Chunyu Liu
Profiles

Chunyu Liu, PhD

Professor, Biostatistics - Boston University School of Public Health

(617) 638-5104
liuc@bu.edu
Talbot
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Biography

Dr. Chunyu Liu earned her PhD in Biostatistics with a specialization in statistical genetics from the Department of Biostatistics at Boston University. She embarked on her professional journey at Biogen Idec Inc. in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where she served as a statistical geneticist. Additionally, she made significant contributions to the Population Sciences Branch & Framingham Heart Study (FHS), NHLBI, located in Framingham, Massachusetts.
Throughout her career, Dr. Liu has been actively engaged in diverse projects assessing risk factors associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD) and Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Her notable portfolio includes leadership roles as the Principal Investigator (PI) for three R01 grants and an R21 grant since 2018. Moreover, she serves as a subcontract PI for two R21 grants and has secured funding from the Cure Alzheimer’s Fund. In collaborative endeavors, she plays a pivotal role as the lead biostatistician in several R01 grants, contributing to over 135 peer-reviewed manuscripts. Dr. Liu often holds significant authorship positions in these publications, including as the first, second, or last author in more than 40 papers.
Dr. Liu's contributions span significant collaborative research endeavors, where she has held key roles as the lead statistician and co-convener in multiple working groups within the Cohorts for Heart and Aging Research in Genetic Epidemiology (CHARGE). Currently, she serves as a co-convener of the Trans-Omics for Precision Medicine (TOPMed) Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) working group, leading efforts to develop analytical methods for mtDNA sequence variations.
Furthermore, Dr. Liu shares her expertise as a member of the NIH’s Genetics of Health and Disease Study Section within the Center for Scientific Review. Her commitment extends to editorial responsibilities, acting as an Associate Editor for the Cardiovascular Digital Health Journal and an Academic Editor for PLOS ONE. Additionally, she plays an active role in the International Genetic Epidemiology Society, co-chairing its Education Committee.

Other Positions

  • Investigator - Framingham Heart Study
  • Member, Evans Center for Interdisciplinary Biomedical Research - Boston University

Education

  • Boston University, PhD Field of Study: Biostatistics
  • University of Maine, PhD Field of Study: Biochemistry
  • Boston University, MA Field of Study: Biostatistics

Websites

Classes Taught

  • SPHBS800
  • SPHBS852
  • SPHBS901

Publications

  • Published on 3/2/2025

    Yang J, Ding H, Li Y, Ang TFA, Devine S, Liu Y, Qiu W, Au R, Ma J, Liu C. Association of mid-age Life's Essential 8 score with digital cognitive performance and incident Alzheimer's disease: The Framingham Heart Study. J Alzheimers Dis. 2025 Mar; 104(2):498-508. PMID: 40025717.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 1/1/2025

    Leng Y, Ding H, Ang TFA, Au R, Doraiswamy PM, Liu C. Identifying proteomic prognostic markers for Alzheimer's disease with survival machine learning: The Framingham Heart Study. J Prev Alzheimers Dis. 2025 Feb; 12(2):100021. PMID: 39863332.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 12/31/2024

    Rong J, Pathiravasan CH, Zhang Y, Faro JM, Wang X, Schramm E, Borrelli B, Benjamin EJ, Liu C, Murabito JM. Baseline Smartphone App Survey Return in the Electronic Framingham Heart Study Offspring and Omni 1 Study: eCohort Study. JMIR Aging. 2024 Dec 31; 7:e64636. PMID: 39740111.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 12/3/2024

    O'Shea S, Liu Y, Liu C, Frank SA, Shih LC, Au R. Obesity and the development of Parkinson's disease within the Framingham Heart study cohort. Clin Park Relat Disord. 2025; 12:100291. PMID: 39758706.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 11/20/2024

    Carbonneau M, Li Y, Qu Y, Zheng Y, Wood AC, Wang M, Liu C, Huan T, Joehanes R, Guo X, Yao J, Taylor KD, Tracy RP, Peter D, Liu Y, Johnson WC, Post WS, Blackwell T, Rotter JI, Rich SS, Redline S, Fornage M, Wang J, Ning H, Hou L, Lloyd-Jones D, Ferrier K, Min YI, Carson AP, Raffield LM, Teumer A, Grabe HJ, Völzke H, Nauck M, Dörr M, Domingo-Relloso A, Fretts A, Tellez-Plaza M, Cole S, Navas-Acien A, Wang M, Murabito JM, Heard-Costa NL, Prescott B, Xanthakis V, Mozaffarian D, Levy D, Ma J. DNA Methylation Signatures of Cardiovascular Health Provide Insights into Diseases. medRxiv. 2024 Nov 20. PMID: 39606375.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 10/28/2024

    Bui H, Keshawarz A, Wang M, Lee M, Ratliff SM, Lin L, Birditt KS, Faul JD, Peters A, Gieger C, Delerue T, Kardia SLR, Zhao W, Guo X, Yao J, Rotter JI, Li Y, Liu X, Liu D, Tavares JF, Pehlivan G, Breteler MMB, Karabegovic I, Ochoa-Rosales C, Voortman T, Ghanbari M, van Meurs JBJ, Nasr MK, Dörr M, Grabe HJ, London SJ, Teumer A, Waldenberger M, Weir DR, Smith JA, Levy D, Ma J, Liu C. Association analysis between an epigenetic alcohol risk score and blood pressure. Clin Epigenetics. 2024 Oct 28; 16(1):149. PMID: 39468603.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 10/15/2024

    Yuan J, Tao Q, Ang TFA, Liu C, Devine S, Auerbach SH, Mez J, Farrer LA, Qiu WQ, Au R. The Relationship between Framingham Stroke Risk Profile on Incident Dementia and Alzheimer's Disease: A 40-Year Follow-Up Study Highlighting Female Vulnerability. Ann Neurol. 2024 Dec; 96(6):1124-1134. PMID: 39404028.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 9/23/2024

    Leng Y, Ding H, Alvin Ang TF, Au R, Doraiswamy PM, Liu C. Identifying Proteomic Prognostic Markers for Alzheimer's Disease with Survival Machine Learning: the Framingham Heart Study. medRxiv. 2024 Sep 23. PMID: 39399041.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 9/7/2024

    Sun X, Bulekova K, Yang J, Lai M, Pitsillides AN, Liu X, Zhang Y, Guo X, Yong Q, Raffield LM, Rotter JI, Rich SS, Abecasis G, Carson AP, Vasan RS, Bis JC, Psaty BM, Boerwinkle E, Fitzpatrick AL, Satizabal CL, Arking DE, Ding J, Levy D, Liu C. Association analysis of mitochondrial DNA heteroplasmic variants: Methods and application. Mitochondrion. 2024 Nov; 79:101954. PMID: 39245194.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 9/3/2024

    Xu W, Hong YS, Hu B, Comhair SAA, Janocha AJ, Zein JG, Chen R, Meyers DA, Mauger DT, Ortega VE, Bleecker ER, Castro M, Denlinger LC, Fahy JV, Israel E, Levy BD, Jarjour NN, Moore WC, Wenzel SE, Gaston B, Liu C, Arking DE, Erzurum SC. Mitochondrial DNA copy number variation in asthma risk, severity, and exacerbations. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2024 Sep 03. PMID: 39237012.

     Read At: PubMed

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