Dr. Liao is the Harold H. Hines Jr. Professor of Medicine and Chief of Cardiology Section at the University of Chicago. He is also the Director of the Physician Scientist Development Program and Principal Investigator of the NIH T32 Cardiovascular Sciences Training Grant. His laboratory has made many important discoveries, which has helped elucidate signaling mechanisms in the vascular wall. Specifically, his laboratory explored molecular pathways which revealed how HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors (or statins) could exert cholesterol-independent or "pleiotropic" effects. This translational work provided a mechanistic basis for the benefit of statin therapy in stroke patients for which he received and was awarded the Cardiovascular Research Prize from the American Heart Association. His laboratory also identified, cloned, and characterized a novel cytochrome P450 epoxygenase, CYP2J2, and its products, epoxyeicosatrienoic acids (EETs), as endothelium-derived hyporpolarizing factors with anti-inflammatory and anti-ischemic properties. In addition, his work also led to the discovery of a novel, rapid, nongenomic effect of steroid hormone receptors. For his research accomplishments, Dr. Liao received the Jeffrey M. Hoeg Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology Award from the American Heart Association and the Outstanding Investigator Award from the American Federation for Medical Research. He has served on numerous NIH study sections, advisory committees, and special emphasis panels.