Yunlong Liu, PhD, T.K. Li Professor of Medical Research at the Indiana University School of Medicine, was inducted into the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering’s College of Fellows — a career distinction given to only the top 2% of researchers in the fields of biological and medical engineering.
Liu, also a professor of both medical and molecular genetics and biostatistics and health data science, was elected by peers within the College of Fellows for "outstanding contributions to systems biology, enabling genomics technology and big data infrastructure to advance biomedical research and workforce development," according to an institute announcement.
"Being named to the AIMBE College of Fellows is a significant honor," Liu said. "It represents recognition by peers across engineering and biomedical disciplines, which makes it especially meaningful. I see it not only as an acknowledgment of past work, but also of the collaborative efforts of colleagues, trainees and institutional support that have made this research possible."
Liu was honored alongside fellow 2026 inductees at AIMBE’s annual event on April 13.
According to the institute, induction into the College of Fellows is reserved for those "who have made outstanding contributions to engineering and medicine research, practice or education and pioneered new and developing fields of technology, making major advancements in traditional fields of medical and biological engineering or developing/implementing innovative approaches to bioengineering education."
Liu's research focuses on using systems biology approaches to decipher the molecular mechanisms of gene regulation that play critical roles in complex diseases such as cancer, addiction and neurodegenerative disorders. His lab utilizes experimental assays and innovative computational algorithms to understand the functions of genetic variants in complex diseases.
In addition to his own lab work, Liu also directs the School of Medicine’s Center for Computational Biology and Bioinformatics, which includes 32 principal investigators, and the Center for Medical Genomics, a state-of-the-art core facility specializing in next-generation sequencing, single-cell analyses and spatial omics technologies.
Liu was first hired as an assistant professor by the School of Medicine in 2006.
He said the fellowship election will serve as motivation for his research goal of unlocking the secrets of some of the world’s most complex diseases.
"This recognition reinforces the importance of advancing interdisciplinary research that bridges engineering, computation and medicine," Liu said. "It motivates me to continue pursuing impactful work, mentoring the next generation of scientists and contributing to innovations that can ultimately improve human health."
