Charles Liu

Dr. Liu is engaged in a broad spectrum of efforts that brings together the fields of engineering and medicine to develop systems-level solutions to challenges that lead to human suffering due to loss of nervous system function over the life-span. He began his professional career in engineering seeking to solve medical problems by finding engineering solutions. He sought an education in medicine to gain a fundamental understanding of human disease. He then trained in neurosurgery and became a recognized expert in complex intracranial surgery, epilepsy surgery, neurotrauma, and neurorehabilitation. He has also made key contributions in a large number of internationally visible “first-in-human”applications of transformative technologies to restore neurological function. He is currently a professor of neurosurgery, neurology, urology, biomedical engineering, and physical therapy and biokinesiology at the University of Southern California, where he also serves as the Director of the USC Neurorestoration Center. He is also the Director of Neurorecovery Integrated Care Team and Chair of Neurosurgery and Orthopedics at Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center. He has had a long-standing association with Caltech, where he is appointed as visiting associate in Biology and Bioengineering. He has worked in close partnership with multiple private and public sector health systems to craft creative solutions to issues related to access to specialty services in underserved communities. For example, he has provided principal leadership in the establishment of the USC Epilepsy Consortium, a unique patient-centered partnership for epilepsy care that connects over 20% of the National Association of Epilepsy Centers registered programs in California, including the first and only adult epilepsy center in Central California at Kern Medical in Bakersfield. He has made a large number of contributions to the published literature and delivered numerous key-note lectures nationally and internationally. He serves as the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Clinical Neuroscience and directs a large number of collaborative research projects funded by federal and nonfederal agencies, including NIH, NSF, DARPA, and PAC-12 Conference. He is also the Head Team Neurosurgeon for the USC Department of Athletics and is the neurosurgical consultant to the Rose Bowl Game.