Liang, Yajie | University of Maryland School of Medicine

Academic Title:

Assistant Professor

Primary Appointment:

Diagnostic Radiology and Nuclear Medicine

Email:

yajie.liang@som.umaryland.edu

Location:

HSF III, 670 W. Baltimore Street, Room L127

Phone (Primary):

(410) 706-3697

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Education and Training

Education

1998-2003 Baccalaureate, Medicine, 3rd Military Medical University, Chongqing, China
2003-2009 Ph.D., Neurobiology, 3rd Military Medical University, Chongqing, China

Training

2010-2012 Postdoc, Department of Radiology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
2012-2015 Postdoc, Institute of Physiology, Tuebingen University, Tuebingen, Germany

Biosketch

We are using advanced intravital 2-photon (2p) microscopy to visualize physiological or pathological biological processes in live animals. The optical sectioning and penetration powers of 2p imaging make it possible to study deep scattering tissues at fine details. The availability of a variety of fluorescent probes empowers 2p microscopy and opens so many possibilities to unfold the secret of life from unprecedented perspectives. I have switched from neurobiology to translational research out of the belief that interdisciplinary efforts are essential in the battle against the common enemy of mankind: diseases. Equipped with 2p imaging tools, fluorescent sensors, and in vivo imaging experiences from multiple modalities, we are interested in the following questions:

How to improve neural stem cell therapy through enhanced integration of grafted cells into the pre-existing neural network.
Interrogation of tumor heterogeneity by direct visualization of their behavior at single-cell resolution over time in live animals.
How to combine high-resolution imaging with light-triggered interventions as a complete toolset to reveal causality of molecular cellular events in the context of diseases.

Research/Clinical Keywords

Intravital long-term single-cell tracking; Multiphoton microscopy; Fluorescent probe; Calcium imaging; neural stem cells;

Highlighted Publications

Lu R*, Liang Y*, Meng G*, Zhou P, Svoboda K, Paninski L, Ji N. Rapid mesoscale volumetric imaging of neural activity with synaptic resolution. Nat Methods. 2020 Mar;17(3):291-294. *Co-first authors.

Broussard GJ, Liang Y, Fridman M, Unger EK, Meng G, Xiao X, Ji N, Petreanu L, Tian L. In vivo measurement of afferent activity with axon-specific calcium imaging. Nat Neurosci. 2018 Sep;21(9):1272-1280.

Meng G, Liang Y, Sarsfield S, Jiang WC, Lu R, Dudman JT, Aponte Y, Ji N. High-throughput synapse-resolving two-photon fluorescence microendoscopy for deep-brain volumetric imaging in vivo. Elife. 2019 Jan 4;8. pii: e40805.

Brawek B*, Liang Y*, Savitska D, Li K, Fomin-Thunemann N, Kovalchuk Y, Zirdum E, Jakobsson J, Garaschuk O. A new approach for ratiometric in vivo calcium imaging of microglia. Sci Rep. 2017 Jul 20;7(1):6030. *Co-first authors.

Liang Y, Li K, Riecken K, Maslyukov A, Gomez-Nicola D, Kovalchuk Y, Fehse B, Garaschuk O. Long-term in vivo single-cell tracking reveals the switch of migration patterns in adult-born juxtaglomerular cells of the mouse olfactory bulb. Cell Res. 2016 Jul;26(7):805-21.

Liang Y, Bar-Shir A, Song X, Gilad AA, Walczak P, Bulte JW. Label-free imaging of gelatin-containing hydrogel scaffolds. Biomaterials. 2015 Feb;42:144-50.

Liang Y, Walczak P, Bulte JW. The survival of engrafted neural stem cells within hyaluronic acid hydrogels. Biomaterials. 2013 Jul; 34(22):5521-9.

Liang Y, Aagren L, Lyczek A, Walczak P, Bulte JW. Neural progenitor cell survival in mouse brain can be improved by co-transplantation of helper cells expressing bFGF under doxycycline control. Experimental Neurology.2013 Apr. 247:73–79.

Featured article with a commentary: Smith GA, Snyder EY. Two cells are better than one: Optimizing stem cell survival by co-grafting "helper" cells that offer regulated trophic support. Exp Neurol. 2013 Sep;247:751-4.

Additional Publication Citations

Mohr MA, Bushey D, Aggarwal A, Marvin J, Marquez E, Liang Y, et al. jYCaMP: An optimized calcium indicator for two-photon imaging at fiber laser wavelengths. Nature Methods. 2020 Jul;17(7):694-697.

Lu R*, Liang Y*, Meng G*, Zhou P, Svoboda K, Paninski L and Ji N. Rapid mesoscale volumetric imaging of neural activity with synaptic resolution. Nature Methods. 2020 Mar;17(3):291-294. *Equal contribution.

