Yunmeng Liu | Immunotherapy | Best Researcher Award

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Assist. Prof. Dr. Yunmeng Liu | Immunotherapy | Best Researcher Award

University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences | United States

Dr. Yunmeng Liu is a highly accomplished biomedical scientist and pharmacologist specializing in the interplay between immunity, metabolism, and cardiovascular health. With a robust academic foundation in molecular biology and integrated biomedical science, Dr. Liu has devoted her career to unraveling the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying hypertension, diabetes, and related cardiovascular complications. She currently serves as a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology at UAMS, where she leads innovative projects exploring the immune system’s role in metabolic and cardiovascular diseases. Her research integrates advanced techniques in pharmacology, immunology, and molecular biology to develop new therapeutic strategies for complex chronic conditions.Dr. Liu’s extensive research contributions are reflected in numerous high-impact publications. She has investigated P2X7-mediated activation of CD8+ T cells and their role in promoting salt-sensitive hypertension, providing critical insights into the immune modulation of blood pressure. Her work on interferon gamma pathways enhancing CD8 T cell interactions in hypertension and the stimulation of the Na-Cl co-transporter NCC by CD8+ T cells in distal convoluted tubules highlights the molecular crosstalk between immune cells and renal physiology. She has also explored immune dysregulation connecting type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular complications, emphasizing how chronic metabolic imbalances influence immune cell behavior and disease progression.Other notable contributions include the role of KATP channel openers in inhibiting lymphatic contractions and lymph flow as a mechanism of peripheral edema, and Eplerenone-mediated attenuation of fibrosis in the contralateral kidney by preventing macrophage-to-myofibroblast transition, which underscore her translational approach bridging basic research and clinical relevance. Additionally, she has advanced knowledge on resident-memory T cell establishment anchoring hypertension in the kidney and the nutrition impact on diabetes and cardiovascular health, reflecting her commitment to holistic understanding of disease mechanisms.Beyond her research, Dr. Liu is deeply engaged in education and mentorship, instructing graduate students in courses such as cell biology, pathologic basis of disease, and pharmacology and therapeutics, while supervising numerous PhD and undergraduate students in cutting-edge biomedical research projects. Her scholarly excellence is recognized through awards, grant funding, and memberships in professional societies including the American Heart Association, American Diabetes Association, and American Association of Immunologists, solidifying her status as a leading expert in immunopharmacology and cardiovascular-metabolic research.

Profile: Orcid

Featured Publications

Deck, K., Mora, C., Deng, S., Rogers, P., Rafferty, T., Palade, P. T., Mu, S., & Liu, Y. (2025). Immune dysregulation connecting type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular complications. Life, 15(8), 1241.

Liu, Y. (2024, May 29). Immune disorders connecting type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular complications [Preprint].

Benson, L., Deck, K., Mora, C., Guo, Y., Rafferty, T. M., Li, L.-X., Huang, L., Qin, Z., Andrews, J. T., & Liu, Y. (2024, January 9). P2X7-mediated antigen-independent activation of CD8 T cells promotes salt-sensitive hypertension. Hypertension (Dallas, Tex.: 1979).

Benson, L. N., Guo, Y., Deck, K., Mora, C., Liu, Y., & Mu, S. (2023, March 9). The link between immunity and hypertension in the kidney and heart. Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine, 10, 1129384.

Benson, L. N., Liu, Y., Deck, K., Mora, C., & Mu, S. (2022, October 26). IFNγ contributes to the immune mechanisms of hypertension. Kidney360, 3(10), 1234–1246.

Rulla Tamimi | Immunotherapy | Best Researcher Award

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Rulla Tamimi | Immunotherapy | Best Researcher Award

Dr. Rulla Tamimi at Weill Cornell Medicine Dept of Healthcar, United States.

Dr. Rulla M. Tamimi is a leading cancer epidemiologist and Professor of Population Health Sciences and Pathology at Weill Cornell Medicine. With over two decades of experience in breast cancer research, her work centers on cancer risk prediction, environmental exposures, and molecular epidemiology. A pioneer in integrating biomarkers and epidemiologic data, she has advanced understanding of breast cancer heterogeneity and disparities. Dr. Tamimi is also a principal investigator for multiple NIH-funded studies and a dedicated educator. She plays a critical role in shaping future public health strategies and improving women’s health through rigorous research and community-engaged science.

Publication Profile 

Scopus

Education

Dr. Tamimi holds a B.S. in Biology from Tufts University (1993), followed by an M.S. (1999) and Sc.D. (2003) in Epidemiology from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Her academic training is rooted in public health, statistical methods, and cancer epidemiology. She received advanced training at Harvard, which set the stage for a prolific research and academic career in molecular and clinical epidemiology. Her education enabled her to translate complex biological mechanisms into population-level cancer prevention strategies, and her leadership has consistently bridged rigorous epidemiological research with patient-focused public health innovation.

Experience

Dr. Tamimi has held prestigious academic positions including Instructor, Assistant Professor, Associate Professor at Harvard Medical School and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health (2003–2020). She currently serves as Professor at Weill Cornell Medicine (2020–Present). With over 20 years in academic medicine, she’s also served as Associate Epidemiologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Dr. Tamimi leads NIH- and NCI-funded multi-institutional projects, mentoring future epidemiologists while advancing cancer research. She has contributed to global education through lectures and program direction across institutions including Boston University, Harvard, and National University of Singapore.

Awards 

Dr. Tamimi has received multiple accolades for her visionary research. She earned the “Good Questions Meet Big Data” Ideation Challenge Award from Harvard Catalyst in 2017 and became a Susan G. Komen Scholar in 2020. Her election to prominent organizations such as the American Association for Cancer Research, Society for Epidemiologic Research, and Cornell Center for Health Equity highlights her influence in the field. These recognitions reflect her leadership in molecular epidemiology, commitment to health equity, and significant contributions to cancer prevention research on both national and global scales.

Research Focus 

Dr. Tamimi’s research explores breast cancer heterogeneity, environmental exposures, and the biological underpinnings of cancer risk. Her projects evaluate how dietary carotenoids, genetic variants, circulating metabolites, and breast tissue markers influence cancer outcomes. She is especially interested in aggressive tumor subtypes, breast cancer in young women, and disparities across racial and socioeconomic lines. Current studies also examine stromal contributions to carcinogenesis and social determinants of health through the SoCa Center. Her work connects molecular biology with epidemiological insights to improve early detection, prevention, and personalized treatment strategies for breast cancer.

Publication Top Notes

  • Regular aspirin use, breast tumor characteristics and long-term breast cancer survival
  • Development and validation of a risk prediction model for premenopausal breast cancer in 19 cohorts
  • Disparities in adherence to guideline-concordant care and receipt of immunotherapy for Non-Small cell lung cancer in the United States
  • Thromboembolic Events Are Increased After Splenectomy in Postmenopausal Women
  • The Breast Tumor Immune Microenvironment of DNA Double-Strand Break Repair Pathogenic Variant Carriers Is Enriched with Tumor-Associated Macrophages
  • The impact of reproductive factors on breast tumor and normal-adjacent tissue immune profile from menarche to menopause
  • Associations of alcohol consumption with expression of CD44, CD24, and ALDH1A1 stem cell markers in benign breast biopsy samples
  • Breast cancer prevention by short-term inhibition of TGFβ signaling
  • Association of body mass index and inflammatory dietary pattern with breast cancer pathologic and genomic immunophenotype in the nurses’ health study
  • A genome-wide association study of mammographic texture variation