Fei did her undergraduate studies in Chemistry at John Carroll University (University Heights, Ohio), and then moved to New Haven, Connecticut for her PhD studies in Organic Chemistry at Yale. After her PhD, she moved to Boston, Massachusetts as an NIH postdoctoral fellow to work on new biosynthetic approaches in molecular medicine at the Harvard Medical School. In 2004, Fei moved from Boston to Sydney and is currently a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Chemistry and Biomolecular Sciences (CBMS) at Macquarie. The current phase of her research focuses on developing efficient synthetic methods for accessing small molecules with useful properties in chemistry and biology. Her long-term interest in chemical proteomics along with its applications in basic biological discovery and medicine is being pursued in close collaboration with the Australian Proteomics Analysis Facility (APAF). Please visit the Liu Research Group Homepage for further information.

Qualifications

BSc in Chemistry, John Carroll University
PhD in Organic Chemistry, Yale University

Research Interests

• Asymmetric and catalytic reactions for proficient bond formation and stereocontrolled generation of synthons or biological probes
• Isozyme specific antagonist discovery by conformational selection
• Chemistry and biology of post-translational modifications of enzymes or proteomes in cell signalling

Selected Publications

1. Patel, A.; Ari, Hardianto.; Ranganathan, S; Liu, F.*Org. & Biomol. Chem., 2017, 1570-1574. Divergent response of homologous ATP sites to stereospecific ligand fluorination for selectivity enhancement.
2. Kenny, R.; Liu, F.* Chemical Record 2017, 535-553. Cooperative Trifunctional Organocatalysts for Proficient Proton Transfer Reactions.
3. Liu, F.;* Koval, M.; Ranganathan, S.; Fanayan, S.; Hancock, W.; Lundberg, E.;, Beavis, R.; Lane, L.; Duek, P.; McQuade, L.; Kelleher, N.; Baker, M. J. of Prot. Res. 2016, 339-59. Systems Proteomics View of the Endogenous Human Claudin Protein Family.
4. Kenny, R.; Liu, F.* Eur. J. Org. Chem., 2015, 5304-5319. Trifunctional Organocatalysts: Catalytic Proficiency by Cooperative Activation.
5. Patel, A.; Hunter, L.; Bhadbhade, M. M.; Liu, F.* Eur. J. Org. Chem., 2014, 2584-2593. Conformational Regulation of Substituted Azepanes through Mono-, Di-, and Trifluorination.
6. Patel, A.; Ball, G.; Hunter, L.; Liu, F.* Org. & Biomol. Chem., 2013, 3675-3683. Conformational regulation of substituted azepanes through selective monofluorination.
7. Dolai, S.; Xu, M.; Liu, F.; Molloy, M.* Proteomics, 2011, 2683-2693. Quantitative chemical proteomics in small scale culture of phorbol ester stimulated basal breast cancer cells.
8. Garnier, J. M.; Liu, F.* Org. & Biomol. Chem., 2009, 1272-1275. Trifunctional Organocatalyst Promoted Counterion Catalysis for Fast and Enantioselective aza-Morita-Baylis-Hillman Reactions at Ambient Temperature.
9. Garnier, J-M.; Anstiss, C.; Liu, F.* Adv. Synth. & Catal., 2009, 351, 331-8. Enantioselective Trifunctional Organocatalysts for Rate-Enhanced Aza-Morita-Baylis-Hillman Reactions at Room Temperature. (Highlighted in Synfacts, 2009, 447)
10. Stephens, B. E.; Liu, F.* J. Org. Chem. 2009, 254-263. A Regio- and Diastereoselective Intramolecular Nitrone Cycloaddition for Practical 3- and 2,3-Substituted Piperidine Synthesis from gamma-Butyrolactone.
11. Yang, M.; Liu, F.* J. Org. Chem. 2007, 8969-8971. An Ullmann Coupling of Aryl Iodides and Amines Using an Air-Stable Diazaphospholane Ligand.
12. Patil, S.N; Liu, F.* Org. Lett. 2007, 193-6. Base-assisted Regio- and Diastereoselective Conversion of Functionalized Furans to Butenolides using Singlet Oxygen.
13. Yin, J., Liu, F.; Schinke, M., Daly, C, Walsh, C.T.* J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2004,13570-1. Phagemid encoded small molecules for high throughput screening of chemical libraries.
14. Yin, J., Liu, F.; Li, X., Walsh, C.T.* J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2004, 7754-5. Labeling proteins with small molecules by site-specific posttranslational modification.
15. Liu, F. Gauneau, S.; Walsh, C. T.* Chem & Biol. 2004, 1533-42. Hybrid nonribosomal peptide-polyketide interfaces in epothilone biosynthesis: minimal requirements at N and C termini of EpoB for elongation.
16. O'Connor, S. E.#; Walsh, C.T.*; Liu, F.# Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2003, 3917-21. Cross-System Enzyme Module Recognition for Combinatorial Biosynthesis: Linker-Dependent Interface between the Biosynthetic Pathways of Yersiniabactin and the Epothilones.