Simin Liu is an epidemiologist whose work unites molecular genetics, nutrition, clinical medicine, and public health. Liu is Professor of Epidemiology at the School of Public Health, Professor of Medicine (Endocrinology) and Professor of Surgery at the Alpert School of Medicine, Brown University. He also serves as director of the Center for Global Cardiometabolic Health (CGCH) and holds an adjunct professorship at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, the Chinese University of HongKong, Guangdong General Hospital/Academy of Medical Sciences, and Fuwai Hospital and Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences.

Liu's research is concerned with the etiology of chronic diseases and their prevention and control strategies. His research has led to the identification and confirmation of several novel genetic and biochemical markers and gene-nutrient interactions for obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases. Incorporating genotypes and plasma phenotypes into risk prediction, his team was the first to show the causal role of SHBG in diabetes pathogenesis and validate its clinical utilities in human populations of diverse ethnicities, opening a new path for early detection and risk management of the disease. Liu's research also provides the first empirical evidence to quantify and standardize all dietary carbohydrates based on glycemic load (GL) and validates its physiological utility while demonstrating that  GL exchange could be beneficial in the dietary management of patients with diabetes.

To date, Dr. Liu has published >300 peer-reviewed research papers, some of which are among the most frequently cited.