Chunyu Liu, PhD
Professor, Biostatistics - Boston University School of Public Health
Biography
Dr. Chunyu Liu earned her PhD in Biostatistics with a specialization in statistical genetics from the Department of Biostatistics at Boston University. She embarked on her professional journey at Biogen Idec Inc. in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where she served as a statistical geneticist. Additionally, she made significant contributions to the Population Sciences Branch & Framingham Heart Study (FHS), NHLBI, located in Framingham, Massachusetts.
Throughout her career, Dr. Liu has been actively engaged in diverse projects assessing risk factors associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD) and Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Her notable portfolio includes leadership roles as the Principal Investigator (PI) for three R01 grants and an R21 grant since 2018. Moreover, she serves as a subcontract PI for two R21 grants and has secured funding from the Cure Alzheimer’s Fund. In collaborative endeavors, she plays a pivotal role as the lead biostatistician in several R01 grants, contributing to over 135 peer-reviewed manuscripts. Dr. Liu often holds significant authorship positions in these publications, including as the first, second, or last author in more than 40 papers.
Dr. Liu's contributions span significant collaborative research endeavors, where she has held key roles as the lead statistician and co-convener in multiple working groups within the Cohorts for Heart and Aging Research in Genetic Epidemiology (CHARGE). Currently, she serves as a co-convener of the Trans-Omics for Precision Medicine (TOPMed) Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) working group, leading efforts to develop analytical methods for mtDNA sequence variations.
Furthermore, Dr. Liu shares her expertise as a member of the NIH’s Genetics of Health and Disease Study Section within the Center for Scientific Review. Her commitment extends to editorial responsibilities, acting as an Associate Editor for the Cardiovascular Digital Health Journal and an Academic Editor for PLOS ONE. Additionally, she plays an active role in the International Genetic Epidemiology Society, co-chairing its Education Committee.
Other Positions
- Investigator - Framingham Heart Study
- Member, Evans Center for Interdisciplinary Biomedical Research - Boston University
Education
- Boston University, PhD Field of Study: Biostatistics
- University of Maine, PhD Field of Study: Biochemistry
- Boston University, MA Field of Study: Biostatistics
Websites
Classes Taught
- SPHBS800
- SPHBS852
- SPHBS901
Publications
- Published on 7/21/2025
Li Z, Ding H, Wang M, Li Y, Ang TFA, Ashita G, Gifford KA, Karjadi C, Levy D, Au R, Liu C. Association of DNA methylation age acceleration with digital clock drawing test performance: the Framingham Heart Study. Aging (Albany NY). 2025 Jul 21; 17(7):1721-1745. PMID: 40699219.
Read At: PubMed
- Published on 7/14/2025
Carbonneau M, Li Y, Qu Y, Zheng Y, Wood AC, Wang M, Liu C, Huan T, Joehanes R, Guo X, Yao J, Taylor KD, Tracy RP, Durda P, Liu Y, Johnson WC, Post WS, Blackwell T, Rotter JI, Rich SS, Redline S, Fornage M, Wang J, Ning H, Hou L, Lloyd-Jones D, Ferrier K, Min YI, Carson AP, Raffield LM, Teumer A, Grabe HJ, Völzke H, Nauck M, Dörr M, Domingo-Relloso A, Fretts A, Tellez-Plaza M, Cole SA, Navas-Acien A, Wang M, Murabito JM, Heard-Costa NL, Prescott B, Xanthakis V, Mozaffarian D, Levy D, Ma J. DNA Methylation Signatures of Cardiovascular Health Provide Insights Into Diseases. Circulation. 2025 Aug 19; 152(7):436-449. PMID: 40654086.
Read At: PubMed
- Published on 6/3/2025
Wang X, Zhang Y, Pathiravasan CH, Spartano NL, Benjamin EJ, McManus DD, Lewis GD, Larson MG, Vasan RS, Murabito JM, Liu C, Nayor M. Blood Pressure Responses During Exercise Were Associated With Average Home Blood Pressure and Home Blood Pressure Variability: The Electronic Framingham Heart Study. J Am Heart Assoc. 2025 Jun 03; 14(11):e039457. PMID: 40459124.
