LT

University of Arizona

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Hello! I’m LT (Tuo Liu), Ph.D., an environmental health scientist with expertise in omics technologies, statistical analysis, and occupational health research. I recently earned my Ph.D. in Environmental Health Sciences, with a minor in Biostatistics, from the University of Arizona.

My research bridges environmental/occupational exposure, statistical analsis, and public health practice. I focus on applying metabolomics and proteomics to better understand how environmental and occupational exposures impact vulnerable populations, particularly frontline and essential workers such as firefighters and healthcare professionals.

Currently, I work as a Research Associate in the Burgess Lab and the Furlong Lab, where I develop and implement statistical pipelines for biomarker discovery, exposure assessment, and health risk evaluation.

My research portfolio includes:

  • Omics Applications: Conducting untargeted and targeted metabolomics and proteomics analyses to uncover biological mechanisms linked to environmental exposures & health conditions.
  • Statistical Expertise: Designing and applying standard statistical method, multilevel modeling/longitudinal data analysis, and machine learning methods to large-scale epidemiological and Omics datasets.
  • Public Health Impact: Generating actionable insights into occupational risks and advancing strategies to protect high-risk populations.

Beyond research, I am passionate about translating complex scientific findings into accessible knowledge that informs public health policies and interventions. I also create interactive tools and visualizations to help bridge the gap between data science and community health practice.

In all my work, I am driven by the goal of advancing health equity, improving occupational health, and innovating at the intersection of environmental exposures, data analytics, and public health.

news

Apr 15, 2025 I am going to join the Center for Translational Exposomics Research (CTER) on Environmental Health at USC on June 15th :sparkles: :smile: !
Apr 07, 2025 Dissertation defense passed :smile: !

selected publications

  1. Metabolomics
    Differential metabolic profiles by Hispanic ethnicity among male Tucson firefighters
    Tuo Liu, Melissa A. Furlong, Justin M Snider, and 10 more authors
    Metabolomics, 2025
  2. SciRep
    Evaluating changes in firefighter urinary metabolomes after structural fires: an untargeted, high resolution approach
    Melissa A Furlong, Tuo Liu, Justin M Snider, and 12 more authors
    Scientific Reports, 2023