Edison P. Liang
· Professor, Physics and AstronomyVerifiedRice University · Physics
Active 1972–2024
About
Edison P. Liang is the Andrew Hays Buchanan Professor of Astrophysics at Rice University. He received his BA in Physics in 1967 and PhD in Astrophysics in 1971 from the University of California, Berkeley. His doctoral research focused on the classical and quantum structure of the cosmological singularity under the guidance of Professors R.K. Sachs and J. Silk. Throughout his career, he has held research positions at the University of Texas, the University of Utah, Oxford, and Cambridge Universities, and has worked at Michigan State University, Stanford University, and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory before joining Rice University in 1991. His research interests include relativistic plasma physics, laser-plasma interactions, high energy density physics, and high-energy astrophysics. Dr. Liang is a Fellow of the American Physical Society and has contributed extensively to the field through over three hundred publications, organizing international conferences, and participating in major reports on high energy density physics.
Research topics
- Physics
- Computer Science
- Optics
- Nuclear physics
- Classical mechanics
- Applied mathematics
- Medicine
- Astrophysics
- Computational physics
- Astronomy
- Mechanics
- Quantum mechanics
- Mathematical analysis
- Mathematics
Selected publications
A first-in-human phase I study of a novel MDM2/p53 inhibitor alrizomadlin in advanced solid tumors
ESMO Open · 2024-07-13 · 26 citations
articleOpen accessBACKGROUND: The mouse double minute 2 homolog (MDM2) oncogene exerts oncogenic activities in many cancers and represents a potential therapeutic target. This trial evaluated the safety, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, and preliminary efficacy of alrizomadlin (APG-115), a novel MDM2/p53 inhibitor, in patients with advanced solid tumors. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Patients with histologically confirmed advanced solid tumors who had progressed to standard treatment or lacked effective therapies were recruited. Alrizomadlin was administered once daily every other day for 21 days of a 28-day cycle until disease progression or intolerable toxicity. RESULTS: A total of 21 patients were enrolled and treated with alrizomadlin; 57.1% were male and the median age was 47 (25-60) years. The maximum tolerated dose of alrizomadlin was 150 mg and the recommended phase II dose was 100 mg. One patient in the 200-mg cohort experienced dose-limiting toxicity of thrombocytopenia and febrile neutropenia. The most common grade 3/4 treatment-related adverse events were thrombocytopenia (33.3%), lymphocytopenia (33.3%), neutropenia (23.8%), and anemia (23.8%). Alrizomadlin demonstrated approximately linear pharmacokinetics (dose range 100-200 mg) and was associated with increased plasma macrophage inhibitory cytokine-1, indicative of p53 pathway activation. Of the 20 assessable patients, 2 [10%, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.2% to 31.7%] patients achieved partial response and 10 (50%, 95% CI 27.2% to 72.8%) showed stable disease. The median progression-free survival was 6.1 (95% CI 1.7-10.4) months, which was significantly longer in patients with wild-type versus mutant TP53 (7.9 versus 2.2 months, respectively; P < 0.001). Among patients with MDM2 amplification and wild-type TP53, the overall response rate was 25% (2/8) and the disease control rate was 100% (8/8). CONCLUSIONS: Alrizomadlin had an acceptable safety profile and demonstrated promising antitumor activity in MDM2-amplified and TP53 wild-type tumors. This study supports further exploration of alrizomadlin with recommended doses of 100 mg q.o.d. in 21 days on and 7 days off regimen.
