Rutgers University-New Brunswick · BiologyCrk and Immune Response Lab
Dongfang Liu · New Brunswick, New Jersey
Research Focus
Dr. Dongfang Liu's lab at Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences focuses on how a small protein called Crk regulates immune cell functions, particularly in natural killer (NK) cells and T cells. The lab uses innovative techniques like live imaging and genetic models to study how Crk's phosphorylation acts as a switch that can either turn immune responses on or off. Their work has important implications for understanding and potentially treating immune deficiencies and cancers such as triple negative breast cancer.
CrkNK cellsT cellscancer immunotherapydiGeorge syndromeimmune responsephosphorylationintegrin signalingtumor microenvironment
Research Aims
3AIM 01Investigate how Crk serves as a master regulatory switch for NK cell function.
AIM 02Examine Crk's influence on T cell function and integrin signaling in patients with diGeorge syndrome.
AIM 03Explore the role of pCrk inhibitors in enhancing cancer immunotherapy effectiveness.
Skills the Lab Values
cell culturePCRflow cytometryRNA sequencinglive cell imagingmouse modelsWestern blottingimmunology techniquesgenetic engineeringmicroscopy
Output against the department
Publications140top 49% of dept.504th of 1,033
this lab
most publishedleast published
Citations6.1kbottom 44% of dept.580th of 1,033
this lab
most citedleast cited
Career totals from OpenAlex, compared against labs that share a department. A department spans everything from one paper to tens of thousands, so bar heights are on a log scale — otherwise the largest lab would flatten every other bar to a line.