Memorial for Yan Liu at DNA30

“Today, we’ve gathered to remember and honor an incredible scientist and colleague in our field. Dr. Yan Liu, a professor at Arizona State University’s Chemistry Department, pioneered in revealing the physical chemistry aspects of DNA-based self-assembly and the applications of DNA structures in nanophotonics. Her work has truly left a lasting impact on our community.
Dr. Liu wasn’t just an excellent scientist—she was also an amazing mentor and a dear friend. I consider myself fortunate to have had the chance to work with her and learn from her. She was always patient, caring, and had such a warm heart, qualities that made her not only a brilliant mind but a wonderful person to be around.
Just two months ago, on July 17th, Dr. Liu passed away after bravely battling lung cancer for more than a year. Her loss has touched all of us deeply, and today is our opportunity to reflect on her life and the incredible impact she made on those who knew her.
Today, we are not here to reflect on how fragile life can be, nor to question its fairness. We are here to celebrate the achievement of her life, to draw strength as we move forward, and to come together as a stronger community, united in carrying on the legacy she left behind.”
— Prof. Fei Zhang, Rutgers University-Newark

“Yan is one of my most admired mentors. In many ways she shaped and inspired my career. Back at ASU, like many of my lab mates, I was fortunate to have her help finding my feet in graduate school and enjoy her guidance every step of my way to Ph.D. She was unbelievably patient with her students and at the same time held us to very high standards. We were not given a pass during our training project until our gel bands turned out crisp and clean, our DNA tiles had perfect stoichiometry, and our AFM images show a piece of beautiful DNA lattice. She generously gave us her time and expertise when we needed her, whether it was to troubleshoot equipment, analyze data, or go over a manuscript. She lifted us up when we felt stuck and challenged us when we thought our results were ‘good enough’. She was also incredibly organized – I was always amazed by how she can quickly locate a paper in her file drawers or a piece of receipt from her shelf full of binders. In the lab, this translates to well organized bench and lab notes, something many of us learnt and took with us beyond the graduate school.
Those of us who have worked with Yan know that she was a warm, smart, knowledgeable, and hardworking person. But ultimately, I think it is her love for research and teaching that made her such a prolific scientist and an effective mentor. She has a long list of landmark papers that have generated long-lasting impact on the field of DNA nanotechnology and molecular programing. Many of her trainees are now group leaders in academia and industry. Today, we celebrate her life and honor her achievements. Her legacy will live on through us.”
— Prof. Chenxiang Lin, Yale University

“Dr. Liu was my PhD advisor. I have known her for almost 20 years. It was Dr. Liu who taught me all the experimental techniques, guided me through PhD study. Moreover, Dr. Liu was always highly supportive and patient with students, making us feel being valued and encouraged. Her office was not just for discussion of science, but also a place where students are free to talk about personal matters, such as their career plans and challenges. Dr. Liu’s mentorship left a strong mark on how I interact with my lab members. Although I will probably never be as good as she was, I will always remember Dr. Liu as a perfect example of great PhD advisors.
Over the years, I got to know Dr. Liu better, and start considering her a personal friend. Dr. Liu had a lovely family, and everyone close to her knows how much she devoted herself to her family, especially to her children. I deeply admired Dr. Liu for her achievements in science. Nonetheless, it was even more impressive how Dr. Liu balance her roles as a perfect mother and a highly successful professor.
It is impossible to understand why such an excellent person was taken away from us so early. Even as she was fighting cancer, Dr. Liu showed us her spirit would never be broken. Every time I talked to her, Dr. Liu was full of hope and courage, ready to fight. March 23rd, 2024, it was the last time I saw her in person. Her treatment wasn’t going well, and she had to spent most of her time in bed. Dr. Liu looked small and weak, I remembered, but there was light in her eyes, and she told us that she would get better and we would meet again soon.
I didn’t get another chance to see her, but Dr. Liu’s legacy will live on. I will forever remember her as a brilliant scientist, a kind friend, and a loving mother.”
— Prof. Yonggang Ke, Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University

“It is a very sad moment for the passing of Prof. Yan Liu during this summer. Prof. Liu was a very talented female chemist, shining brightly in the field of DNA nanotechnology. She was an expert on understanding the thermodynamic properties of DNA self-assembly and pioneering the applications of DNA-directed assembly in nanophotonics and nanomedicine. Prof. Liu had been a faculty member in the Department of Chemistry at Arizona State University for twenty years. She was well known for her beauty, intelligence, warm heart, and kindness. I first met with Prof. Liu in 2006 when I was a graduate student at ASU, where she taught Biochemistry for us. Later, during my postdoc studies, I was fortunate to have more deep collaboration with her on DNA nanotechnology. She offered invaluable guidance on my research and writing. There are many words and moments to describe Prof. Liu’s virtue and goodness. I would like to highlight one particular moment of her character – she reminded students about the importance of taking a Spring Break, encouraging us to relax and step away from the intense studies and lab work. Prof. Liu was also a kind support for those facing challenges in work and life, especially, many Chinese students and scholars were benefited from her assistance, e.g. she volunteered as a translator for visa-related documents. Her passing is a substantial loss to the fields of DNA nanotechnology, Chemistry research and education, as well as Chinese American community. May her soul rest peacefully in heaven. Prof. Yan Liu will forever hold a place in our hearts.”
— Prof. Jinglin Fu, Rutgers University-Camden

“For me, Yan was first and foremost an extremely talented colleague and a role-model scientist. She has done amazing pioneering work in DNA nanotechnology and nanophotonics in particular. At all the meetings I had with her, she demonstrated excellent insight, attention to detail and extraordinary vision. She was an excellent mentor and was very much beloved by all her students and colleagues. She was deeply involved and invested in every project she collaborated on or supervised, and if requested, she would spend hours with a student to go over project and help them understand every single detail.
It is very difficult to see a close colleague pass away, and it makes it especially difficult to see her gone when she was at the peak of her professional life, when she was mentoring students and continued to make major contributions to the field. Many of the students and postdocs that she supervised have gone onto establishing their own successful labs around the world. Even though she is no longer with us, her work and legacy will continue to make impact through the people she mentored and discoveries she made.
She will be very much missed by everyone here at ASU and we hope to honor her legacy as a scientist, teacher and a compassionate colleague through Yan Liu Memorial Fund, which will be provide scholarship to students pursuing degrees in molecular sciences.”
— Prof. Petr Šulc, Arizona State University