Pengtao Liu graduated from Henan Normal University with a BSc in biology and obtained his MSc from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Institute of Genetics. He received his PhD from Baylor College of Medicine in the USA. Liu did his postdoctoral training at the National Cancer Institute in the USA. Prior to joining the University of Hong Kong, Liu was a senior group leader and an affiliated faculty member at the Wellcome Trust-MRC Stem Cell Institute at the University of Cambridge. Liu’s lab carries out research funded by such bodies as the Wellcome Trust, the EU, and the NIH.