Hao Liu, MD, PhD

Biography

Dr. Hao Liu is an abdominal transplant and hepatopancreatobiliary surgeon at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston. He practices at Memorial Hermann–Texas Medical Center, where his clinical interests include liver and kidney transplantation, hepatobiliary surgery, transplant oncology, and the multidisciplinary treatment of complex liver tumors.

Dr. Liu earned his medical degree from Peking Union Medical College and his PhD in Human Biology and Translational Medicine from Harvard Medical School. At Harvard’s Steele Laboratories for Tumor Biology, his doctoral research examined the tumor microenvironment, including tumor angiogenesis, extracellular-matrix biology, and barriers to effective drug delivery. He subsequently completed his general surgery residency at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, followed by advanced fellowship training in abdominal organ transplantation and hepatopancreatobiliary surgery at Houston Methodist Hospital. His fellowship also included hepatobiliary surgical-oncology training at MD Anderson Cancer Center. His education and training history is consistent across his professional profile (external link) and research profile (external link).

Dr. Liu’s short-term academic goal is to help establish an integrated, multidisciplinary transplant-oncology program that combines liver transplantation, complex hepatobiliary surgery, and evidence-based cancer care. He is particularly interested in developing clinical and research pathways for hepatocellular carcinoma, cholangiocarcinoma, and colorectal liver metastases while expanding expertise in living-donor transplantation, minimally invasive and robotic liver surgery, and advanced organ-preservation technologies. Through outcomes research and collaboration among transplant surgery, hepatology, medical oncology, radiation oncology, and interventional radiology, he aims to broaden access to potentially curative treatment for patients with complex liver malignancies.