W.-C. Liu

The receptor binding domain of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein fused with the type IIb E. coli heat-labile enterotoxin A subunit as an intranasal booster after mRNA vaccination

This study evaluates an intranasal RBD-LTA fusion protein as a booster vaccine after mRNA vaccination, showing comparable neutralizing antibody titers and increased IgA responses against SARS-CoV-2 variants.

Discovery of aphid-transmitted Rice tiller inhibition virus from native plants through metagenomic sequencing

The paper discovers a new aphid-transmitted rice virus, RTIV, from wild rice plants and shows it causes low-tillering disease in rice cultivars.

Omicron-specific mRNA vaccine induced potent neutralizing antibody against Omicron but not other SARS-CoV-2 variants

This study evaluates Omicron-specific mRNA vaccines and finds they induce strong neutralizing antibodies against Omicron but not other variants, while bivalent vaccines show broader neutralizing activity.

A single amino acid substitution in PB1 of pandemic H1N1 with A/Ann Arbor/6/60 master donor virus mutations as a novel live-attenuated influenza virus vaccine

This paper shows that a single amino acid change in the PB1 protein of the pandemic H1N1 virus can create a live-attenuated vaccine with reduced pathogenicity and transmission.

Topoisomerase 1 inhibition therapy protects against SARS-CoV-2-induced inflammation and death in animal models.

This study shows that Top1 inhibition with Topotecan reduces SARS-CoV-2-induced inflammation and mortality in animal models.

A Newcastle disease virus (NDV) expressing membrane-anchored spike as a cost-effective inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccine

This paper evaluates an inactivated Newcastle disease virus expressing the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein as a cost-effective vaccine, showing immunogenicity and protective efficacy in animal models.

Human organ chip-enabled pipeline to rapidly repurpose therapeutics during viral pandemics

This paper demonstrates the use of human organ chips to rapidly repurpose therapeutics for viral pandemics, identifying amodiaquine as a potential treatment for SARS-CoV-2.

SARS-CoV-2 launches a unique transcriptional signature from in vitro, ex vivo, and in vivo systems

This study characterizes the host transcriptional response to SARS-CoV-2 and other respiratory viruses in multiple models, finding a unique muted response lacking certain cytokine and chemokine induction.

Aquatic microbial community is partially functionally redundant: insights from an in situ reciprocal transplant experiment

This study uses an in situ reciprocal transplant experiment to show that microbial communities in freshwater lakes show partial functional redundancy, with functions aligning to the incubating lake's profile.

Biological adaptation under fluctuating selection

The paper uses mathematical models to explore alternative strategies to bet-hedging for adapting to fluctuating environments, finding a strategy that increases mean fitness despite higher variance.

Response to Qian et al (2017): Daily and seasonal climate variations are both critical in the evolution of species’ elevational range size

The paper addresses criticisms of their previous study on climate variability's impact on species' elevational range size by clarifying their use of structural equation modeling and reiterating their findings using multiple statistical methods.