xliu65@central.uh.edu
University of Houston
Dr. Xinli Liu is an Associate Professor of Pharmaceutics at University of Houston College of Pharmacy. Prior to 2016, she was an Associate Professor of Pharmaceutics at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center. Dr. Liu's research interest is to develop molecularly targeted drug delivery systems, such as nanoparticles, nanoconjugates and prodrugs, to improve tumor specific delivery of small molecule anticancer drugs and biologics (RNAs, peptides, and antibodies) to target cancer metastasis. My research uses pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic principles and employs multidisciplinary approaches, including nanotechnology, chemical synthesis, cancer biology, and imaging methods, mass spectrometry, and PK modeling to study the disposition and efficacy of the nanotherapeutics in preclinical cancer models.
Currently, Liu lab research focuses on three main areas: 1) rational design and development of novel nanoparticles and nanoconjugates that can overcome various physiological and biological barriers (such as blood brain barrier), selectively accumulate at specific anatomical locations such as CNS and bone, efficiently target cancer metastasis, and eradicate tumor cells without harming normal cells; 2) preclinical evaluations of novel drug combination and drug delivery systems that can overcome multidrug resistance in cancer and infectious diseases; 3)immune engineering and vaccine development for cancer and infectious diseases.