Xiaole Shirley Liu was born 刘小乐 in Tianjin China to Meilun Liu and Xingke Hu, both on the faculty of Tianjin University.
Education
Xiaole Liu attended Peking University in 1992–1994. She transferred to Smith College and graduated Summa cum laude in 1997 double majoring in biochemistry and computer science. Her research thesis, supervised under Steve Williams, was awarded the Highest Departmental Honors in Biochemistry.
Shirley Liu research work focused on algorithm development and data integration modeling for translational cancer research. Her group developed widely used algorithms for modeling transcriptional and epigenetic gene regulation (MACS, Cistrome, MDscan, BETA), analyzing CRISPR screens (MAGeCK), and characterizing tumor immunity (TIMER, TIDE, TRUST). She also contributed to the discovery of cancer drug response biomarkers, drug resistance mechanisms, and effective combination therapies.