David R. Liu

Key facts

• Described as a Broad core institute member who works on the same floor as Minikel and Vallabh and who approached them in 2018 to propose a collaboration.
• Senior author of "In vivo base editing extends lifespan of a humanized mouse model of prion disease" (Nature Medicine, online 14 January 2025): 37 percent editing, 50 percent PrP reduction and 52 percent longer lifespan.
• His laboratory pioneered the base editing technique used; he called the result a milestone.
• The work was funded by the NIH, the Broad, Prion Alliance and HHMI.
• The base editing team is led by Vallabh, Minikel and Liu; chemical biologist Jessie Davis presented single-AAV progress at ASGCT 2026.

Timeline

1. 2018Proposes the collaboration with the Vallabh/Minikel group.
2. 2025Nature Medicine paper online.
3. 2025Describes the result as a milestone.
4. 2026Group presents base editing progress at ASGCT.