Dr. Liu's research is focused on the genetic basis for cardiometabolic diseases, spanning from fundamental inquiry to clinical epidemiology, risk modeling, and interventions in diverse populations. For three decades, his research group has worked in the global health space, establishing a wide variety of collaborative projects in diverse communities worldwide. His research lab has identified multiple genetic and biochemical markers and gene-nutrient interactions for diseases and health outcomes. This includes germ-line mutations in multiple genes and their interactions with dietary and environmental elements. Incorporating genotypes and plasma phenotypes into risk prediction, my team was the first to show the causal role of SHBG in diabetes pathogenesis and validate its clinical utilities in diverse human populations, opening a new path for early detection and risk management of the disease. Using biomarkers for dietary carbohydrates, his lab was among the first to introduce dietary glycemic load (GL) and validate its clinical utility for glycemic control; also provided the first prospective evidence linking high GL to increased cardiovascular risk. He has published over 500 research reports in top-tier biomedical journals, including some of the most frequently cited publications in medicine and nutrition. In 2015, he was recognized by Google Scholar as a scientist with an H-index >100, indicating the high impact of my publications. At UCLA, Dr. Liu co-founded the Burroughs Wellcome Fund Inter-School Program in Metabolic Disease, which was then one of the few cross-disciplinary doctoral programs in the U.S. aimed at educating scientists capable of integrating population-based quantitative disciplines with laboratory-based sciences. He has directly mentored and supervised 123 undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral fellows since 1998. Dr. Liu is an elected fellow of several medical societies, including the American Heart Assocaition (AHA) and the American Epidemiological Society (AES). Heh has also served as a consultant for several national and international authorities addressing medicine, nutrition, and public health issues.