Wu J, Liang Y, Hsu C, Chavarha M, Evans S, Shi D, Lin M, Tsia K and Ji N. Kilohertz in vivo imaging of neural activity. Nature Methods. 2020 Mar;17(3):287-290.

Turcotte R, Liang Y, Tanimoto M, Zhang Q, Li Z, Koyama M, Betzig E, Ji N. Dynamic super-resolution structured illumination imaging in the living brain. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2019 May 7;116(19):9586-9591.

Broussard G, Liang Y, Fridman M, Unger E, Meng G, Xiao X, Ji N, Petreanu L and Tian L. In vivo measurement of afferent activity with axon-specific calcium imaging. Nature Neuroscience. 2018 Sep;21(9):1272-1280

Liang Y, Zhang J, Walczak P, Bulte JWM. Quantification of motor neuron loss and muscular atrophy in ricin-induced focal nerve injury. Journal of Neuroscience Methods. 2018 Oct 1;308:142-150.

Rodriguez C, Liang Y, Lu R, Ji N. Three-photon fluorescence microscopy with an axially elongated Bessel focus. Optics Letters. 2018 April; 43(8):1914-1917.

Brawek B*, Liang Y*, Savitska D, Li K, Fomin-Thunemann N, Kovalchuk Y, Zirdum E, Jakobsson J, Garaschuk O. A new approach for ratiometric in vivo calcium imaging of microglia. Scientific Reports. 2017 Jul 20;7(1):6030. *Equal contribution.

Grimm J, Muthusamy A, Liang Y, Brown T, Lemon W, Patel R, Lu R, Macklin J, Keller P, Ji N, and Lavis L. A general method to fine-tune fluorophores for live-cell and in vivo imaging. Nature Methods. 2017 Oct;14(10):987-994.

Turcote R, Liang Y, and Ji N. Adaptive optical versus spherical aberration corrections for in vivo brain imaging. Biomedical Optics Express. 2017 Jul 31;8(8):3891-3902.

Lu R, Sun W, Liang Y, Kerlin A, Bierfeld J, Seelig JD, Wilson DE, Scholl B, Mohar B, Tanimoto M, Koyama M, Fitzpatrick D, Orger MB, Ji N. Video-rate volumetric functional imaging of the brain at synaptic resolution. Nature Neuroscience. 2017 Apr;20(4):620-628

Askew K, Li K, Olmos-Alonso A, Garcia-Moreno F, Liang Y, Richardson P, Tipton T, Chapman MA, Riecken K, Beccari S, Sierra A, Molnár Z, Cragg MS, Garaschuk O, Perry VH, Gomez-Nicola D. Coupled Proliferation and Apoptosis Maintain the Rapid Turnover of Microglia in the Adult Brain. Cell Reports. 2017 Jan 10;18(2):391-405.

Bar-Shir A, Liang Y, Chan KW, Gilad AA, Bulte JW. Supercharged green fluorescent proteins as bimodal reporter genes for CEST MRI and optical imaging. Chemical Communications. 2015 Mar 21;51(23):4869-71

Kovalchuk Y, Homma R, Liang Y, Maslyukov A, Hermes M, Thestrup T, Griesbeck O, Ninkovic J, Cohen LB, Garaschuk O. In vivo odorant response properties of migrating adult-born neurons in the mouse olfactory bulb. Nature Communications. 2015 Feb 19;6:6349.

Liang Y, Bar-Shir A, Song X, Gilad AA, Walczak P, Bulte JW. Label-free imaging of gelatin-containing hydrogel scaffolds. Biomaterials. 2015 Feb;42:144-50.

Brawek B, Schwendele B, Riester K, Kohsaka S, Lerdkrai C, Liang Y, Garaschuk O. Impairment of in vivo calcium signaling in amyloid plaque-associated microglia. Acta Neuropathologica. 2014 Apr;127(4):495-505.

Thestrup T, Litzlbauer J, Bartholomäus I, Mues M, Russo L, Dana H, Kovalchuk Y, Liang Y, Kalamakis G, Laukat Y, Becker S, Witte G, Geiger A, Allen T, Rome LC, Chen TW, Kim DS, Garaschuk O, Griesinger C, Griesbeck O. Optimized ratiometric calcium sensors for functional in vivo imaging of neurons and T lymphocytes. Nature Methods. 2014 Feb;11(2):175-82.

Liang Y, Walczak P, Bulte JW. The survival of engrafted neural stem cells within hyaluronic acid hydrogels. Biomaterials. 2013 Jul; 34(22):5521-9.

Bar-Shir A, Liu G, Liang Y, Yadav NN, McMahon MT, Walczak P, Nimmagadda S, Pomper MG, Tallman KA, Greenberg MM, van Zijl PC, Bulte JW, Gilad AA. Transforming thymidine into a magnetic resonance imaging probe for monitoring gene expression. Journal of the American Chemical Society. 2013 Jan 30;135(4):1617-24.

