Zongyuan Liu

Hometown:
China

Education:
M.S., Theoretical Chemistry, Xiamen University

My name is Zongyuan Liu. My previous education is a Master’s degree in theoretical chemistry. Currently I am an analytical chemistry division Ph.D. candidate in professor Laura-Isobel McCall’s group at OU. My research at OU focuses on new analytical approaches to improve treatment and diagnosis of Chagas disease, a neglected tropical disease caused by Trypanosoma cruzi parasites. For the treatment aspect of my research, my project is focused on using mass spectrometry to understand the impact of experimental Chagas disease treatments on the cardiac metabolome. For the diagnostic aspect of my research, my project is focused on small molecule profile (biomarker) differences between severe and mild T. cruzi infections in heart tissue samples and serum samples. The main approach in my projects combines ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS) with data science tools such as molecular networking, fragmentation trees and python. I love data and instruments and have a passion for science. One of my life goals is to publish good papers so that I can leave a small mark in human history.