Lab Introduction & Major Research Interests
I am engaged in studying the etiological factors and developing novel treatment for major psychiatric disorders, especially schizophrenia. As the leader of integrated team of Genomic medicine of Psychiatric Disorders in National Taiwan University Hospital, we have collected the blood sample and neuropsychological tests, niacin skin test of about 3600 families of schizophrenia and conducted a series of molecular genetic studies of schizophrenia through international collaborations.
We also have collected the event-related potentials, DSI data of schizophrenia. We hope to clarify the complex relationship between the genotypes and phenotypes in the complex disorder as schizophrenia. We also focus upon the study of early stage of schizophrenia, including first episode schizophrenia and ultra high risk prodromal stage (attenuated psychotic syndrome).
In recent years, I have a collaboration with NTU, NHRI and National Chiao Tung University to develop a novel molecule, RS-D7, which is an inhibitor of d-amino acid oxidase (DAO), an NMDA receptor modulator. We demonstrated this molecule has treatment effects upon the negative symptoms and cognitive symptoms in the MK-801 induced schizophrenia mouse model. In an open label clinical trial, we showed the molecule seems to have treatment effect on negative symptoms of schizophrenia using its parent drug. We have applied several patents for this molecule.
Recent Representative Publication ( * corresponding author)
1. Liu CM*, Liu YL, Hwu HG, Fann CS, Yang UC, Hsu PC, Chang CC, Chen WJ, Hwang TJ, Hsieh MH, Liu CC, Chien YL, Lin YT, Tsuang MT. Genetic associations and expression of extra-short isoforms of disrupted-in-schizophrenia 1 in a neurocognitive subgroup of schizophrenia. J Hum Genet. 2019 Jul;64(7):653-663.
2. Liu YL, Wang SC, Hwu HG, Fann CS, Yang UC, Yang WC, Hsu PC, Chang CC, Wen CC, Tsai-Wu JJ, Hwang TJ, Hsieh MH, Liu CC, Chien YL, Fang CP, Faraone SV, Tsuang MT, Chen WJ, Liu CM*. Haplotypes of the D- Amino Acid Oxidase Gene Are Significantly Associated with Schizophrenia and Its Neurocognitive Deficits. PLOS ONE, 2016, 17;11(3).
3. Chen YJ, Liu CM, Hsu YC, Lo YC, Hwang TJ, Hwu HG, Lin YT, Tseng WI. Individualized prediction of schizophrenia based on the whole-brain pattern of altered white matter tract integrity. Hum Brain Mapp. 2018 Jan; 39(1):575-587. (co-first author)
4. Huang JY, Liu CM, Hwang TJ, Chen YJ, Hsu YC, Hwu HG, Lin YT, Hsieh MH, Liu CC, Chien YL, Tseng WI. Shared and distinct alterations of white matter tracts in remitted and nonremitted patients with schizophrenia. Hum Brain Mapp. 2018 May;39(5):2007-2019. (co-first author)