My laboratory is dedicated to decoding the intimate dialogue between the nervous and immune systems—two of the body's most complex networks. While it's long been observed that the brain can influence immunity (like the famous "artificial flower" allergy response), the molecular language of this conversation remains a profound mystery. We leverage cutting-edge tools in genetics, single-cell omics, and functional immunology to systematically map these critical neuro-immune connections.

The insights from this fundamental research directly fuel our second mission: developing next-generation therapies for immune-related diseases. Despite the revolution in immunotherapy, many cancers and autoimmune disorders remain untreatable. By employing state-of-the-art high-throughput screening in sophisticated disease models, we aim to identify novel therapeutic targets and pioneer powerful new strategies to outsmart these conditions.

We are building a collaborative team of curious and driven scientists to tackle these challenges at the intersection of neuroscience and immunology. If you are excited by the prospect of discovery that bridges basic science and therapeutic impact, we invite you to join us.

• CRI Irvington Postdoctoral Fellowship, The Cancer Research Institute (2021–2024)
• PM Postdoctoral Fellowship, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network (2020–2021)
• Life Sciences Research Award, first prize, Center for Life Sciences (CLS) at Tsinghua University (2017)
• Outstanding Poster Award, The 1st “Academic week” of School of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, China. “A Role of RPA during DNA replication-coupled nucleosome assembly”. (2015)

• Postdoctoral fellow, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network, Toronto, Canada (2020–2025)
• Postdoctoral Researcher, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, US (2018–2019)
• PhD, School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China (2011–2017)
• BSc, College of Life Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China (2007–2011)