Read At: PubMed
- Published on 5/20/2025
Lundin JI, Peters U, Hu Y, Ammous F, Benjamin EJ, Bis JC, Brody JA, Cushman M, Fuller H, Gignoux C, Guo X, Haessler J, Haiman C, Joehanes R, Kasela S, Kenny E, Lappalainen T, Levy D, Liu C, Liu Y, Loos RJF, Matise T, North KE, Park SL, Ratliff SM, Reiner A, Rich SS, Rotter JI, Smith JA, Sotoodehnia N, Tracy R, Van den Berg D, Ye T, Zhao W, Raffield LM, Kooperberg C. Epigenetic mechanisms underlying variation of IL-6, a well-established inflammation biomarker and risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Atherosclerosis. 2025 Aug; 407:120219. PMID: 40480020.
Read At: PubMed
- Published on 5/6/2025
Wang X, Larson MG, Liu C. Two-stage multiple imputation with a longitudinal composite variable. BMC Med Res Methodol. 2025 May 06; 25(1):124. PMID: 40329169.
Read At: PubMed
- Published on 3/3/2025
Ambrosone CB, Yao S, Long MD, Liu C, Chen J, Davis W, Zirpoli G, Payne-Ondracek R, Khoury T, Gong Z, Hu Q, Szewczyk S, Omilian AR, Bandera EV, Liu S, Kushi L, Higgins MJ, Palmer JR. Associations of DNA methylation in breast tumour subtypes with parity and breastfeeding in a cohort of 1459 Black women: implications for public health. BMJ Oncol. 2025; 4(1):e000675. PMID: 40519219.
Read At: PubMed
- Published on 3/2/2025
Yang J, Ding H, Li Y, Ang TFA, Devine S, Liu Y, Qiu W, Au R, Ma J, Liu C. Association of mid-age Life's Essential 8 score with digital cognitive performance and incident Alzheimer's disease: The Framingham Heart Study. J Alzheimers Dis. 2025 Mar; 104(2):498-508. PMID: 40025717.
Read At: PubMed
- Published on 2/1/2025
Li J, Liu C, Ang TFA, Au R. Associations of Mid- and Late-Life Fasting Blood Glucose Levels With Dementia Risk Among Patients With Diabetes: Framingham Heart Study. Eur J Neurol. 2025 Feb; 32(2):e70062. PMID: 39910859.
Read At: PubMed
- Published on 1/1/2025
Leng Y, Ding H, Ang TFA, Au R, Doraiswamy PM, Liu C. Identifying proteomic prognostic markers for Alzheimer's disease with survival machine learning: The Framingham Heart Study. J Prev Alzheimers Dis. 2025 Feb; 12(2):100021. PMID: 39863332.
Read At: PubMed
- Published on 12/31/2024
Rong J, Pathiravasan CH, Zhang Y, Faro JM, Wang X, Schramm E, Borrelli B, Benjamin EJ, Liu C, Murabito JM. Baseline Smartphone App Survey Return in the Electronic Framingham Heart Study Offspring and Omni 1 Study: eCohort Study. JMIR Aging. 2024 Dec 31; 7:e64636. PMID: 39740111.
Read At: PubMed
View 164 more publications:View Full Profile at BUMC
News & In the Media
-
Published on April 26, 2024
Sex-specific Blood Biomarkers Linked to Memory Changes in Middle-aged Adults
- Published on December 15, 2023
-
Published on November 27, 2023
Alcohol Consumption May Have Counteractive Effects on Heart Disease Risk, Study Finds
-
Published on November 21, 2023
Alcohol Consumption May Have Positive and Negative Effects on Cardiovascular Disease Risk