Mengmeng Liu | Biology and Life Sciences | Best Researcher Award
Ms Mengmeng Liu, Shandong University, China
Mengmeng Liu, Ph.D. ๐, is a postdoctoral researcher at Shandong Universityโs State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, mentored by Prof. Qingsheng Qi. ๐ฑ๐งฌ She earned her Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the Kunming Institute of Botany, CAS, and a B.Sc. in Biotechnology from Jilin University. Her research focuses on metabolic engineering of Yarrowia lipolytica for sustainable ฮฒ-carotene and terpene production ๐ฟ๐งช, employing NHEJ-mediated mutagenesis and high-throughput screening. Proficient in advanced genetic, molecular biology, and analytical techniques ๐ฌ๐ป, she has published extensively in high-impact journals and holds patents in microbial biotechnology. ๐โ๏ธ
Publication Profile
Education and Experience
Ms. Mengmeng Liu is a dedicated researcher in microbiology and biochemistry. She has been a postdoctoral fellow at the State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, under Prof. Qingsheng Qi since September 2019 ๐งฌ๐. She earned her Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, under Prof. Junchao Huang in 2019 ๐ฑ๐ฌ. Ms. Liu completed her Bachelorโs degree in Biotechnology (Plant Sciences) from Jilin University in 2013 ๐๐ฟ. Her academic journey highlights her commitment to advancing knowledge in microbial and plant biotechnology, contributing to impactful research in these fields. ๐๐งช
Research direction
Mengmeng Liu is a postdoctoral researcher focusing on designing and constructing Yarrowia lipolytica cell factories. Using traditional and cell morphology metabolic engineering, she optimizes yeast metabolism for the green bioproduction of terpenoids like ฮฒ-carotene using inexpensive substrates. She explores the application of non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) in metabolic engineering of Y. lipolytica, develops methods for mutant library construction, and establishes high-throughput screening for terpenoid compounds. During her Ph.D., Mengmeng worked on designing Shewanella oneidensis cell factories for producing terpenoid compounds (like lutein and astaxanthin) using cheap industrial byproducts. She also contributed to constructing and modifying metabolic pathways in marine microalgae.๐ฆ๐ฌ๐
Representative papers
Mengmeng Liu is an accomplished researcher focused on metabolic and morphological engineering of microbial strains. Her work includes optimizing ฮฒ-carotene production in Yarrowia lipolytica and mapping nonhomologous end joining-mediated integration for genome-scale mutagenesis. Liu has also explored the high-throughput screening of gene targets for enhancing carotenoid production in oleaginous yeast. Additionally, her research extends to engineering Sphingobium sp. to accumulate various carotenoids using agro-industrial byproducts, and enhancing coproduction of cell-bound zeaxanthin and exopolysaccharides through metabolic engineering. ๐ฑ๐ฌ๐
Research Focus
Mengmeng Liu’s research focuses on genetic and metabolic engineering of Yarrowia lipolytica, an unconventional yeast, for biotechnological applications. Her work includes the development of genetic markers, genome-scale trackable mutagenesis, and efficient production of important compounds like 2โฒ-fucosyllactose and ฮฒ-carotene. She applies high-throughput screening techniques like flow cytometry to enhance yield and optimize metabolic pathways. Her studies aim to improve the strain’s productivity and sustainability for industrial applications using agro-industrial byproducts and by manipulating cellular processes. ๐ฑ๐๐งฌ