Cuining (Choo) Liu
About Me
Hello! I am a PhD Bioinformatics student at UCLA. I became a computational biologist after a stint as a molecular biologist in the biotech start-up world (e.g., 10X Genomics), followed by statistical training (MS Biostatistics; University of Colorado at Anschutz data science consulting core).
These past lives have converged in my work in the Luo Lab (PI: Chongyuan Luo), where our group develops multiomic single-cell and spatial assays. My dissertation work extends machine learning and statistical genetics to these new tools, particularly focusing on how genetic variation and 5mC-methylation interact with aging, the developmental origins of disease, and neuropsychiatric phenotypes.
Learning about other folks’ research is my favorite part of being in academia. Please reach out if you’d like to collaborate or grab a coffee!
Teaching
I am privileged to mentor many talented undergraduate researchers & TA the senior capstone research communication course (UCLA C&S BIO M187). I am currently exploring ways to contribute to pedagology research, with specific interest in teaching strategies for science communication and bioinformatics competency in the transformative age of AI/LLMs.
(reviews & resource pack for prospective mentees: choo's research primer)
Recent Highlights
- Li, Langerman, and Liu, et al. Molecular landscape of inter-individual heterogeneity in human reprogramming. (in prep, 2026)
- Eyring & Liu, et al. Single-cell profiling of DNA methylation in autism spectrum disorder prefrontal cortex reveals distinct regulatory and aging signatures. Cell Genomics (2026) GEO
- Zhou, et al. (2026) Distinct cellular DNA methylation mechanisms underlie common and rare genetic risk for brain disorders. bioRxiv
Other Interests
patient-facing clinical volunteering, botany, synthesizers, field recording, rocky beaches (pictured below: Lands End, San Francisco), medieval animal illustrations, internet history/doomscrolling (also below), film noir, and immediately misplacing all of my pencils and pens.
