Dr. Junjie Liu

Junjie V.Liu, Ph.D.

B.Eng., Huazhong Univ. of Sci. and Tech., China, 1996.
M.S., Tsinghua University, China, 1999.
Ph.D., Stanford University, USA, 2006.
 
Contact Information:
Junjie V. Liu, Ph.D.
NIH/NINDS/LFMI/CMU
10 Center Drive, MSC 1065
Building 10, Room B1D109
Bethesda, MD 20892-1065
Telephone: 301-594-3031 (Office)
Fax: 301-480-2558
Email: liujunj at ninds . nih . gov (work)
Email: liu at junjie . com (permanent)


Junjie majored in electrical engineering as an undergraduate, and earned master’s degree in physics with research work in nanoscale physics (carbon nanotubes). At age eighteen, he was admitted to the Applied Physics PhD program at Stanford University. This program generously sponsored research opportunities that allowed him to apply physics to medical sciences. He joined Dr. Brian Wandell’s laboratory to use functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to understand the neural mechanism of human color vision. In his doctoral thesis, two separate neural pathways that respond differentially to modulations of physical parameters in colorful movies were demonstrated.

After graduation, Junjie decided to further explore his interest in medical sciences and to apply fMRI techniques to novel animal models. In the laboratories of Dr. Mriganka Sur and Dr. Chris Moore at MIT, he received trainings in animal research and conducted the first fMRI experiments using the ferret, an animal model suited for studying neural plasticity. In 2008, Junjie joined the laboratory of Dr. Afonso Silva at NINDS, NIH. Junjie has since been focusing on fMRI experiments using the marmoset, a non-human primate model, under both awake and anesthetized conditions.

Junjie’s current research interests include understanding the effects of anesthesia on neural and hemodynamic responses to somatosensory stimulation, and characterizing the spatial organization of somatosensory pathways using both fMRI and structural MRI techniques. These works prepare us toward studying the functional recovery from focal stroke and other cerebrovascular mishaps in the sensorimotor cortex.

 

Publications

  • Liu JV, Bock NA, Silva AC. (2011) Rapid high-resolution three-dimensional mapping of T(1) and age-dependent variations in the non-human primate brain using magnetization-prepared rapid gradient-echo (MPRAGE) sequence, Neuroimage 56(3), 1154-63. FullText/Abstract
  • Silva AC, Liu JV, Hirano Y, Leoni RF, Merkle H, Mackel JB, Zhang XF, Nascimento GC, Stefanovic B. (2011) Longitudinal functional magnetic resonance imaging in animal models, Methods Mol Biol 711, 281-302. FullText/Abstract
  • Bock NA, Kocharyan A, Liu JV, Silva AC (2009) Visualizing the entire cortical myelination pattern in marmosets with magnetic resonance imaging, J Neurosci Methods 185(1), 15-22. FullText/Abstract
  • Ress D., Glover G.H., Liu J. and Wandell B.A. (2007). Laminar profiles of functional activity in the human brain. Neuroimage 34(1): 74-84.
  • Liu J.V., Ashida H., Smith A.T. and Wandell B.A. (2006). Assessment of stimulus induced changes in human V1 visual field maps. Journal of Neurophysiology 96(6): 3398-408.
  • Liu J. and Wandell B.A. (2005). Specializations for chromatic and temporal signals in human visual cortex. Journal of Neuroscience 25(13): 3459-68.
  • Brewer A.A., Liu J., Wade A.R. and Wandell B.A. (2005). Visual field maps and stimulus selectivity in human ventral occipital cortex. Nature Neuroscience 8(8): 1102-09.
  • Wu J., Gu B.L., Liu J., Guo Y., Zhu J.L., Yu J.Z. and Kawazoe Y. (1999). Transmission through a mesoscopic ring with a quantum dot. Physics Letters A 262: 245-250.
  • Liu J., Zhang G. and Gu B.L. (1999). Persistent currents in toroidal single-wall carbon nanotubes. Journal of Materials Science and Technology 15: 342-344.

Selected Abstracts

  • Liu J.V., Bock N.A., Hirano Y. and Silva A.C. (2009). Cortical boundaries revealed by T1 mapping: comparison with fMRI in awake marmosets. ISMRM Annual Meeting, Honolulu, HI.
  • Hirano Y., Liu J.V., Stefanovic B. and Silva A.C. (2009). Spatiotemporal investigation of the fMRI response to brief somatosensory stimulation in awake marmosets. International Society of Magnetic Resonance in Medicine (ISMRM) Annual Meeting, Honolulu, HI.
  • Bock N.A., Liu J., Kocharyan A. and Silva A.C. (2009). T1-weighted MRI visualizes functional anatomy in the marmoset cortex. ISMRM Annual Meeting, Honolulu, HI.
  • Liu J.V. and Silva A.C. (2009). Effects of propofol anesthesia on functional response in somatosensory brain regions of a new-world monkey (marmoset). International Anesthesia Research Society Annual Meeting, San Diego, CA.
  • Liu J.V., Sur M., Moore C.I. and Sharma J. (2008). Orientation maps in ferret visual cortex measured by multi-slice fMRI. ISMRM Annual Meeting, Toronto, Canada.
  • Liu J.V., Sharma J., Moore C.I. and Sur M. (2007). Maps of retinotopy and orientation in ferret measured with BOLD fMRI at 9.4T. Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting, San Diego, CA.
  • Liu J. and Wandell B.A. (2005). Color- and luminance-preferring stripes in human V2 measured using fMRI. Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting, Washington, DC.
  • Liu J. and Wandell B.A. (2005). Contrast perception and discrimination of chromatic temporal modulations. Vision Sciences Society Annual Meeting, Sarasota, FL.
  • Nakadomari S., Liu J., Asakawa K., Kitahara K., Misaki M., Miyauchi S., Marmor M.F. and Wandell B.A. (2005). Cortical visual field maps of a patient with tunnel vision (retinitis pigmentosa). Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology.
  • Furuta A., Liu J., Nakadomari S., Asakawa K., et al. and Wandell B.A. (2005). Quick retinotopic mapping with composite stimulus. Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology.
Twelve other published abstracts are omitted here. Available upon request.

Recent honors and activities


Poster Award, Intramural Retreat of Nat. Inst. of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. 2009.
Educational Stipend, International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine. 2008, 2009.
Peer-reviewer for International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine. 2009.
Ad-hoc peer-reviewer for <Experimental Brain Research>.
Members of Society for Neuroscience (2002-current), International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine, International Society of Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism.

Misc. hobbies


Junjie enjoys listening to music (especially country music and smooth jazz), and attend to musicians’ performances regularly. He is a fan of Rosanne Cash, Kenny G, Sarah McLachlan, James Taylor, Randy Travis and others. Junjie has been happily married since he was 21. He enjoys traveling, scenic driving, hiking and bowling with his wife. In addition he has volunteered at a number of hospitals and served as a medical language interpreter, a bedside caregiver, and a human subject for medical research.

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