ESMO Open · 2024-07-26 · 4 citations
articleOpen access•APG-1387 has good safety profile; no DLTs were reported.•APG-1387 45 mg every week plus toripalimab was well tolerated and thus chosen as the recommended phase II dose.•APG-1387 plus toripalimab showed activity in anti-PD-1/PD-L1 treatment-naïve patients with NPC. BackgroundAPG-1387 is a novel second mitochondrial-derived activator of caspases mimetic, small-molecule inhibitor targeting inhibitor of apoptosis proteins. We report results from two phase I trials evaluating the tolerability, safety, and antitumor activity of APG-1387 monotherapy and APG-1387 plus toripalimab [a programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) inhibitor] for advanced solid tumors.Patients and methodsParticipants aged ≥18 years who had histologically confirmed advanced solid tumors with no appropriate standard of care (or refractory to standard care) were eligible. Patients received escalating intravenous doses of APG-1387 alone or combined with fixed-dose toripalimab (240 mg every 3 weeks) in a ‘3 + 3’ design. Primary endpoints were dose-limiting toxicities (DLTs) and maximum tolerated dose (MTD) in the monotherapy trial, and recommended phase II dose (RP2D) in the combination therapy trial. Secondary endpoints included the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic profiles and preliminary efficacy in both trials.ResultsIn the monotherapy trial, 28 subjects were enrolled and received ≥1 treatment cycle. No DLT was reported among the 28 subjects, and the MTD was not reached. One participant (3.6%) had a grade ≥3 treatment-related adverse event (TRAE) of alanine aminotransferase elevation. In efficacy analysis of 23 participants, none achieved an objective response, and the disease control rate was 21.7%. In the combination trial, 22 subjects were enrolled and included in all analyses. There was one DLT of grade 3 lipase elevation. The MTD was not reached. Four grade ≥3 TRAEs occurred in three participants (13.6%), with the most common being lipase elevation (n = 2). The RP2D was 45 mg weekly. The objective response rate was 13.6%, with complete response achieved in one subject, and the disease control rate was 54.5%.ConclusionsAPG-1387 45 mg weekly plus toripalimab was well tolerated and is recommended for further study, with preliminary clinical activity observed in study participants with advanced solid tumors. APG-1387 is a novel second mitochondrial-derived activator of caspases mimetic, small-molecule inhibitor targeting inhibitor of apoptosis proteins. We report results from two phase I trials evaluating the tolerability, safety, and antitumor activity of APG-1387 monotherapy and APG-1387 plus toripalimab [a programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) inhibitor] for advanced solid tumors. Participants aged ≥18 years who had histologically confirmed advanced solid tumors with no appropriate standard of care (or refractory to standard care) were eligible. Patients received escalating intravenous doses of APG-1387 alone or combined with fixed-dose toripalimab (240 mg every 3 weeks) in a ‘3 + 3’ design. Primary endpoints were dose-limiting toxicities (DLTs) and maximum tolerated dose (MTD) in the monotherapy trial, and recommended phase II dose (RP2D) in the combination therapy trial. Secondary endpoints included the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic profiles and preliminary efficacy in both trials. In the monotherapy trial, 28 subjects were enrolled and received ≥1 treatment cycle. No DLT was reported among the 28 subjects, and the MTD was not reached. One participant (3.6%) had a grade ≥3 treatment-related adverse event (TRAE) of alanine aminotransferase elevation. In efficacy analysis of 23 participants, none achieved an objective response, and the disease control rate was 21.7%. In the combination trial, 22 subjects were enrolled and included in all analyses. There was one DLT of grade 3 lipase elevation. The MTD was not reached. Four grade ≥3 TRAEs occurred in three participants (13.6%), with the most common being lipase elevation (n = 2). The RP2D was 45 mg weekly. The objective response rate was 13.6%, with complete response achieved in one subject, and the disease control rate was 54.5%. APG-1387 45 mg weekly plus toripalimab was well tolerated and is recommended for further study, with preliminary clinical activity observed in study participants with advanced solid tumors.