Liang Y*, Lin S, Zou L, Zhou H, Zhang J, Su B, Wan Y*. Expression profiling of Rab GTPases reveals the involvement of Rab20 and Rab32 in acute brain inflammation in mice. Neuroscience Letters. 2012 Aug. 527(5):110-4. *Corresponding authors.

Lin S, Liang Y, Zhang J, Bian C, Zhou H, Guo Q, Xiong Y, Li S, Su B. Microglial TIR-domain-containing adapter-inducing interferon-beta (TRIF) deficiency promotes retinal ganglion cell survival and axon regeneration via nuclear factor-kappaB. Journal of Neuroinflammation. 2012 Feb 24;9(1):39.

Liang Y, Walczak P, Bulte JW. Comparison of red-shifted firefly luciferase Ppy RE9 and conventional Luc2 as bioluminescence imaging reporter genes for in vivo imaging of stem cells. Journal of Biomedical Optics. 2012 Jan;17(1):016004.

Song X, Gilad, A. A. Joel, S. Liu, G. Bar-Shir, A. Liang, Y. Gorelik, M. Pekar, J. J. van Zijl, P. C. Bulte, J. W. McMahon, M. T. CEST phase mapping using a length and offset varied saturation (LOVARS) scheme. Magnetic Resonance in Medicine. 2012 Oct;68(4):1074-86.

Liu G, Liang Y, Bar-Shir A, Chan KW, Galpoththawela CS, Bernard SM, Tse T, Yadav NN, Walczak P, McMahon MT, Bulte JW, van Zijl PC, Gilad AA. Monitoring enzyme activity using a diamagnetic chemical exchange saturation transfer MRI contrast agent. Journal of the American Chemical Society. 2011 Oct 19;133(41):16326-9.

Liang Y, Li S, Lin S, Zhou H, Guo Q, Su B. 3D reconstruction of confocal microscopy images for analysis of microglial interaction with other cell types in brain, Journal of Chengdu Medical College. 2010 Nov;5(4):278-284. (In Chinese with English abstract and figure legends, full-text available at http://www.cqvip.com/Read/Read.aspx?id=37153954)

Guo Q, Li S, Liang Y, Zhang Y, Zhang J, Wen C,and Su B. Effects of C3 deficiency on inflammation and regeneration following spinal cord injury in mice. Neuroscience Letters. 2010 Nov 12;485(1):32-6.

Zhang Y, Li S, Liang Y, Wen C, Guo Q, Su B. Potential mechanisms of neuroprotection induced by low dose total-body gamma-irradiation in C57 mice administered with MPTP. Neuroscience letters, 2009;450(2):106-10.

Wen C, Li S, Wang H, Zhang J, Liang Y, Guo Q, Zhang Y, Xiao C, Su B. Hybrid synapse formation between spinal motoneurons and superior cervical ganglion neurons in vitro: a study of the functional reconstruction of visceral organs. Autonomic neuroscience: basic& clinical 2008;144(1-2):83-8.

Liang Y, Li S, Su B. Intrastriatal injection of colchicine induces striatonigral degeneration in mice. Journal of Neurochemistry. 2008 Aug;106(4):1815-27.

Liang Y, Li S, Guo Q, Zhang Y, Wen C, Zou Q，Su B. Complement 3 deficient mice are not protected against MPTP-induced dopaminergic neurotoxicity. Brain Research, 2007 Oct 31; 1178:132-40.

Liang Y, Li S, Zou Q, Su B. Potential neuroprotective effect of low dose whole body γ irradiation against MPTP induced dopaminergic toxicity in C57 mice. Neuroscience Letters. 2006 Jun 12; 400(3):213-7.

Liang Y, Li S, Su B. Quantitative study on loss of dopaminergic neurons in SNpc of C57/BL6 mice induced by MPTP. Acta Academiae Medicinae Militaris Tertiae, 2006 March; 28(5):454-457. (In Chinese with English abstract, full-text available at http://aammt.tmmu.com.cn/)

Liang Y, Linshui Xu. WNT signaling pathway and tumor. (Review). International Journal of laboratory medicine. 2001, 2:59-61. (In Chinese) http://www.cnki.com.cn/Article/CJFDTOTAL-GWSQ200102001.htm

Awards and Affiliations

Awards

2009 Young Investigator Award, National Natural Science Foundation of China

2009 Travel fellowship and Best presentation award, International Brain Research Organization

2010 Outstanding doctoral thesis, Chongqing City

2011 Travel fellowship, Society for Molecular Imaging

2011 Travel fellowship, American Society for Neural Transplantation and Repair

2013 Fortune award for junior investigators, Tuebingen University

Affiliations

2017 - 2018 Member, Society for Neuroscience, USA

2019 - Member, Society for Image Guided Neurointerventions

2020 - Member, BioImaging North America (BINA)

Yajie Kevin Liang, MB, PhD