Interim CEO of UConn Health, Bruce T. Liang, M.D., is an internationally recognized cardiovascular physician-scientist and national leader in academic medicine. He is dean of UConn School of Medicine and the Ray Neag Distinguished Professor of Cardiovascular Biology and Medicine.

Dr. Liang first joined UConn Health in 2002 as a physician-scientist faculty member and was appointed dean of the medical school in 2015. As dean he has led to new heights UConn’s advancement of medicine, medical education, and research.

In 2021 Dr. Liang led the School of Medicine’s 50th anniversary celebration of its generational community impact of producing five decades of new physicians, surgeons, scientists, and community leaders to serve the state of Connecticut and beyond while increasing diversity and health equity in academic medicine. In fact, U.S. News & World Report has named it as one of the 10 most diverse medical schools in the nation, as 23% of its student body are from underrepresented groups in medicine.

Importantly, UConn Health is Connecticut’s number one producer of physicians, dentists, and surgeons, as well as a significant source of new scientists. Plus, it annually trains more than 100 postdoctoral fellows and 100 Ph.D. students. It is has one of the largest Master of Public Health programs, graduating more than 1,000 students so far with MPH degrees.

Under Dr. Liang’s leadership the medical school has received record-breaking research grant funding of over $100 million year after year. He also has overseen the school’s successful implementation of a new-age, team-based and patient-centered four-year curriculum since 2016, better preparing future physicians for the rapidly evolving health care field. In fact, UConn was the first medical school in the nation to eliminate lectures and continues to offer early, hands-on clinical care exposure at the very start of medical school along with the integration of basic sciences education. The school also has completed several successful LCME accreditation surveys under Dr. Liang’s leadership, plus it is highly ranked nationally among all other public medical schools as No. 30 in primary care and No. 31 in research by U.S. News & World Report.

As an active researcher, Dr. Liang’s cutting-edge translational research contributions have advanced scientific knowledge about heart disease. His research has been continuously funded since 1986 by the NIH, the American Heart Association, and the U.S. Department of Defense. He is widely published in the areas of cardiac myocyte, intact heart biology, and heart failure translational research. His latest research investigations have developed a new potential medication for advanced heart failure patients. This research, jointly performed with scientists at the NIH, has received patents from the U.S. and EU.

Dr. Liang is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), American College of Cardiology, and the American Heart Association, and is an elected member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation, the Association of University Cardiologists, the Council on Clinical Cardiology and Basic Cardiovascular Sciences, and the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering. He has been consistently named one of America’s Top Doctors and Best Doctors in America for cardiovascular disease care.

Prior to joining UConn Health in 2002, for 13 years he served the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine as associate professor of medicine and pharmacology. Dr. Liang received his bachelor’s degree from Harvard in biochemistry and molecular biology and his medical degree from Harvard Medical College. He completed his internal medicine internship and residency training at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and cardiology fellowship training at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School.

Education

Degree	Institution	Major
B.A.	Harvard College	Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
M.D.	Harvard Medical School	Medicine

Post-Graduate Training

Training	Institution	Specialty
Internship	Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania	Medicine
Residency	Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania	Internal Medicine
Fellowship	Brigham and Women's Hospital	Medicine (Research/Clinical)
Fellowship	Harvard Medical School	Medicine (Research)

Awards

Name of Award/Honor	Awarding Organization
Blue Precision Designation in Cardiology	Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield
Elected as a Member of the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering	Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering
National Steering Committee of LEADERS in Clinical Weight Management
Development of a New Method to Detect Heart Failure via a Simple Blood Test
Lifetime Member of Global Who's Who
Named an America’s Top Doctor by Castle Connolly in Cardiovascular Disease Since 2006	Castle Connolly Medical Ltd.
Elected and Inducted into the Association of University Cardiologists	Association of University Cardiologists
Elected and Inducted into the American Society for Clinical Investigation	American Society for Clinical Investigation
Established Investigatorship, 1993-1998	American Heart Association
First Place, Mead Johnson Excellence of Research Award	National Student Research Forum
First Place, Roche Laboratories Award in Basic Sciences, National Student Research Forum	Roche Laboratories

Name & Description	Category	Role	Type	Scope	Start Year	End Year
Election as a new member of the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering	Professional/Scientific Organization	Member	External	State	2009
National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering REVIEW PANEL: Enabling Technologies for Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine	Advisory Committee	Panel member	External	National	2008	2009
Peer Review Committee, Integrated Cardiac Biology, Northeast Affiliate of American Heart Assocation	Professional/Scientific Organization	Committee Member	External	National	2007
Association of University Cardiologists	Professional/Scientific Organization	Member	External	National	2005
NHLBI/NIH SCCOR Review Panel	Advisory Committee	Panel member	External	National	2004
Center for Scientific Review, Cardiovascular System and Pharmacology ZRG1 HP Panel	Professional/Scientific Organization	Panel member	External	National	2003
Peer Review Committee, Cardiovascular Pathophysiology III, National American Heart Association	Professional/Scientific Organization	Committee Member	External	National	2002	2004
American Journal of Physiology	Editorial Board	Editorial Board	External	National	1999
Peer Review Committee, Molecular Signaling, National American Heart Association	Professional/Scientific Organization	Committee Member	External	National	1997	2001

Dr. Liang’s research program has focused on the fundamental signaling mechanisms that regulate cardiovascular functions. Using the concepts and tools of biochemistry and molecular biology, integrated with a cellular and pharmacological approach, the program has addressed and elucidated novel functions and signaling mechanisms for the various purinergic receptors in the heart. Two tracks of development have evolved new directions and models relevant to advances in cardiovascular research. The first direction is exemplified by the development of a novel cardiac cell model for cardioprotection and ischemic preconditioning. The development of efficient cardiac myocyte transfection enables the use of an approach to delineate mechanism and to develop new receptor ligands important in protecting the myocyte against ischemia. This model is now widely recognized and is currently used by different laboratories. Certain basic observations, for example, those related to his studies on the cardiac adenosine A3 receptor, have been repeated and investigated further by others. His research has yielded new insights on the fundamental mechanisms of cardiac myocyte protection. In a second example, a new transgenic mouse line overexpressing a novel P2X purinergic ligand-gated receptor channel shows enhanced basal cardiac contractility and relaxation. This transgenic line provides the proof of principle that this ligand-gated channel is a potential novel therapeutic target for the treatment of heart failure. It is anticipated that the program will continue to develop new translational/clinical research projects. Some examples of such research include the ongoing studies on novel purine receptors and their ligands in protecting the ischemic myocardium and in treating heart failure. Study on identifying novel mutations of the adenosine transporter represents another example. Overall, He has had continuous NIH support for the last 16 years. His work advances novel concepts on signaling mechanisms and receptor function. He is an internationally recognized expert on adenosine receptor biology and myocyte function.

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