Professor Yen-Wen Liu is a physician-scientist, distinguished professor, and attending cardiologist/interventionalist at National Cheng Kung University Hospital and National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan. His work bridges clinical cardiology, translational cardiovascular medicine, and regenerative therapeutics, with major research interests in echocardiography, myocardial mechanics, cardiac regeneration, cardio-oncology, and cardiorenal syndrome. After completing his M.D. and Ph.D. training at National Cheng Kung University, Professor Liu pursued postdoctoral training in stem cells and cardiac regeneration at the University of Washington, Seattle, where he contributed to pioneering studies using human pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes for myocardial repair in non-human primate model.

Professor Liu has played a leading role in advancing cardio-oncology at National Cheng Kung University Hospital. He established a dedicated cardio-oncology team and built an integrated translational research platform to investigate cancer therapy-induced cardiovascular injury. This platform combines clinical cardiovascular imaging, including echocardiography and myocardial deformation analysis, with mechanistic disease modeling using human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes and an anthracycline-induced cardiac dysfunction rodent model. Through this bench-to-bedside framework, his team aims to identify early markers of cardiotoxicity, clarify the molecular mechanisms underlying cancer therapy-related cardiac injury, and develop cardioprotective strategies for patients receiving cancer therapy.

In the field of cardiac regeneration, Professor Liu’s research focuses on overcoming major barriers to stem cell-based heart repair, particularly graft immunogenicity and cell therapy-related ventricular arrhythmias. He currently serves as Director of the Center of Cell Therapy at National Cheng Kung University Hospital and has published extensively in leading journals, including Nature Biotechnology, Nature, Nature Communications, Circulation, and the European Journal of Heart Failure.

Our laboratory focuses on translational cardiovascular medicine, with an overarching goal of understanding the mechanisms of myocardial injury and developing innovative therapeutic strategies for heart repair and cardioprotection. By integrating clinical cardiovascular imaging, disease modeling, stem cell biology, and preclinical animal studies, we aim to bridge fundamental mechanistic discoveries with clinically relevant applications. The major research directions of our laboratory include cardiac regeneration, cardio-oncology, myocardial mechanics, and cardio-kidney-metabolic interactions.

A central theme of our research is cardiac regeneration using human pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes. Building on prior experience in large-animal cardiac repair studies, our laboratory investigates the therapeutic potential and biological challenges of stem cell-based myocardial regeneration. Particular emphasis is placed on improving the safety and efficacy of cell therapy by studying graft immunogenicity, immune evasion strategies, host–graft interactions, and mechanisms of cell therapy-related ventricular arrhythmias. Through these studies, we seek to overcome key barriers that currently limit the clinical translation of regenerative therapies for ischemic heart disease and heart failure.

Our laboratory also has a strong focus on cardio-oncology. We established a dedicated cardio-oncology team at National Cheng Kung University Hospital and developed a translational research platform to investigate cancer therapy-induced cardiovascular injury. This platform incorporates clinical echocardiography and myocardial deformation analysis, in vitro human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocyte models, and anthracycline-induced cardiac dysfunction rodent models. Using this integrated approach, we aim to identify early biomarkers of cardiotoxicity, clarify the molecular mechanisms of chemotherapy-related myocardial injury, and develop cardioprotective strategies for patients undergoing cancer treatment.

In parallel, our group studies myocardial mechanics and cardiovascular outcomes in patients with hypertension, ischemic heart disease, heart failure, chronic kidney disease, and cancer therapy-related cardiac dysfunction. Advanced echocardiographic techniques, particularly myocardial strain analysis, are used to characterize subclinical cardiac dysfunction and improve risk stratification. These clinical investigations are closely linked to mechanistic studies using cellular and animal models, allowing us to translate patient-derived observations into experimentally testable hypotheses.

Through multidisciplinary collaboration among cardiologists, stem cell biologists, oncologists, pharmacologists, and translational scientists, our laboratory is committed to advancing precision cardiovascular medicine. By combining clinical cohorts, human stem cell-based platforms, and disease-relevant animal models, we strive to generate mechanistic insights and therapeutic innovations that can ultimately improve outcomes for patients with cardiovascular diseases.