Department of Preventive Medicine and Environmental Health Faculty

Youcheng Liu, M.D., Sc.D.
Assistant Professor
859-218-2234
yliur@email.uky.edu

Curriculum Vitae

Dr. Liu is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Preventive Medicine and Environmental Health. He received his M.D. from Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China, M.P.H. from Beijing Medical University (currently Peking University Health Science Center) School of Public Health in Beijing, and M.S. and Sc.D. (Doctor of Science) both from Harvard University School of Public Health. Previously he served on the Faculty of Public Health at Beijing Medical University and Faculties of Medicine, Epidemiology and Public Health at Yale University. Dr. Liu has more than 20 years of teaching and research experience in occupational and environmental health sciences and has published 30 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters. His research focuses on assessing respiratory and dermal exposures to chemicals and biological agents, evaluating the resulting risks of occupational and environmental diseases, and developing interventional methods and strategies to reduce exposures. He has used air and biological sampling methods and epidemiologic tools to investigate effects of indoor air pollution from coal and biomass combustion, furniture and furnishings and building materials on school children’ s health in Beijing and Guatemala. He has characterized respiratory exposure to fuel-oil ash and metal fumes during boiler repair work and with his colleagues evaluated early changes in respiratory inflammation markers and the reduction in lung functions of boilermakers. More recently he has been funded by NIH/NHLBI and CDC/NIOSH/AAMC to investigate both respiratory and dermal exposures to isocyanates and organic solvents during auto body spray painting and repair activities, evaluate the efficacy of respirators, gloves and protective clothing, and assess the effectiveness of engineering control, administrative change, work practice improvement and the use of decontamination products on reducing workers’ exposures. He also has joined his colleagues to evaluate the respiratory, physiologic and immunologic effects from isocyanate exposures. Dr. Liu has served as a member of the National Academy of Science Institute of Medicine Committees on Developing Reusable Facemasks for Use during an Influenza Pandemic and the Assessment of the NIOSH Head-and-Face Anthropometric Survey of U.S. Respirator Users. He has also served on the Advisory Committee for the Harvard NIOSH Education and Research Center. Dr. Liu has been invited as a peer reviewer for American Industrial Hygiene Association Journal, Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene, Annals of Occupational Hygiene and Thorax. Dr. Liu has also worked on the panels to review CDC/NIOSH Intramural NORA, program and small grants. Dr. Liu teaches PM 661, Industrial Hygiene Sampling, in the spring semester.

Research Interest & Projects

Respiratory and dermal exposure assessment and modeling, indoor air sciences, biomarkers and biological monitoring, efficacies of respirators and chemical protective clothing, epidemiologic studies of occupational and environmental lung diseases, neurological and skin disorders and cancer, and workplace intervention studies.