Openings
Dr. Yue Liu and his lab at UCLA mechanical and aerospace engineering department currently have multiple openings for Ph.D. students.
Research Interests
Dr. Yue Liu and the Life Logic Laboratory (L3) at UCLA strives to decipher the fundamental mechanical, physical, and biological driving forces and mechanisms responsible for the fates, forms, and functions of organisms in the human body and nature. Via exploiting such knowledge, L3 also seeks to rescue defective human organs by developing novel therapeutics and engineer living structures for the next-gen biomedical technologies. For example, we are interested in, but not limited to, following research topics:
• Developing human organ-on-a-chip models and investigate the mechanical principles underlying their morphogenesis using stem cell engineering, microfluidics, and quantitative models (primary research focus)
• Understanding and developing biomedical technologies for drug delivery and modulating biomechanical functionalities of human organs
• Mechanical and physical modeling of cellular and subcellular structures
• Structural analysis and modeling of nano-/micro-structures in biomaterials
About Dr. Liu
Dr. Liu joined UCLA MAE department as a tenure-track Assistant Professor in July 2025. He has accumulated extensive research background that spans from solid mechanics to stem cell engineering with integrative training in theory, computation, and experimentation. He graduated from USTC with a B.S. in theoretical and applied mechanics, then Brown University with an M.S. in applied math and a Ph.D. in mechanics of solids, working with Prof. Huajian Gao. He also worked at the University of Michigan and MIT as a postdoctoral researcher. He has published a series of research papers on journals such as Nature Biomedical Engineering, Cell Stem Cell, Nature Reviews Physics, Science Advances, ACS Nano, etc.
Qualifications
Students from all engineering, biological, physical, and medical backgrounds are encouraged to apply. We are particularly interested in future members with innate curiosity, motivated spirits, and enthusiasm in understanding how life works and how to help life work better.
Contact
Interested candidates are encouraged to contact Dr. Liu (yliu@seas.ucla.edu) with their CV and a brief description of research interests.
Online Information
Lab website for the Life Logic Laboratory (L3):
https://sites.google.com/view/lifelogiclab
Dr. Liu’s Google Scholar page:
https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=ziwsgSsAAAAJ&hl=en
About UCLA
UCLA has earned its reputation as a leader in both academic and athletic fields. With 16 Nobel Laureates, 17 MacArthur Fellows, 123 NCAA championships and more Olympic medals than many countries, UCLA has become synonymous with excellence. In the U.S. News & World Report’s rankings, UCLA is recognized as the nation’s No. 1 public university and ranks 15th among all national universities in the United States. On the global stage, the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2025 places UCLA at 18th worldwide.
