Xin-An Liu is an Associate Professor and PhD supervisor at the Institute of Brain Cognition and Brain Disease, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and a Shenzhen “Peacock Talent” (Category B). She received her PhD from Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, and, before joining SIAT, conducted postdoctoral research at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, focusing on neuro-immune mechanisms of nicotine addiction. Her laboratory studies brain–body interaction mechanisms involving the microbiome in neuropsychiatric disorders. She has published over 40 papers in leading journals, including Neuron, Molecular Psychiatry, and PNAS, with nearly 1500 citations.

Neuro-peripheral interactions in neurological disorders

1. Yicong Jia, Chen H, Zou QH, Chen SJ, Li JH, Chen YM, Lu LM, Hong F, Jia SH, Jing XY, Ren JY, Muhammad F, Mi JY, Duan J, Liao JX, Liu Q, Xu FQ, Kenny PJ, Han MH, Wang LP, Chen ZX*, Cao DZ*, Liu XA*.  Gut-Brain Cholinergic Signaling Mediates the Antiseizure Effects of Bacteroides fragilis. Neuron. 2026 Jan 16:S0896-6273(25)00926-2. doi: 10.1016/j.neuron.2025.11.029. 
2. Jing XY, Xu ZB, Yang QX, Jiang Y, Wang JT, Wang RX, Li YT, Zhou RX, Wang LP*, Chen ZX*, Liu XA*. Unraveling Sexually Dimorphic Offspring Behaviors: Maternal Premating Stress and the Neuro-Microbial-Metabolic Network. Mol Psychiatry. 2025 Dec 10. doi: 10.1038/s41380-025-03378-2.  
3. Wang RX, Afzal A, Jing XY, Zhou Y, Feng JX, Chen ZX, Cao DZ*, Liu XA*. Intergenerational Effects of the Microbiota on Neurodevelopment: Mechanisms and Therapeutic Perspectives. Acta Pharmacol Sin. 2026 Jan 23. doi: 10.1038/s41401-025-01693-6.
4. Liu XA, Aguirre CA, Yang Q, Ren J, Wang L, Ju F, Guo H, Wang J, Liu L, Li Z, He J, Xu Z, Shi C, Cintron-Colon R, Michel T, Wood M, Margetts AV, Pollock TA, Vilca SJ, Tuesta LM, Di Angelantonio S, Basilico B, De Stefano ME, Xia J, Wei P, Li S, Yang X, Wang L, Delorme-Walker VD, Marcondes MCG, Parsons L, Conti B, Chen Z. Interleukin 13 signaling modulates dopaminergic functions and nicotine reward in rodents. Mol Psychiatry. 2026 Feb;31(2):622-634. doi: 10.1038/s41380-025-03137-3. 
5. Jia S, Jing X, Wang R, Su M, Wang P, Feng Y, Ren X, Tu L, Wei P, Lu Z, Jia Y, Hong F, Mo Z, Zou J, Huang K, Yan C, Zou Q, Wang L, Zhong G, Zeng Z, Yu Q, Su W, Yang X, Pan F, Wang J, Wang L, Kang L, Kenny PJ, Chen Z*, Liu XA*. Nicotine Reprograms Aging-Related Metabolism and Protects Against Motor Decline in Mice. Adv Sci (Weinh). 2025 Oct;12(40):e15311. doi: 10.1002/advs.202415311. 
6. Peng B#; Wang RX#; Zuo WL#; Liu HT, Deng CS, Jing XY, Hu HT, Zhao WT, Qin PW, Dai L, Chen ZX*, Zhang YL*, Liu XA*. Distinct correlation network of clinical characteristics in suicide attempters having adolescent major depressive disorder with non-suicidal self-injury, Translational Psychiatry, 2024 Mar 5;14(1):134. doi: 10.1038/s41398-024-02843-w.

Hers research findings have been published in more than 40 peer-reviewed articles in journals including Neuron, Molecular Psychiatry, Current Biology, Translational Psychiatry, PNAS, and Nature Medicine, as well as 3 book chapters, with a total of over 1000 citations.
She has led multiple research grants, including the General Program, the Young Scientists Fund of the National Natural Science Foundation of China, and provincial and municipal-level research projects.
She has supervised 6 graduate students (graduated) and 3 current graduate students, and has trained 4 postdoctoral researchers who have gone on to positions in universities or industry.