Physics of Plasmas · 2024-12-01 · 9 citations
articleOpen accessBright sources of mega-electron volt (MeV) x-rays have many unique applications, including nuclear physics, radiation oncology, and imaging high areal density systems. High intensity lasers (&gt;1018 W cm−2) incident on mm-thick metal targets can deliver MeV x-rays via the bremsstrahlung process, providing sources with ultrashort duration (∼ps) and small source size (∼100 μm). Here, we report on a reproducible regime of laser-driven MeV x-ray sources, where the x-ray dose can be further increased by 60% by coating the metal target with micrometers of plastic. High fidelity numerical simulations indicate that the interaction is a result of relativistic transparency in the preplasma. Though relativistic transparency is present in both cases, the greater sound speed and smaller ion inertia of the plastic target allow the laser to more deeply penetrate and couple more efficiently to electrons. Radiography with this system demonstrates a resolving power &lt; 300 μm, important for imaging applications.
Plasma Radiation Model of Fast Radio Bursts from Magnetars
arXiv (Cornell University) · 2023-11-15
preprintOpen access1st authorCorrespondingWe propose a novel idea for the coherent intense millisecond radio emission of cosmic fast radio bursts (FRBs), which have recently been identified with flares from a magnetar. Motivated by the conventional paradigm of Type III solar radio bursts, we will explore the emission of coherent plasma line radiation at the electron plasma frequency and its harmonic as potential candidates of the coherent FRB emissions associated with magnetar flares. We discuss the emissions region parameters in relativistic strongly magnetized plasmas consisting of electrons, positrons and protons. The goal is to make observable predictions of this model to confront the multi-wavelength observations of FRBs from magnetars. These results will impact both observational radio astronomy and space-based astrophysics
A scintillator attenuation spectrometer for intense gamma-rays
Review of Scientific Instruments · 2022 · 10 citations
1st authorCorresponding- Physics
- Optics
- Nuclear physics
A new type of compact high-resolution high-sensitivity gamma-ray spectrometer for short-pulse intense gamma-rays (250 keV to 50 MeV) has been developed by combining the principles of scintillators and attenuation spectrometers. The first prototype of this scintillator attenuation spectrometer (SAS) was tested successfully in Trident laser experiments at LANL. Later versions have been used extensively in the Texas Petawatt laser experiments in Austin, TX, and more recently in OMEGA-EP laser experiments at LLE, Rochester, NY. The SAS is particularly useful for high-repetition-rate laser applications. Here, we give a concise description of the design principles, capabilities, and sample preliminary results of the SAS.
Research Opportunities in Plasma Astrophysics
arXiv (Cornell University) · 2022-03-04 · 3 citations
preprintOpen accessMajor scientific questions and research opportunities are described on 10 unprioritized plasma astrophysics topics: (1) magnetic reconnection, (2) collisionless shocks and particle acceleration, (3) waves and turbulence, (4) magnetic dynamos, (5) interface and shear instabilities, (6) angular momentum transport, (7) dusty plasmas, (8) radiative hydrodynamics, (9) relativistic, pair-dominated and strongly magnetized plasmas, (10) jets and outflows. Note that this is a conference report from a Workshop on Opportunities in Plasma Astrophysics (WOPA, https://w3.pppl.gov/conferences/2010/WOPA/) in January 2010, that attracted broad representation from the community and was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, National Science Foundation, American Physical Society's Topical Group for Plasma Astrophysics and Division of Plasma Physics, and Center for Magnetic Self-Organization in Laboratory and Astrophysical Plasmas. Although there has been much planning and many developments in both science and infrastructure since the report was written, most of the motivation, priorities, problems and technical challenges discussed therein remain unaddressed and are relevant at the time of posting.
