientific research has focused on the functional genomics of human cancers, particularly breast cancer (identifying the tandem duplicator phenotype genomic configuration ), discovering new oncogenes (AXL family of receptor tyrosine kinases ), and deciphering the dynamics of gene regulation on a genomic scale that modulates cancer biology. His work has spanned basic to population sciences to translation to the clinic. He has authored over 320 scientific papers and reviews, and co-authored two books.

In his spare time, Liu pursues jazz piano and composition, and writes for the lay public on science, medicine and society.

Education
1983-1987 Postdoctoral Fellow - Dept. of Microbiology, University of California at San Francisco, CA (Dr. J. Michael Bishop)

1982-1985 Hematology Fellowship, University of California San Francisco, Moffitt Hospital

1980-1982 Oncology Fellowship, Stanford University

1979-1980 Residency, Barnes Hospital - Washington University School of Medicine

1978-1979 Internship, Barnes Hospital - Washington University in St. Louis

1973-1978 Stanford University School of Medicine, M.D.

1969-1973 Stanford University, B.S. Chemistry, Psychology

Professional Appointments
2021–present Professor, President Emeritus, and Honorary Fellow, The Jackson Laboratory

2011-2021 President and CEO, The Jackson Laboratory

2001-2011 Executive Director, Genome Institute of Singapore

2007–2011 Chairman, Governing Board Health Sciences Authority of Singapore

1996-2001 Director, Division of Clinical Sciences, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD

1995-1996 Chief, Division of Medical Genetics, UNC School of Medicine

1995-1996 Professor, UNC Departments of Medicine, Epidemiology, Biochemistry and Biophysics.

1993-1995 Associate Professor, Departments of Medicine and Epidemiology and Biochemistry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

1992-1996 Director, Specialized Program of Research Excellence in Breast Cancer (NIH-designated)

1987-1993 Assistant Professor in Medicine and Oncology, UNC School of Medicine

Honors and awards
2018 Honorary Degree recipient, University of Southern Maine

2016 Honorary Degree recipient, Colby College

2016 Elected Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science

2014 Chen Award for Distinguished Academic Achievement in Human Genetic and Genomic Research (from Human Genome Organization)

2010 Fellow, The Hastings Center

2008 Associate (Foreign) Member European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO)

2007-2013 President, the Human Genome Organization (HUGO)

2007 Doctor of Medical Science honoris causa, awarded by Queen's University Belfast

2005 National Healthcare Group (NHG), Singapore, Distinguished Contributor Award

2003 Public Service Medal (National Day, 2003), for work in controlling SARS in Singapore (given by the Office of the President, Republic of Singapore)

2000 Rosenthal Award, AACR: for the discovery that HER-2 status determines response to adjuvant chemotherapy with doxorubicin

1999 Elected-Board of Directors, American Association for Cancer Research

1996 Brinker International Award for Breast Cancer Research - Basic Research Award

1995 American Society of Clinical Investigation (Membership)

1991-1996 Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Scholar

1985-1988 Clinical Investigator Award, National Cancer Institute, K08-CA01036-02, Preceptor: Dr. J. Michael Bishop.

1983-1985 Damon Runyan Cancer Fund Fellowship Preceptor: Dr. J. Michael Bishop (UCSF)

1973 Phi Beta Kappa