Xuewu Liu, Ph.D.

Multi-PI

Houston Methodist

Dr. Xuewu Liu is a leading scientist in silicon nanotechnology and Director of Nanoengineering at the Houston Methodist Research Institute. He received his Ph.D. in 2002 and completed postdoctoral training at the Indiana Center for Biological Microscopy at Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis. In 2003 he joined The Ohio State University as a senior research associate in nanomedicine, and in 2006 he was appointed Assistant Professor of Nanomedicine and Biomedical Engineering at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. Dr. Liu joined The Methodist Hospital Research Institute in 2010 to lead the nanoengineering core. With more than two decades of experience in silicon microfabrication, nanomaterials, microfluidics, and cancer nanotechnology, Dr. Liu has made extensive contributions to the development of silicon-based platforms for drug delivery, diagnostics, and immune modulation. He leads a nanoengineering team that supports institute-wide biomedical research, overseeing cleanroom microfabrication and in-house nanofabrication capabilities within the Houston Methodist cGMP facility. Dr. Liu’s research has yielded porous silicon nanovectors for drug delivery, multifunctional nanoparticles, nanochannel membranes for implantable drug reservoirs, nanostructure-enhanced microfluidic devices, nanoparticulate cytokine scavengers, and nanoporous diagnostic assays. He has published more than 150 peer-reviewed papers and holds 10 U.S. patents. His work spans targeted cancer therapy, particle–cell interactions, implantable drug delivery systems, microfluidic exosome analysis, and immune regulation through injectable particulate scavengers. Current research in his laboratory focuses on microfluidic investigations of platelet-mediated tumor metastasis, cytokine-scavenging technologies for immune modulation, and microfluidic single-cell manipulation to study intracellular interactions. Dr. Liu’s broader research goal is the development of silicon-based nanotechnology systems that enable prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of human disease.