Dr. med. Ilon Liu

Scientific Scope

I am a clinician-scientist specializing in neuro-oncology. Our group’s research focuses on brain tumors across the lifespan – in children, adolescents and adults – with a particular emphasis on high-grade gliomas that are in greatest need of therapeutic advancement. We are interested in how the specific spatiotemporal contexts in which distinct glioma subtypes arise are co-opted to shape their tumor ecosystems and dynamics, how these contribute to tumorigenesis, plasticity, and therapeutic resistance. These spatiotemporal contexts include neurodevelopmental programs which have been primarily studied in pediatric brain tumors, as well as aging-associated processes which remain poorly understood. Through integrating single-cell multi-omics with functional validations in age-representative, patient-derived models, we aim to identify, mechanistically dissect, and therapeutically target age-dependent drivers of glioma biology and evolution.

Most important Awards, Grants or Scientific Achievements

• 2026: Fellow of the Hertie Network Of Excellence In Clinical Neuroscience
• 2026: DFG SPP 2395. Local and peripheral drivers of microglia diversity and function
• 2026: Max Eder Program of the German Cancer Aid
• 2024: NeuroCure Cluster of Excellence, Research Fellowship
• 2023: European Association of Neuro-Oncology (EANO) Youngster Award
• 2019: German Research Foundation (DFG) – Research Fellowship

Selected References

• Liu, I.*, Cruzeiro, G.A.V.*, Bjerke, L.*, Rogers, R.*, Grabovska, Y., Beck, A., et al.(2024) "GABAergic neuronal lineage development determines clinically actionable targets in diffuse hemispheric glioma, H3G34-mutant." Cancer Cell 2024 Sep; 42(9): 1528-1548. PMID: 39232581.
• Gonzalez Castro, L.N.*, Liu, I.*, Filbin, M.G.(2023) "Characterizing the biology of primary brain tumors and their microenvironment via single-cell profiling methods." Neuro Oncology 2023 Feb, 25(2):234-247. PMID: 36197833.
• Liu, I.*, Jiang, L.*, Samuelsson, E.*, Marco Salas, S., Beck, A., Hack, O., et al.(2022) "The landscape of tumor cell states and spatial organization in H3-K27M diffuse midline glioma across age and location." Nature Genetics 2022 Dec; 54: 1881-1894. PMID: 36471067.
• Panditharatna, E.*, Marques, J.*, Trissal, M.C., Wang, T., Liu, I., Jiang, L., et al.(2020) "BAF complex maintains glioma stem cells in pediatric H3K27M-glioma." Cancer Discovery 2022 Dec; 12:2880-2905. PMID: 36305736.
• Gojo, J.*, Englinger, B.*, Jiang, L.*, Huebner, J., Shaw, M., Hack, O., Madlener, S., Kirchhofer, D., Liu, I., et al. (2020) "Single-cell RNA-seq of pediatric ependymoma reveals prognostic impact of impaired neuronal-glial fate specification." Cancer Cell 2020 Jul; 38(1):44-59. PMID: 32663469.