1. Liu, S. , Zheng, C., Nechanitzky, R., Luo, P., Ramachandran, P., Nguyen, D., Elia, A. J., Moghadas Jafari, S., Law, R., Snow, B. E., Wakeham, A. C., Berger, T., Chen, H., Gill, K. T., McWilliam, R., Fortin, J., Modares, N. F., Saunders, M. E., Murakami, K., . . . Mak, T. W. (2025). Cholinergic regulation of thymocyte negative selection. Nat Immunol, 26(6), 881-893. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41590-025-02152-4
2. Zheng, C., Liu, S. , Fazel Modares, N., St Paul, M., & Mak, T. W. (2025). Cholinergic T cells revitalize the tumor immune microenvironment: TIME to ChAT. Nat Immunol, 26(5), 665-677. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41590-025-02144-4
3. Modares, N. F., Hendrikse, L. D., Smith, L. K., Paul, M. S., Haight, J., Luo, P., Liu, S. , Fortin, J., Tong, F. K., Wakeham, A. C., Jafari, S. M., Zheng, C., Buckland, M., Flick, R., Silvester, J., Berger, T., Ketela, T., Helke, S., Foffi, E., . . . Mak, T. W. (2025). B cell-derived acetylcholine promotes liver regeneration by regulating Kupffer cell and hepatic CD8(+) T cell function. Immunity, 58(5), 1201-1216 e1207. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.immuni.2025.04.002
4. Liu, Y., Ni, H., Li, J., Yang, J., Sekielyk, I., Snow, B. E., Zhang, Z., Zhang, F., Paul, M. S., Han, J., Kates, M., Liu, S. , Zhang, Y., Huang, Z., Xu, Y., Saibil, S. D., Mak, T. W., Han, D., & Xu, M. M. (2025). LARP4-mediated hypertranslation drives T cell dysfunction in tumors. Nat Immunol, 26(9), 1488-1500. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41590-025-02232-5
5. Zheng, C., Snow, B. E., Elia, A. J., Nechanitzky, R., Dominguez-Brauer, C., Liu, S. , Tong, Y., Cox, M. A., Focaccia, E., Wakeham, A. C., Haight, J., Tobin, C., Hodgson, K., Gill, K. T., Ma, W., Berger, T., Heikenwalder, M., Saunders, M. E., Fortin, J., . . . Mak, T. W. (2023). Tumor-specific cholinergic CD4(+) T lymphocytes guide immunosurveillance of hepatocellular carcinoma. Nat Cancer, 4(10), 1437-1454. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43018-023-00624-w
6. Yu, H., Worrall, L. J., Berger, T., Petric, M., Lin, B. H., Vuckovic, M., Robb, C. S., Le, Q., Kenward, C., Dai, C., Wakeham, A., Liu, S. , Snow, B., Tobin, C., Budylowski, P., Guvenc, F., You-Ten, A., Haight, J., Silvester, J., . . . Brunham, R. C. (2023). Identification of an Optimized Receptor-Binding Domain Subunit Vaccine against SARS-CoV-2. J Immunol, 211(6), 981-993. https://doi.org/10.4049/jimmunol.2300282
7. Liu, S. , Saunders, M., & Mak, T. W. (2023). Chemical carcinogens: implications for cancer treatment. J Clin Invest, 133(20). https://doi.org/10.1172/JCI174319
8. Watson, G. A., Sanz-Garcia, E., Zhang, W. J., Liu, Z. A., Yang, S. C., Wang, B., Liu, S. , Kubli, S., Berman, H., Pfister, T., Genta, S., Spreafico, A., Hansen, A. R., Bedard, P. L., Lheureux, S., Abdul Razak, A., Cescon, D., Butler, M. O., Xu, W., . . . Chen, E. (2022). Increase in serum choline levels predicts for improved progression-free survival (PFS) in patients with advanced cancers receiving pembrolizumab. J Immunother Cancer, 10(6). https://doi.org/10.1136/jitc-2021-004378
9. Leng, H., Liu, S. , Lei, Y., Tang, Y., Gu, S., Hu, J., Chen, S., Feng, J., & Li, Q. (2021). FACT interacts with Set3 HDAC and fine-tunes GAL1 transcription in response to environmental stimulation. Nucleic Acids Res, 49(10), 5502-5519. https://doi.org/10.1093/nar/gkab312
10. Huang, H., Zhou, P., Wei, J., Long, L., Shi, H., Dhungana, Y., Chapman, N. M., Fu, G., Saravia, J., Raynor, J. L., Liu, S. , Palacios, G., Wang, Y. D., Qian, C., Yu, J., & Chi, H. (2021). In vivo CRISPR screening reveals nutrient signaling processes underpinning CD8(+) T cell fate decisions. Cell, 184(5), 1245-1261 e1221. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2021.02.021
11. Saravia, J., Zeng, H., Dhungana, Y., Bastardo Blanco, D., Nguyen, T. M., Chapman, N. M., Wang, Y., Kanneganti, A., Liu, S. , Raynor, J. L., Vogel, P., Neale, G., Carmeliet, P., & Chi, H. (2020). Homeostasis and transitional activation of regulatory T cells require c-Myc. Sci Adv, 6(1), eaaw6443. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aaw6443
12. Du, X., Zeng, H., Liu, S. , Guy, C., Dhungana, Y., Neale, G., Bergo, M. O., & Chi, H. (2020). Mevalonate metabolism-dependent protein geranylgeranylation regulates thymocyte egress. J Exp Med, 217(2). https://doi.org/10.1084/jem.20190969
13. Liu, S. , Xu, Z., Leng, H., Zheng, P., Yang, J., Chen, K., Feng, J., & Li, Q. (2017). RPA binds histone H3-H4 and functions in DNA replication-coupled nucleosome assembly. Science, 355(6323), 415-420. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aah4712
14. Yang, J., Zhang, X., Feng, J., Leng, H., Li, S., Xiao, J., Liu, S. , Xu, Z., Xu, J., Li, D., Wang, Z., Wang, J., & Li, Q. (2016). The Histone Chaperone FACT Contributes to DNA Replication-Coupled Nucleosome Assembly. Cell Rep, 14(5), 1128-1141. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2015.12.096