Associate Professor of Bioengineering Jiayu Liao's research includes studies on signal transduction pathways, small ubiquitin-like modifier ligase, G protein-coupled receptors, and lipid receptors. He has developed several high-throughput screening systems for drug candidates. Dr. Liao has made some important discoveries of novel G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) particularly associated with taste receptors utilizing bioinformatic methods. Recently he has found evidence for several fatty acid receptors that may play an important role in understanding fatty acid induced insulin resistance and the relationship between obesity and diabetes.