The Astrophysical Journal · 2021 · 22 citations
Senior authorCorresponding- Physics
- Astrophysics
- Astronomy
Abstract An oblique-rotating pulsar generates a relativistic striped wind in a pulsar wind nebula (PWN). The termination shock of the PWN compresses the Poynting-flux-dominated flow and drives magnetic reconnection. By carrying out particle-in-cell simulations of the termination shock of the PWN, we study the shock structure as well as the energy conversion processes and particle acceleration mechanisms. With the recent advances in the numerical methods, we extend the simulations to the ultrarelativistic regime with a bulk Lorentz factor of up to γ 0 = 10 6 . Magnetic reconnection at the termination shock is highly efficient at converting magnetic energy to particle kinetic energy and accelerating particles to high energies. Similar to earlier studies, we find that the resulting energy spectra crucially depend on λ / d e ( λ is the wavelength of the striped wind and d e is the relativistic plasma skin depth). When λ / d e is large ( λ ≳ 40 d e ), the downstream particle spectra form a power-law distribution in the magnetically dominated relativistic wind regime. By analyzing particle trajectories and statistical quantities relevant to particle energization, we find that Fermi-type mechanism dominates the particle acceleration and power-law formation. We find that the results for particle acceleration are scalable as γ 0 and σ 0 increase to large values. The maximum energy for electrons and positrons can reach hundreds of TeV if the wind has a bulk Lorentz factor of γ 0 ≈ 10 6 and a magnetization parameter of σ 0 = 10, which can explain the recent observations of high-energy gamma rays from PWNe.
Dense Pair and Gamma-Ray Creation Using Ultra-Intense Lasers (Final Technical Report)
2021-01-04
reportOpen access1st authorCorrespondingLasers with intensity exceeding 1.4x1018W.cm-2 irradiating solid targets couple 30-50% of its energy to “hot electrons” near the critical surface, with electron emperature kT > mc2 (=rest mass of electron). When these hot electrons impact high-Z target ions, they emit copious multi-MeV bremsstrahlung gamma-rays. Over the past five years, using the Texas Petawatt Laser (TPW) in Austin, Texas with peak intensities exceeding 1021W/cm2 and the Trident Laser at Los Alamos National Laboratory, New Mexico, to irradiate thick gold and platinum targets, our group has made major advances in the study of laser-created gamma-rays and electron-positron pairs from high-Z solid targets. Up to 5% of laser energy was converted into gamma-rays on sub-picosecond time scales using cm-sized gold and platinum targets. These gamma-rays emerge in a cone of less than 15o centered between the laser forward and target normal directions, with gamma-ray emittance exceeding 1013 gammas/str and in-situ energy density exceeding 1011erg/cm3. We have also characterized in detail the angular and energy distributions of these gamma-rays. At the same time, we also measured the emission of electrons and positrons from these targets as a function of the detector angle. We discovered that as the target thickness exceeds approximately 6 mm, there exists a cone lying between the laser forward and target normal directions, in which the positron number can greatly exceed the electron number. This suggests the presence of strong, angle-dependent electromagnetic fields which control the transport of electrons and positrons both inside and outside the target. This effect was more pronounced for platinum than gold. These results suggest that a non-neutral positron-dominated plasma can in principle be created, which has many potential applications to both fundamental physics and innovative technologies.
Journal of Computational Physics · 2020 · 12 citations
Senior authorCorresponding- Computer Science
- Physics
- Applied mathematics
APS Division of Plasma Physics Meeting Abstracts · 2020-01-01
articleSenior author
Recent grants
Dissipation and Radiation of MRI-Driven Accretion Flows around Low Luminosity Black Holes
NSF · $302k · 2009–2012
Diamagnetic Relativistic Pulse Accelerator, Gamma-Ray Bursts and Cosmology
NSF · $368k · 2004–2009
Frequent coauthors
- 175 shared
D. H. Froula
Energetics (United States)
- 170 shared
B. A. Remington
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
- 166 shared
Yingchao Lu
University of Rochester
- 154 shared
Petros Tzeferacos
University of Rochester
- 153 shared
A. Birkel
- 152 shared
R. P. Drake
University of Michigan–Ann Arbor
- 127 shared
A. Ravasio
Laboratoire pour l'utilisation des lasers intenses
- 126 shared
M. Kœnig
Institut Universitaire de Recherche Clinique
Labs
Education
- 1971
PhD, Physics
University of California Berkeley
Awards & honors
- University of California Science Fellowship
- Anthony Scholarship (1967-1969)
- British SRC senior visiting scientist fellowship
- Fellow of the American Physical Society
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