Chen Liu

Bittersweet to send off @LiLi_Phd2017 as he steps into his new role as a tenure-track Assistant Professor! After his PhD with @JohnSpeakman4, Li became a cornerstone of our lab—leading key projects, setting many “firsts” (postdoc fellowship, Seldin Award, career development award, and more), and inspiring junior fellows like @Baijie_Xu to follow suit. Can’t wait to see the new discoveries from his own lab. Good luck, Li—reach out anytime, and visit often! #ProudMentorMoment @UTSWInternalMed @UTSWNeurosci @UTSWBrain @utswpda

@SebastienBouret @Baijie_Xu @LiLi_Phd2017 @NeuroCellPress @utswnews @UTSWInternalMed @UTSWBrain @UTSWNeurosci @UTSWScience Thanks, Sebastien!

@ChenLiuLab @Baijie_Xu @LiLi_Phd2017 @NeuroCellPress @utswnews @UTSWInternalMed @UTSWBrain @UTSWNeurosci @UTSWScience Beautiful paper!

Excited to share new work by @Baijie_Xu and @LiLi_Phd2017, out today in @NeuroCellPress (shorturl.at/wDEZU). We identify a developmental fate switch in the brain shaping lifelong obesity risk. @UTSWNews @UTSWInternalMed @UTSWBrain @UTSWNeurosci @UTSWScience 1/🧵👇

Huge congrats to the whole team, especially @Baijie_Xu on a second major discovery in just two years! So well deserved and wishing you every success as this work adds momentum to your ongoing faculty search. 10/

In today’s high-fat, high-sugar world, this same mechanism backfires, increasing vulnerability to obesity. Blocking the switch blunts hyperphagic responses to high-fat diets, highlighting how developmental programs shape adult metabolic health. 9/

Online now: Developmental reprogramming in melanocortin neurons modulates diet-induced obesity in mice dlvr.it/TR09gY

Our 2025 holiday door decoration is up! 🎄🎅 Credit to our incredibly talented lab manager, @swativarshney19, and the team for bringing it to life. Wishing everyone a happy holiday season and a wonderful new year! ✨ @UTSWNeurosci @UTSWBrain @UTSWInternalMed

✨This Thursday, to close this Neurometabolic Seminar Series season 2025 in style, we’re thrilled to welcome @ChenLiuLab from UT Southwestern! Dr. Liu will share recent findings from his lab on the developmental origins of obesity!🧑‍🏫 Register here: forms.gle/ZzKRKo8Tiayej4…

🎉Huge congrats to @Baijie_Xu on the @AHAScience Career Development Award! In times of uncertainty, moments like this make it all worthwhile—watching trainees take bold steps toward independence. #ProudMentorMoment 💪@UTSWInternalMed @UTSWNeurosci @UTSWBrain @utswpda

Always an honor to have our work recognized by students—truly grateful! Excited to visit this summer and connect in person.

Congrats to both teams! Grateful for our amazing collaborators, especially JKE and Kathy Mountjoy, for their invaluable support. We are recruiting new students and postdocs—visit chenliulab.us to learn more! End/

Interestingly, our collaborators identified other individuals from the UK Biobank carrying LOF mutations in OTP. All were obese or described as "plumper" in childhood. This suggests OTP LOF mutations may be linked to common obesity, but larger studies are needed. 11/

Excited to share @Baijie_Xu’s work with @Farooqi_Lab in @ScienceTM (shorturl.at/CQ23Z). Our study uncovers a molecular deficit in patients with monogenic obesity and identifies a potential treatment. @UTSWNews @UTSWInternalMed @UTSWBrain @UTSWNeurosci @UTSWScience 1/