Chengfei Liu, M.D., Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Department of Urologic Surgery
Assistant Director for Translational Research, UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center
Locations and Contact
Research/Academic Interests
Dr. Liu has extensive expertise in clinical oncology and prostate cancer research. He has identified novel resistance mechanisms and developed innovative pharmaceutical strategies to treat patients with advanced prostate cancer. He has also generated a number of unique tools that have enabled him to elucidate how resistance emerges in late-stage disease.
Dr. Liu’s long-term research interest is to bridge basic and clinical research to drive novel translational efforts in urologic oncology. His work aims to establish new paradigms in protein post-translational modification and drug resistance in cancer cells, advance the understanding of cancer biology, and provide opportunities for innovative cancer therapeutics.
His current research program focuses on uncovering the mechanisms of therapy resistance and disease progression in lethal prostate cancer, with a particular emphasis on drug development. His areas of interest include nuclear receptors, chaperone protein modification, ubiquitin-proteasome regulation, steroid hormone biosynthesis and metabolism, clinical translational research, and tumor immunology.
Division
Urology
Center/Program Affiliation
Medical School
M.D., Sichuan University, China 2005
Other School
Ph.D., Sichuan University, China 2012
Internship
Oncology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China 2005-2006
Residency
Oncology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China 2009-2010
Fellowship
Urology/Urological Research, UC Davis, Sacramento CA 2012-2016
DoD PCRP Idea Development Award, 2023,
DoD PCRP Translational Scientific Award, 2023,
SBUR Young Investigator Award, 2022,
NCI Method to Extend Research in Time (MERIT)(R37) Award, 2021,
NCI Paul Calabresi Clinical Oncology K12 Career Development Award, 2020,
Access Dr. Liu's PubMed bibliography here.
Access Dr. Liu's UC Davis profile here.
Xu P, Yang JC, Chen B, Ning S, Zhang X, Wang L, Nip C, Shen Y, Johnson OT, Grigorean G, Phinney B, Liu L, Wei Q, Corey E, Tepper CG, Chen HW, Evans CP, Dall'Era MA, Gao AC, Gestwicki JE, Liu C. Proteostasis perturbation of N-Myc leveraging HSP70 mediated protein turnover improves treatment of neuroendocrine prostate cancer. Nat Commun. 2024;15(1):6626. Epub 2024/08/06. doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-50459-x. PubMed PMID: 39103353; PMCID: PMC11300456.
Chen B, Xu P, Yang JC, Nip C, Wang L, Shen Y, Ning S, Shang Y, Corey E, Gao AC, Gestwicki JE, Wei Q, Liu L, Liu C. Plexin D1 emerges as a novel target in the development of neural lineage plasticity in treatment-resistant prostate cancer. Oncogene. 2024;43(30):2325-37. Epub 2024/06/15. doi: 10.1038/s41388-024-03081-6. PubMed PMID: 38877132; PMCID: PMC11286220.
Ning S, Armstrong CM, Xing E, Leslie AR, Gao RY, Sharifi M, Schaaf ZA, Lou W, Han X, Xu DH, Yang R, Cheng J, Mohammed S, Mitsiades N, Liu C, Lombard AP, Wu CY, Cheng X, Li PK, Gao AC. LX1 Dual Targets AR Variants and AKR1C3 in Advanced Prostate Cancer Therapy. Cancer Res. 2024;84(21):3617-28. Epub 2024/08/01. doi: 10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-24-0440. PubMed PMID: 39088701; PMCID: PMC11534543.
Xu P, Yang JC, Chen B, Nip C, Van Dyke JE, Zhang X, Chen HW, Evans CP, Murphy WJ, Liu C. Androgen receptor blockade resistance with enzalutamide in prostate cancer results in immunosuppressive alterations in the tumor immune microenvironment. J Immunother Cancer. 2023;11(5). Epub 2023/05/06. doi: 10.1136/jitc-2022-006581. PubMed PMID: 37147019; PMCID: PMC10163595.
Nip C, Wang L, Liu C. CD200/CD200R: Bidirectional Role in Cancer Progression and Immunotherapy. Biomedicines. 2023 Dec 16;11(12). doi: 10.3390/biomedicines11123326. Review. PubMed PMID: 38137547; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC10741515.
Xu P, Yang JC, Ning S, Chen B, Nip C, Wei Q, Liu L, Johnson OT, Gao AC, Gestwicki JE, Evans CP, Liu C. Allosteric inhibition of HSP70 in collaboration with STUB1 augments enzalutamide efficacy in antiandrogen resistant prostate tumor and patient-derived models. 2023, Pharmacological research, 189:106692. PMID: 36773708, PMCID: PMC10162009.
Ning S, Liu C, Lou W, Yang JC, Lombard AP, D'Abronzo LS, Batra N, Yu AM, Leslie AR, Sharifi M, Evans CP, Gao AC. Bioengineered BERA-Wnt5a siRNA Targeting Wnt5a/FZD2 Signaling Suppresses Advanced Prostate Cancer Tumor Growth and Enhances Enzalutamide Treatment. Mol Cancer Ther. 2022;21(10):1594-607. Epub 2022/08/06. doi: 10.1158/1535-7163.MCT-22-0216. PubMed PMID: 35930737; PMCID: PMC9547958.
Liu C, Armstrong CM, Ning S, Yang JC, Lou W, Lombard AP, Zhao J, Wu CY, Yu A, Evans CP, Tepper CG, Li PK, Gao AC. ARVib suppresses growth of advanced prostate cancer via inhibition of androgen receptor signaling. Oncogene. 2021;40(35):5379-92. Epub 2021/07/18. doi: 10.1038/s41388-021-01914-2. PubMed PMID: 34272475; PMCID: PMC8413131.
Liu C, Lou W, Yang JC, Liu L, Armstrong CM, Lombard AP, Zhao R, Noel ODV, Tepper CG, Chen HW, Dall'Era M, Evans CP, Gao AC. Proteostasis by STUB1/HSP70 complex controls sensitivity to androgen receptor targeted therapy in advanced prostate cancer. Nat Commun. 2018;9(1):4700. Epub 2018/11/18. doi: 10.1038/s41467-018-07178-x. PubMed PMID: 30446660; PMCID: PMC6240084.
Liu C, Lou W, Zhu Y, Yang JC, Nadiminty N, Gaikwad NW, Evans CP, Gao AC. Intracrine Androgens and AKR1C3 Activation Confer Resistance to Enzalutamide in Prostate Cancer. Cancer Res. 2015;75(7):1413-22. Epub 2015/02/05. doi: 10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-14-3080. PubMed PMID: 25649766; PMCID: PMC4383695.