Graduate Students

We have vacancies every year for graduate students in the areas of synthetic carbohydrate chemistry, total synthesis of complex carbohydrates, functional study of glycosylations in cancer pathogensis, genomics-guided bacterial chemical effector discovery and biosynthetic study of complex microbial natural products.

For students who have not been admitted to PITT chemistry program: If you are interested specifically in our research at University of Pittsburgh, please email Dr. Liu directly. If you have obtained a fellowship to provides full or partial support for your stay at PITT, make that absolutely clear in your email. Students with bachelor degrees in engineering or biology (biochemistry, microbiology) are also welcome to send inquiries. Please be aware that Dr. Liu is not involved in the admissions process. To join The LIU Group as a graduate student, you must first be accepted into the Chemistry graduate program at PITT. To make an application, please follow the procedure described at: http://www.chem.pitt.edu/graduate/how-apply.

Summer Research for Incoming Graduate Students: We provide summer research opportunities for incoming graduates who have been awarded a summer research fellowship. If you are interested in such an opportunity, please email Dr. Liu directly in April and May to make the formal arrangement. Students who join as a summer research student are required to commit in a full time basis for at least 10 summer weeks.

Research Projects for 1st-Year Graduate Students: Graduate students who have enrolled in the fall academic term of their first year are welcome to email Dr. Liu directly to discuss potential research projects for their graduate degrees.

Undergraduate Students

We have openings for undergraduate students who are interested in synthetic organic chemistry (make compounds by yourself from scratch), chemical microbiology (study how endogenous chemicals affect the behavior of bacteria) and natural product biosynthesis (study of enzymes that catalyze unique chemical transformations). Students who are majoring in chemistry, molecular biology, microbiology and engineering are all welcome to join. To apply, please email Dr. Liu directly with your updated resume and academic transcript. Undergraduates who join the Liu Lab are required to commit a full calendar-year in the lab, with a minimum of 10-h lab time during fall/spring terms and 40-h lab time during summer time if paid by the group or on a research fellowship. Previous research experience in the organic synthesis and biological sciences is preferred, however is not absolutely required to join the group.

The group has excellent track records to help outstanding undergraduate students secure research fellowship to work in the lab during both fall/spring and summer terms, including those from PITT Honors College, Department of Chemistry and other national organizations. Students who join the lab are strongly encouraged to explore these opportunities.