Chen Liang, PH.D.

Chen Liang is a Professor of Medicine at McGill University, Senior Investigator at the Lady Davis Institute of Jewish General Hospital, Director of McGill Centre for Viral Diseases. Prof. Liang’s research uses molecular, genomic and proteomic approaches to understand the complex interactions between viruses and hosts, with focus on the antiviral innate immune responses to pathogenic RNA viruses including HIV-1 and SARS-CoV-2. His group discovered the anti-HIV-1 activity of the interferon-stimulated genes IFITM and MxB which restrict the early steps of HIV-1 infection and belong to a short list of known HIV-1 restriction factors. He has pioneered the application of the CRISPR gene editing technology in curing HIV-1 infected cells by cleaving and eliminating the integrated viral DNA. His group is dedicated to the understanding of the dysregulated interferon and inflammatory cytokine responses in SARS-CoV-2-infected individuals. Prof. Liang’s research has been continuously supported by grants from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), Fonds de recherche du Quebec (FRQ), and the Canadian Foundation for AIDS Research (CANFAR).