David Liu

David Liu invented base editing and prime editing, genome editing technologies that install precise nucleotide changes without double-strand breaks or donor DNA templates, enabling modeling of cancer-associated point mutations with unprecedented precision. His base editors (CBE and ABE) have been used in saturation mutagenesis screens across cancer genes to functionally classify all possible point mutations as pathogenic or benign. Prime editing extends this to all types of point mutations, small insertions, and deletions. His technologies have enabled precise installation of drug resistance mutations, oncogenic activating mutations, and tumor suppressor inactivating mutations in cancer models, and are advancing toward therapeutic applications for correcting cancer-predisposing germline variants.